“Yeah.” Donna smiled. “Gooo…I like…”
Rita kissed Donna’s cheek. “Well, I’ve got a full list today. Dad should be here any minute. But I’ll be with you when you’re at home tomorrow. I bet you’ll be glad to get discharged.”
Her mom’s last “yeah” echoed in Rita’s ear as she rode down the elevator. Clearly, Donna was as worn out from being in the hospital as her family was from visiting her there. Another reminder that Rita should do some homecoming preparations for her. So much to do. So little time. But at least she’d have a whole day without interruptions. Her plan was to finish cleaning all the lime green chairs, store them in the cleaned-out storage room, and then start stripping down areas of the salon that no one would miss, getting it ready for the big renovations she was planning for the end of the week. She’d have to close the shop from Saturday through Tuesday, which would give her four days to get it all done. Was that even possible?
Out in the hospital parking lot, she called Roberto’s and punched in her manager’s extension number. She knew that Vivienne wouldn’t be there at this early hour on a Sunday, but maybe that was for the best. She left a long message, explaining about what she was doing and why and finally asking for an extra week. “I know this can’t be considered vacation time,” she said, even though she knew she hadn’t taken two weeks of vacation every year. “But it’s going to take that long to get my mom’s salon set up…to do it right.” She said a few more things, then promised to call back on Monday to confirm this was okay.
As she drove to Millersburg Mall, she felt confident that Vivienne would allow her an extra week. Vivienne had a reputation for being a hard-nosed businesswoman, but Rita knew she had a heart of gold. But Rita also knew that there were plenty of hairdressers who would gladly take her job if they could. Working at Roberto’s of Beverly Hills was something she did not take for granted. She wanted Vivienne to know that.
Rita went right to work at the salon. She had her to-do list broken down by days, and before this day was over, she wanted to have everything on today’s done and the salon ready for tomorrow’s appointments. She was just taking down some old headshot photos, ones her mom had let her put up more than ten years ago, when she heard someone knocking on the front door. Tempted to ignore it since they were closed, Rita set the framed print on the floor. But when the knocking continued, Rita went to see.
“Marley,” she said as she unlocked it. “What’re you doing here?”
“I tried your cell phone,” Marley told her. “But when you didn’t answer, I figured I’d see if you were here. What’s up?”
Rita updated her on the renovation project. “But I’d appreciate it if you kept all this under your hat.”
“You mean don’t tell Zinnia?”
Rita shrugged. “Yeah…I guess. I don’t know why. Maybe I want it to be a surprise.”
“Or maybe you want to keep the competition at bay.”
Rita smiled. “Maybe…”
“Want to grab a bite?” Marley asked. “Or did you already have lunch?”
Rita sighed to see that it was nearly two, confessing she hadn’t had anything since a carton of yogurt this morning. And so, once again, they headed for Noah’s Ark, and, with a big bowl of Hungarian mushroom soup in hand, Rita led the way to a table under the rainbow.
“Why did you run off last night?” Marley asked as they ate their soups.
Rita shrugged as she broke a piece of sourdough bread. “Time to go?”
“Really?” Marley looked skeptical.
“It was late.”
“Come on.” Marley narrowed her eyes. “This is me, Rita. I know you.”
“What are you saying?”
“You’re into Johnny, aren’t you?”
“No. Of course, not. He was helping me take out the trash, that’s all. I wanted to repay him with dinner. Nothing more.”
“Really…?” Marley still looked seriously doubtful.
“Oh, I don’t know. What are you getting at, anyway?”
“I saw you and Johnny talking before we crashed in on you last night.”
“Yeah…so…?”
“So, it looked like you guys were really into each other. Like some kind of mutual attraction was going on.”
“Oh…?”
“Come on, admit it.”
“Oh, Marley.”
“Did you know that Zinnia has been pursuing Johnny for a couple of years now?”
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely.” Marley nodded as she ate a bite of soup. “Take it from me. Zinnia is out to get him. She’s got a whole big plan laid out. She’s told me about it.”
“Really?” Rita frowned. “Does Johnny like her?”
“He’s always polite to her. But then Johnny is polite to everyone.”
“Well, that makes sense in his business. You don’t want to make enemies with the businesses you clean.”
“Maybe so. But Johnny is a great guy, Rita. And if he’s interested in you, why not—”
“It was just business, Marley.”
“Okay…” Marley looked unconvinced. “So I suppose you’re not interested in what Zinnia told Johnny about you last night.”
“What do you mean?” Rita set down her spoon.
“Well, it’s partly my fault.”
“What are you talking about?”
Marley made a nervous smile. “Zinnia was asking me about you last night, when she invited me to go have dessert. Seems you piqued her curiosity after you’d gone spying in her salon.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. For some reason she was extremely interested.”
“And?”
“So I sort of told her about Dr. Wright.”
“What?” Rita frowned. “Why would you—”
“Because Zinnia was acting like you were such a loser. She was putting down your mom’s salon and acting like you really didn’t work in Beverly Hills, acting like you’d come home because you couldn’t make it there. And she made a point of you being single and never married, like you couldn’t get a guy.”
