by Rachel Hanna
A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the salon. It was still early in the morning, so she assumed she would be one of the first clients of the day. She was happy about that because it meant they would get more time to explore, or at least she hoped so. Bennett was a busy man, obviously with other business interests aside from Wisteria Island. Maybe he would be too rushed to get back to his office.
They walked inside of the salon, and she checked in. "You don't have to wait around here. I can just text you when I'm finished."
He smiled. "I don't mind waiting. I so rarely get time to just sit and not be bothered by something or someone."
He sat down and leaned back into the soft blue gingham sofa that was sitting in the waiting area.
“Okay. Suit yourself. If the fumes of hair dye overwhelm you, you’re on your own.”
A few moments later, a very normal-looking hairstylist came out from the back wearing a black jacket and black pants. She looked so professional, a far cry from the outfit Betty Sue had been wearing when she turned her in to a circus clown.
"Danielle?"
"That's me," she said, standing up. She had never been ready to do something so much in her life. Of course, getting her hair dyed again so soon might’ve caused it to fall out, but that seemed like a better option than walking around in her current condition. It wasn’t that she didn’t like red hair; she did. But the color red Betty Sue had used on her hair looked more like a crime scene recreation than what a natural red head had.
She waved at Bennett as she rounded the corner and followed the stylist.
"So, what are you looking to have done?" the woman asked as she ran her fingers through Danielle's hair, both of them looking in the large mirror.
"Isn't it obvious? I work on Wisteria Island as the nurse, and I made the mistake of going to the hair salon…"
"Oh, are you talking about Betty Sue? She's a hoot! But a terrible hairstylist," the woman said, laughing.
"She thought this color would look good on me, and I made the mistake of letting her surprise me. I have to say, I was definitely surprised."
The woman, whose name tag said Lorna, giggled. "Well, I can see how that would be a surprise. Did she cut it too?”
“She did.”
“You have some seriously mismatched layers here… Poor Betty Sue. I don’t think her eyesight is what it used to be.”
“So, is there anything you can do?" Danielle asked, hope wrapping itself around every word that came out of her mouth.
“I can definitely fix the cut. I think I can do some color neutralization," Lorna said. She seemed very confident.
"Well, it's either neutralize my hair color or I might go neutralize Betty Sue," Danielle said, only partly kidding.
Chapter 11
It took over two hours in the salon to get Danielle's hair back to some semblance of normal. It was a lighter brown color now, the gray and the red pretty much eliminated. As far as she was concerned, Lorna was a magical wizard with powers beyond anything she’d ever seen.
She walked to the front desk to pay, but the woman told her that Bennett had already taken care of it. A part of her felt uncomfortable with that. They certainly weren't dating or anything. She left a tip and walked out onto the sidewalk to look for him, since he was no longer sitting on the sofa. As she rounded the corner, she found him standing next to the fountain.
"What do you think?"
He turned around slowly and smiled. "Much better," he said, laughing.
"And you tried to tell me I didn't look so bad with the red hair."
"I didn't want you to quit. I can't take another nurse quitting on me. I paid for your hair to be fixed since I guess it's technically my fault that Betty Sue still runs the salon."
She chuckled. "Well, at least that's a lesson I won't have to learn twice."
"Are you up for brunch?”
"Absolutely."
"There's a great café over next to the bookstore. Care to grab a sandwich?"
"Let's go!"
As they walked around the square, taking their time and chatting about everything they saw, Danielle finally felt relaxed for the first time in weeks.
She was having more and more days where she didn't think about what had happened to her back at her old job or what Richard had done. Instead of it occupying so many moments of her day, it was slipping away like one of those memories that you know happened but you can't quite connect with anymore.
She had memories like that about her dad. After he’d died, she could sometimes still hear his voice in her head or smell his cologne in a crowd of people. Now, she had to search her brain so hard to feel him again. Memories were weird that way.
When they arrived at the café, they took a table outside and sat down. It wasn't long before a server named Denitra came over and took their order.
"What can I get for you?"
