Love Gently Falling

by Melody Carlson

  “Well, you’ve given me fabulous ideas. I owe you big-time.”

  Marley handed her a list of nearby secondhand stores. “You still have lots of shopping to do. I wish I could join you, but I need to get back to my shop. And don’t forget to order those stencils.”

  After Marley left, Rita got online and found the phone number for the stencil company. A helpful woman promised to get the stencils back within a week if the order was placed by five today. So Rita picked out a contemporary font and, doing the math for how much space each letter took, she started writing down every inspiring verb she could think of, envisioning them circling the salon like a mantra: believe, nurture, embrace, forgive, give, create, encourage, love, imagine, hope, enjoy, relax, dream, excite, pamper, kiss…until she had more than enough to fill the walls and, hopefully, a patron’s heart. She sent in her order then called Marley’s brother Gordon, explaining her need for eight pieces of quartz countertop. “But I’m on a very tight budget,” she told him, sharing about how she was doing this for her mom.

  “I heard about Donna’s stroke,” he said. “I hope she’s doing better.”

  “She makes improvement every day. But it’s still going to be a long, hard road.” She didn’t go into the details of Ricky’s frustration this morning, or her family’s fear that Donna was getting depressed.

  “So what sizes are these cabinets?”

  She told him the dimensions. “I measured with just a little extra so the quartz would go half an inch bigger than the cabinet top. Does that make sense?”

  “Absolutely. And interestingly, I happen to have a lot of remnants in that three-foot range. I hold on to these leftovers in the hopes that someone will need bathroom vanity tops, but they tend to pile up over time.”

  “Do you have eight white ones?”

  “I have tons of white pieces. Do they all have to be the same shade of white?”

  She considered this. “I don’t see why.”

  Then he told her his price and she told him she’d take them. “I’ll pick out ones that are as similar as I can find. If you’re certain about those measurements, I’ll go ahead and cut them to length.”

  “I need to pick them up by early next week, at the latest. Does that work?”

  “No problem. And I’ll deliver them, Rita. They’re pretty heavy.”

  “Does that cost more?”

  “Not for your mom. Did you know that she did Shannon’s hair for free when we got married last year?”

  “I didn’t know that.” Rita smiled. “But it doesn’t surprise me.”

  On Wednesday morning, with her notebook and lists in hand, Rita set off to do some serious shopping. Her goal was to hit the discount stores first, to look for the best deals, and to hopefully get everything she’d need before her helpers showed up on Saturday to work. She also picked up a variety of paint samples for Marley to choose from.

  “To thank you for your help, I’m buying you lunch, and you’re going to let me,” she told Marley as they went into Noah’s Ark.

  “Hey, look over there,” Marley nudged Rita with her elbow. “Zinnia and Johnny—under the rainbow.”

  “Oh…?” Rita just nodded, pretending to be uninterested as she glanced over to where Zinnia was talking animatedly to Johnny.

  “Think we should intrude on them like Zinnia did to you the other night?”

  “No.” Rita looked away. “Of course not.”

  “I was just kidding.” Marley gave Rita a curious look.

  “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Rita said primly. Okay, she knew she was being silly about this, but something about seeing Zinnia and Johnny just set her teeth on edge. After they received their orders, Rita led the way to the opposite end of the café, as far away from the couple as they could get.

  “But your aversion does make me curious.” Marley seemed to be studying Rita closely. “Was there more going on than you let on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, between you and Johnny the other night?”

  “I simply offered to buy him dinner to thank him for taking out my trash,” Rita said in a way that she knew sounded rehearsed. “No big deal.”

  “If you say so. I know Zinnia will be relieved to hear that. She was a little concerned.”

  “Concerned about what?”

  “Like I told you, she’s had her eye on Johnny for some time now. And with Valentine’s Day coming, I think she’s actually hoping for a ring.”

  “A ring?” Rita tried not to choke on her tea.

  “Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration on my part. But Zinnia keeps hinting that he should go shopping at the Jewel Box.”

  “Seriously?” Rita set down her cup. “Are they even dating?”

  “Define dating.”