“What does that have to do with—”
“I know it was stupid. But I was bragging to her about how you had this doctor trying to get you to go out, making it into a bigger deal than it probably is.”
“Oh…” Rita just shook her head, trying to figure this whole thing out.
“After you left, Zinnia started talking about Dr. Wright and you to Johnny and—”
“She what?” Now Rita was mad.
“Yeah. She made it sound like you and the good doctor were practically engaged and—”
“You’ve gotta be kidding!”
“I’m sorry, Rita. I tried to do damage control, but Zinnia just made me sound silly.”
“I thought you said she’d changed.” Rita shook her spoon at Marley.
“Well, she’s changed some…but not completely…apparently. Maybe her true colors come out when you cross her. And I’m guessing that seeing you with Johnny last night felt like you’d crossed her, Rita. She’s got you in her sights.”
“Good grief!”
Marley put her hand on Rita’s hand. “Will you forgive me?”
Rita let out an exasperated sigh. “Are you going to tell Zinnia about the makeover I’m giving Mom’s salon?”
“No, of course not.”
“If you keep that promise, I’ll forgive you.” Rita smiled. “And I’d forgive you anyway.”
“You have my word, I won’t tell her a thing about Hair and Now. And I’m sorry about the Dr. Wright slip of the lip.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Rita dipped her spoon back in the soup and sighed. “Like I said, it was just a business dinner.”
On Monday morning, Rita did some housekeeping, including giving her parents’ bedroom a good deep cleaning. Then she made a quick run to the store to get some fruit and vegetables as well as a selection of soft and liquid foods that her mother could eat. She also picked up a balloon bouquet and some crepe p
aper then hurried home to make a welcome-home banner and make the house look festive.
By the time Richard and Ricky brought Donna home in the afternoon, she was almost too tired to appreciate much. But as Rita helped her into her bed, she muttered a barely intelligible. “Than’ you.”
“You’re welcome, Mom.” Rita kissed her cheek as she pulled the covers up to her chin. “Have a rest and we’ll talk more later, okay?”
“Wai…” Donna held up her left hand like a stop sign.
“What?”
“Wai…don…go.”
Rita paused to process this. “You want me to stay?”
“Yeah.” Her mom nodded with one arched brow.
“You want to tell me something?”
“Yeah.” Her mom reached up and tugged her hair.
“Hair?”
“Yeah.” Now she made a scissors motion. “How…?”
“How is Hair and Now?”
“Yeah.” She nodded eagerly. “How?”
So Rita gave her a quick update, even sharing about how Johnny helped her to haul out some trash, quickly explaining it really was trash and how she’d gone through everything. “I stored everything you want to keep in plastic cartons that are clearly marked.” She told her about how great the storage room looked now. “And I’m keeping all the lime green chairs in there. They’re mostly cleaned up and—”
“Wai…” Donna held up her left hand again.
“What?” Rita peered closely at her.
“You…go…hair…” Donna nodded.
“You want me to go to Hair and Now? Now?”
“Yeah.”
“To keep working on it?”
“Yeah.”
Rita smiled. “Well, I’d like to keep on it, Mom. But I promised Dad and Ricky to be here for you and—”
“Wai…” Donna reached for her tablet and after a bit, she drew stick figures of two men and one woman in a house. Then she clumsily wrote their names.
“You think Dad and Ricky can take care of you here. Meanwhile I’ll keep the renovations going at Hair and Now?”
“Yeah.” Donna looked relieved.
“Okay, Mom.” Rita squeezed her hand. “I’ll let the guys know.”
“Than…you…”
Rita took Donna’s writing pad out to show her dad and Ricky. She explained her mother’s wishes. “I know she’s worried about Hair and Now,” she told them. “And rightly so. There’s a lot to be done there to get that place back into a profitable business.”
“And you really think you can do that?” Richard asked.
“I believe I can. But my time here is limited. I have to make the most of it. Mom seems to understand this.”
“Then you should give it all you’ve got, Rita.” Her dad made a hopeful smile. “It would be wonderful if your mother could go back to work…someday…but even if she can’t, anything you can do to make Hair and Now work better will be appreciated.”
“Maybe I can come over and help too,” Ricky suggested. “You know, when Dad’s here in the evenings.”
“Great.” Rita nodded. “There’s not much you can do yet, but by the end of this week…into the weekend. How are you at painting?”
He shrugged. “I’ll give it my best.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
As Rita drove her mom’s car over to the mall, she couldn’t help but feel relieved. As if she’d dodged a bullet. Cleaning a nasty storage room and reinventing an outdated hair salon was one thing; playing nursemaid was another. Although she would do it for her mother. For the time being she was thankful to let the men play the caretakers.
Chapter 9
Rita was surprised to see that all three beauticians had clients in their chairs. All three patrons were elderly, and the middle-aged woman in the waiting area explained that they were from a nearby retirement home. “Do you mind if I ask what made them choose Hair and Now?” Rita said to the woman.
The woman looked slightly uncomfortable. “The truth?”
“Please, I’d like to know.”
“Well, the location is handy, but more than that this place never seems very busy. It’s nice that I can bring three at once, even on short notice. That saves me some time.”