"I think I'll take the chicken salad sandwich with a fruit cup," Danielle said. "Oh, and a glass of water, no lemon.”
"And I'll take a Reuben sandwich with fries and a sweet tea," Bennett said, handing the menus back to Denitra. “Thanks.”
“You're not really a health nut, are you?" Danielle said.
"Not lately," Bennett said. "I guess I've been under a little more stress than normal."
“About the island?”
"Not really. Just some of my other investments. There's never a dull moment in my life."
"I imagine that having a lot of money also brings a lot of responsibility." Denitra walked over and put their drinks on the table.
"It does. I never want to complain about it because I grew up so poor, but having money doesn't necessarily mean you live a stress-free lifestyle. In fact, I think I'm more stressed out now than I was living in that little trailer park across from the landfill."
"How so?"
"I just feel a tremendous weight of responsibility to make the most of what I have. To grow it, to invest it, to help people with it. I remember when I was growing up, my grandmother used to tell me that God gives everybody certain gifts. She called them spiritual gifts. She said if you don't use them, they can be taken away."
"That's certainly an interesting way to look at things."
"She told me about how when she was a kid, she loved to sing. She was good, being a first soprano. Anyway, she was invited to sing at her father’s office Christmas party when she was about twelve years old. She did a good job, so the local fire station wanted her to sing at their party the next morning. Well, she knew her voice wasn't as good in the morning because of her asthma, but she went anyway, and her voice cracked. She was so embarrassed, she started crying and ran out of the room before she could finish the song."
"How horrible."
“She said she never sang in public again, even though she knew it was one of her gifts. As she got older, she started having trouble with her voice, and one of her vocal cords became paralyzed after a virus. Then she couldn't sing at all."
“Bennett, this is a terrible story. You're really bringing me down."
He smiled. "That story always stuck with me. My grandmother, one of the strongest people I knew, had given up on something she loved because she was afraid of looking foolish. Then she lost the gift. I don't want to lose any of my gifts, whatever they are." He took a long sip of his tea.
"You have many gifts."
His face softened. "You haven't known me all that long. How can you know what gifts I have?"
Denitra walked back to the table and set their food down. Bennett looked up and said thank you before she walked back inside.
"Well, I know you have the gift of patience because I've met a lot of the residents, and you are way more gifted at that than I am."
"That might be true."
She smiled and took a bite of cantaloupe. "And you have the gift of communication. You like to talk… sometimes a lot."
"Well, I can't help it if some people are hard to get to know, and I have to dig deeper."
"And you have the gift
of business skills."
"I think you're reaching now."
"I want to tell you how impressed I am with everything you've done with the island. It was a crazy idea, but somehow you made it work. Those people are happy, and you've changed their lives. Probably extended them."
"Thank you. Still, I think what you’re doing is much more likely to extend lives. I just paid for an island."
"You're selling yourself short, Bennett. You cared about people that you didn't even know. You created something that didn't exist before. You should be very proud of that. And I know your grandmother would be."
“Okay, you're going to make me cry," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Well, I wouldn't want to do that. Why don't we talk about something else?"
“Why don't you tell me why you left your last job? The real truth."
For a moment, she thought about protesting. About pushing him away yet again. But she was growing tired of doing that. Hiding one of the worst things that had ever happened to her was becoming more and more difficult.
"Fine. As you know, I was the lead ICU nurse for a major hospital. Took me over a decade to get that position. I was engaged to a doctor who was the head of ICU for his department.”
"You were engaged?"
"Yes. His name is Richard. I don't know that we were ever really head over heels in love, but I'm not getting any younger, and we suited each other well."
Bennett chuckled. "Wow, that sounds really romantic.
She shrugged her shoulders and popped a grape into her mouth. "Romance is for silly books and movies. That's not real life."
He stared at her for a moment. "Do you really think that? That romance isn't real?"
"I just know it's never been real for me. Anyway, long story short I found out that Richard was not only engaged to me but to two other women who also worked in the hospital, one of whom is currently pregnant."