  “You know what I mean.” Rita glared at Marley.

  “Hmm…?” Marley’s brows arched. “For someone who claims she’s not interested, you seem awfully interested to me.”

  Rita forced a smile. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

  “Really?” Marley looked unconvinced.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Marley. Are Johnny and Zinnia actually dating? Are they a couple? I mean, why would Zinnia say she’s hoping for a ring—”

  “I take it back, okay? Zinnia merely paused in front of the Jewel Box store window the other day, when we’d gone for coffee. She was drooling over the diamonds, and then she said something about Johnny. I guess I just put two and two together.”

  “So do you think you’re right? Is it really serious between them?”

  Marley grinned. “Ooh, so you really are interested, aren’t you?”

  Rita rolled her eyes as she unfolded a napkin. “It’s just that you said something that didn’t quite make sense to me. I mean, when a woman is hoping for a ring—or simply a piece of jewelry or, well, even flowers—I mean, for Valentine’s Day…well, it sounds somewhat serious. Doesn’t it?”

  “What difference would it make to you?”

  Rita grabbed up the oversized bag she was using to haul around all her lists and samples and, eager for a distraction, pulled out her handful of paint swatches. “Help me pick out the wall colors.” She splayed them across the table like a green rainbow. “I think this one is nice.”

  “I can’t pick colors out here, silly.” Marley swooped up the samples and handed them back.

  “Why not?”

  “I need to see them with the chair.”

  “Oh…yeah…” Rita nodded, slipping the samples back into her bag. “That makes sense. That reminds me.” She pulled out the fabric swatch she’d gotten from Mr. Cabot last week. “This is for the waiting room chairs. I’m a little worried the print might be too much with the checkerboard floor. But they’re already being recovered.”

  “Sweet.” Marley fingered the fabric. “But I agree, it might be a bit much.”

  “I wondered about a rug beneath the chairs to separate the patterns. Might warm the reception area up a little, too.”

  “But you’d want a really simple rug. Nothing too busy. Maybe a sisal or one with solid color blocks of green. Or if you want to be really retro, how about a nice, thick shag? That might be fun.”

  With Rita’s iPad opened to an interior design website, they were busily discussing shag carpet colors when Johnny and Zinnia stopped by to say hello.

  Rita tried to act natural as they exchanged greetings. Smiling broadly at Johnny, she tried not reveal how jealous she was feeling—a shade that would go nicely with the paint swatches in her handbag.

  “Someone doing some redecorating?” Zinnia nosily peered down at the iPad. “Shag area rugs?”

  Rita closed her iPad with the fabric sample inside. Maybe it was juvenile, but she really didn’t want Zinnia to know what she was up to. “I thought that might look good in my Beverly Hills condo,” she said quickly.

  “When do you go back to California?” Zinnia asked with wide eyes. “Frankly, I’m a little surprised you’re still here, Rita. Ha
sn’t it been a week or more already?”

  “Yes. I’d planned to stay two weeks,” Rita coolly explained. “But I decided to extend it to three weeks.”

  “Three weeks? I sure wouldn’t want one of my girls to be gone from my salon that long. Hairdressers are so replaceable these days. You must have a very understanding boss.”

  “You’re right. I do.” Rita made a stiff smile.

  “How’s your mother doing?” Johnny asked.

  Rita sighed. “She’s a little down. They say depression is to be expected with a stroke. But she’s always been such a positive, upbeat person—you know, the glass is half full. It’s hard seeing her so discouraged.”

  “Does she still like having visitors now that she’s home?” Johnny asked.

  “I think she would. But I don’t think she’s seen anyone but family or her therapists since leaving the hospital.”

  “I’d like to come see her…if you think that’s okay.”

  “Absolutely.” Rita nodded. “I’m sure she’d love you to stop by.” For that matter, Rita would too—of course, she didn’t say this.

  “Oh, we should both go see her,” Zinnia said eagerly to Johnny. “After all, Donna and I have so much in common—​both businesswomen with our own salons. I could chat with Donna about business. Let’s do this, Johnny. My schedule’s wide open until three thirty.”