“Thank you for your honesty.” Rita smiled. “So if this place was more busy, but we were still able to handle three of your ladies at once, would you still bring clients to us?”
“Sure, why not.” She held up her hand. “And another thing. I like that you’re on the lower level and that Donna lets us park in back and use the back entrance.”
“Good to know.”
“Do you plan on becoming busier in the future?” The woman frowned at the salon as if she had her doubts.
“I’m doing some renovations and marketing that I hope will bring in new patrons. But even if we do get busier, I’d like to accommodate your ladies. Maybe we could have a senior day with discounts. Maybe offer treats and make it a fun social time.”
“That sounds great.”
Rita wrote this down in the idea section of her notebook. Then she turned back to today’s list and remembered her promise to call Vivienne at Roberto’s.
“We miss you around here,” Vivienne said after Rita gave her the update on her mom’s condition. “But I understand your desire to help with your mother’s little salon and you can take that third week, although your vacation time will be used up at two weeks.”
“Thanks, Vivienne. I appreciate it.” Now Rita told her about the lime green chairs. “They’re so cute. I can wait to see how the whole thing turns out.”
“Send us photos,” Vivienne said. “Before and after.”
“Good idea.”
“Hey, while I have you on the line, are you interested in our discontinued line of PBG product?”
Rita looked at the shelf she’d recently emptied. “We desperately need product and I love PBG, but we can’t really afford it—not with all the other expenses of renovating.”
“Can you afford to cover the postage?”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. If you pay shipping, you can have it all.”
“Oh, Vivienne. That would be fabulous.”
“Great. It’s just taking up space in the storeroom. Email me your shipping address and we’ll get it out of here by tomorrow.”
Next Rita called Aubrey, giving her the latest updates on her mom and the news that she was extending her visit by another week. And then, since Aubrey was being chatty, Rita decided to mention a certain janitor. “He works for a company called Jolly Janitors. Can you believe it?”
“Kind of like Merry Maids?”
Rita laughed. “I guess…”
“So…you’re having a little romance then,” Aubrey said with interest.
“No, it’s not a romance. I’m just saying he’s kind of interesting. I can’t even imagine what Margot would say about it. By the way, please don’t tell her.”
Aubrey just laughed. “Sure, it’s okay for Margot to tease me about my plumber guy, but you’re going to keep your Jolly Janitor under wraps.”
“That’s right.”
“Fine. But I say if he’s a nice guy, go for it. You’re way overdue for a nice guy, Rita.”
Now Rita wished she hadn’t said anything. What was she thinking? “I can’t really go for it, Aubrey. I’ve got work to do here, and then it’ll be time to get back there. No time for romance.”
“Maybe you could bring your Jolly Janitor back here with you. Maxwell has been talking about hiring an assistant. That might be a step up for Johnny.” She giggled. “Johnny…such a cute name.”
As much as Rita loved Aubrey, she really wished she’d kept her mouth closed about Johnny. For some reason it felt wrong to talk about him like this—and very juvenile. “Tell Margot hi for me,” she said before they hung up.
For the rest of the afternoon, Rita focused on the computer. She’d already downloaded a user-friendly program that should streamline the paperwork for everyone, b
ut she wanted to familiarize herself with it enough to teach the others how to use it. And when the salon was empty of customers, she locked the front door and called an impromptu staff meeting.
First she gave them a quick introductory computer class. “It’s super easy,” she told them. “And until there’s enough business to require a receptionist, it will be a real time saver for everyone.” She also told them about the week’s upcoming schedule and how they would be closed for business from Saturday through Tuesday. “I’ve already rescheduled what few appointments we had. And if you guys want to help out, with painting or cleaning or whatever, that would be great. I can only pay minimum wage, but I can have pizza delivered.” Charlene promised to help out during the weekend and, to Rita’s surprise, both Yolanda and Jillian volunteered to come in on Monday and Tuesday. Finally, she told them about some of the promotions she was planning, including a grand reopening that would coincide with the reopening of the ice-skating rink. “Just in time for Valentine’s Day,” she said. “If all goes well anyway.”
Rita felt hopeful as her mom’s employees left at five o’clock. They’d all seemed happy about the upcoming changes, showing more enthusiasm than she thought they were capable of. As usual, she planned to keep the salon open until the usual closing time. But she used this time to clean out the cutting stations that hadn’t been needed in recent years, and finally, as she was taping a sign on the front window announcing the dates they’d be closed for renovations, a customer walked in.
“Dr. Wright?” She set the Scotch tape on the reception desk and stared at him in wonder. “What’re you doing here?” A wave of panic rushed through her. “Is something wrong with my mom?”
“No, no—not that I know of anyway. I thought she was discharged today.”
“She was.” Rita pushed a strand of hair away from her face.
He smiled. “So, how is she doing?”
“She’s fine…as far as I know. She was glad to get home…but tired.” Rita peered curiously at him. “Did you come in for a haircut?”
“As a matter of fact, I probably could use one, don’t you think?”
She studied his dishwater blond hair. It did look like it could use some help. “I suppose so.”
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