  “Sorry,” he told her. “I’ve got some more appointments and a staff meeting this afternoon.”

  “Okay, then we’ll do it this evening after work,” Zinnia said.

  “Well, I don’t know—”

  “Come on, Johnny, let’s pay our good friend Donna a visit. We’ll take something fun to cheer her up.” She looked down at Rita. “Does she like flowers? Candy? Ice cream perhaps?”

  “I—uh—I don’t know.” Rita stared curiously at Johnny. He really didn’t seem too thrilled with Zinnia’s plan. Would he stand his ground and put the kibosh on this?

  “We’ll think of something,” Zinnia said to Johnny. “Won’t we?”

  Poor Johnny looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Is this evening a good time to visit?” he asked Rita in a formal-sounding voice.

  “Sure. I can let her know you’re coming by.”

  “Okay then.” He nodded, his eyes still locked with Rita’s. “Is around seven thirty okay with you?”

  “That’s fine.” Rita would be sure to get home by then.

  “Come on, now.” Zinnia possessively grabbed his arm. “We’ve still got lots to discuss, Johnny Boy.” And before anyone could utter another word, Zinnia dragged him away.

  “See what I mean?” Marley said after they were gone.

  “What?” Rita asked in a somewhat sharp tone.

  “Like my grandmother would say, Zinnia has set her cap for him. She’s got Johnny Boy on the line, and she is steadily reeling him in.”

  “Really? What if he doesn’t want to be reeled in?”

  Marley chuckled and immediately returned to questioning Rita about her sudden interest in Johnny Hollister. “Not that I blame you. Johnny would be a great catch. If my divorce was final, I’d probably go after him myself.”

  “You would?”

  “Sure. Why not? He’s a great guy, and I’m sure he’d make a great husband. Not that I have any desire to be married again. Not anytime soon, anyway. But if I was in the market for a good man, Johnny Hollister would definitely rank high on my list.”

  “Well, if what Zinnia said is true—if Johnny is getting her something for Valentine’s Day—you won’t have to worry about having him on your list.”

  Marley laughed. “If I didn’t know better—and maybe I do—I’d say that you’re feeling jealous of Zinnia right now.”

  “The only thing I envy about Zinnia right now is her clientele list.” Rita laid a tip on the table. “I wish I could steal about half of them from her—for my mom.”

  But as Rita walked back to Hair and Now, she knew that wasn’t entirely true. Even if she refused to admit it to anyone—including herself—she was lime green with jealousy.

  Chapter 11

  Rita called from the salon, warning her family that Johnny and Zinnia were coming to visit this evening.

  “Johnny is fine,” Ricky said. “But why is Zinnia coming?”

  “Because she was with Johnny.”

  “But Zinnia?” He let out a groan. “She’s the competition, Rita, the reason Hair and Now hit the skids. Maybe even why Mom had a stroke.”

  “Oh, that’s ridiculous.”

  “Don’t be too sure. Mom was pretty stressed out over the business.”

  “She can’t hear you, can she?”

  “No. I’m in the kitchen, cleaning up.”

  “Look, I’m sorry about Zinnia. Let’s just go with it, okay? Maybe it will distract Mom from feeling blue.” Then, to cheer her brother up, she filled him in on the latest developments at the salon, making it sound like it was coming along even faster than it really was.

  Rita left the salon at seven o’clock sharp, getting home with about ten minutes to spare. She rushed up to her room, the same room she’d inhabited throughout her childhood and was trying not to detest too much now, and hurriedly changed into a pale blue sweater. She freshened her hair and makeup just before the doorbell rang. She hurried back down and was relieved to see that Donna, dressed in lavender velour warm-ups, was seated on the sofa with an expectant half smile. It sounded like her dad was in the family room, watching a basketball game, and Ricky was already answering the door, greeting Johnny warmly and Zinnia stiffly, and taking their coats.

  “Mom’s in here,” Ricky said in a falsely cheerful tone.

  “Hi,” Rita said nervously as Johnny and Zinnia came into the living room. “Come on in.” Everything about this was so awkward, so strange…and yet she was glad to see Johnny.

  “Hello, Donna,” Zinnia said loudly, as if she thought Donna was deaf. “So good to see you. You’re looking just fine tonight.”

  “Hey, Donna.” Johnny reached down to grasp Donna’s good hand. “You look pretty as always. How are you feeling?”

  “Gooo-ood.” Donna nodded.

  “Brought you some chocolates.” Johnny set a red heart-shaped box on the table. “A little early for Valentine’s Day, but I couldn’t resist.”

  “Than…you…” Donna smiled.

  “Please, sit down,” Rita said to both of them.

  “I’ll go tell Dad we’ve got company,” Ricky said, backing away. Rita could tell by the spark in his eye that he would not be coming back anytime soon. For that matter, her dad was probably lying low, too.

  Johnny sat down next to Donna, looking her directly in her eyes. “Have you been keeping up with your rehab?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And your exercises at home?”

  Donna lifted her bad arm with her good one, demonstrating what she’d been working on, trying to move her fingers.

  “That’s great. You really are making progress.”

  Zinnia, sitting on the other side of Donna, patted her knee. “I’ll bet you can’t wait to get back to your salon. I was just telling Rita that I can relate to you. We’re both businesswomen, with employees who depend on us.” She continued to chatter away as if she and Donna were best friends. To Rita’s surprise, her mom seemed to be responding positively. Whether she was simply being polite, or actually enjoying Zinnia’s company, it didn’t seem to matter. Clearly, Donna was enjoying her visitors.

  “Is that the game I hear in there?” Johnny tipped his head toward the family room.

  “Yeah.” Donna gave him a half smile. “Go…see…”

  Johnny patted her shoulder. “A woman after my own heart.” He stood, excusing himself. “I’ll go pay my respects to Richard and Ricky.”

  Zinnia looked slightly taken aback by this, and Rita was unsure of what to do. She picked up the chocolates. “Want one, Mom?”

  “Yeah…”

  “I’ll go open them in the kitchen.” Rita h
urried away, leaving the two businesswomen alone to chat. Okay, she felt a bit guilty, but then wasn’t this why Zinnia had insisted on coming, so that she could catch up with Donna?

  Rita returned with the opened box, holding it out so Zinnia and Donna could make their selections. “I suppose I should share this with the boys. Right, Mom?”

  “Righ…yeah…” Donna waved her good arm. “Go ahea…”

  Feeling as if she’d been freed, Rita carried the chocolates into the family room, where the guys were sitting in front of the TV but talking about old cars. Her dad was telling Johnny about the ’54 Chevy that he’d been restoring for the past several years.

  “I plan to have ’er ready to roll by summer,” Richard told him. “There’s a big show in Green Bay that I want to take Donna to…I mean, if she’s all better by then.”

  “Mom said to share,” Rita said as she passed the big heart around. Then, sitting next to her brother, she pretended to be absorbed with the car conversation and basketball game, but was occasionally sneaking a sideways glance at Johnny.

  “Hey, what’re you doing in the boys’ room?” Ricky poked her in the ribs. “The girls are next door, sis.”

  “Oh, Zinnia and Mom were having such a good time chatting about their salons. I didn’t figure they really needed me.”

  Ricky rolled his eyes like he wasn’t buying that.

  “Besides, you know that I like basketball. I played clear through high school, and I’ll bet I can still take you.” She poked him back.

  “Says you.”

  “There’s a hoop in the driveway,” Richard reminded them.

  “Too bad you’re too old to play,” Rita teased her dad.

  “Says who?”

  Suddenly the four of them were out of their chairs and rushing toward the back door like schoolkids. While Ricky dug out the basketball in the garage, giving it a quick pump of air, Richard showed Johnny his car.

  “She’s a beauty.” Johnny ran his hand over the shiny sky blue paint job, pausing to look at her dad’s “before” photos of the car. “You’ve done a beautiful job.”

  “Thanks.” Richard set the photo album away with a proud smile. “It’s been good therapy for me. Hopefully I’ll have time to get back to it…once Donna gets to feeling better. Maybe this spring.”