His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, much like one of those cartoons she had watched as a kid. The ones where the eyes would bounce out and the little cartoon cat would pick them up and put them right back in.
"Wow. That sounds like some kind of terrible TV movie."
"It really couldn't be a TV movie unless it ended with me strangling him and pushing him off the roof of a building. Instead of doing that, I came to Wisteria Island."
Bennett laughed. "Well, I think you made the right decision."
"And when I got here, I kept getting calls from an old work friend and my mother trying to push me to go back, and maybe I should have. They finally fired Richard. I could've gone back. That's when I realized that Gladys needed my help. So instead of trying to go back and restore my dignity, I decided to stay here. Try to make a difference. Try to make this all worth something."
"Your dignity? But you did nothing wrong, Danielle."
"I was humiliated."
"Richard should've been humiliated. All you did was pick the wrong man."
She didn’t know what to say. “Do you believe in soulmates?”
He thought for a moment and then smiled slightly. “I think I do.”
“Really? That seems awfully woo-woo to me.”
“Woo-woo?” he said with a laugh.
“The thought of having one specific person out there and you have to find them? Scary.”
“I think the idea is that if you’re meant to be with that person, the universe finds a way to put you together.”
“Woo-woo,” she repeated before finishing her sandwich. “So, what’s on the agenda next, tour guide?”
“Do you like books?”
“I love books!”
“There’s a great little bookstore next door. It’s called Down Yonder Books.”
“The name is amazing.”
“Want to give it a try?”
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
Bennett flagged Denitra down, paid the bill, and they walked next door to the bookstore. It was adorable, as was everything in the town. What Danielle noticed first was the coffee bar.
“Welcome to Down Yonder!” A woman was setting up a book display near the front counter. She was wearing a bright lime green t-shirt with a sequin palm tree, white capri pants also covered in little palm trees, and a pair of sequin covered sandals that, as anyone could easily guess, had palm trees on them.
“Hello,” Bennett said, waving.
“Can I help you find anything?”
“No, we’re actually just visiting town today and thought we’d stop in,” Danielle said.
“Welcome to Seagrove! Is this your first time here?”
“For me it is. I had an appointment at the hair salon.”
The woman smiled. “Well, you look beautiful! By the way, I’m Dixie. I co-own this place.”
“I love independent bookstores. Such a dying breed, it seems.”
Dixie nodded. “Very true, but we’re holding down the fort here.” The door opened, causing a little bell to chime. “There’s my business partner!”
“Hey, I’m Julie,” the woman said, smiling as she waved at them before putting her purse behind the counter.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Danielle Wright, and this is my boss, Bennett Alexander.”
“Bennett Alexander. Why does that name sound so familiar?” Dixie asked.
Before Bennett could reply, Julie spoke up. “Because he’s one of the richest men in the world. You created Wisteria Island, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “That would be me.”
“Wow, we feel honored to have you here!” Dixie said. “And if you want to fill up your personal library with our books, we won’t stop you!”
Danielle laughed. “Bennett doesn’t live in a house with a library. He lives in a little cottage, just like me. I’m the island nurse.”
“Well, it just goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover,” Dixie said, obviously trying to make a pun.
“Why don’t we let them look around, Dixie? We don’t need to talk their ears off.”
Dixie laughed loudly. “Sorry about that, folks. I get carried away, especially when new people come to town. Take as much time as you want to look around, and just let us know if you need anything.”
“I’d love a cup of coffee,” Danielle said, eyeing the selection of coffee flavorings on the counter.
“Of course! What can I get you?”
Danielle walked closer to the counter. “I’ll take a latte with Irish creme flavoring. Bennett, do you want something?”
He shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m going to go take a look at some of the business books.”
He walked away as Danielle turned back to the counter. Dixie and Julie were staring at her expectantly.
“What?”
“What’s he like?” Dixie asked, grinning.
“Who? Bennett?”
“Yes, Bennett! We’ve seen so many stories about him. He’s seems so mysterious.”
Danielle laughed. “There is nothing mysterious about Bennett. He’s just a normal guy.”
“He’s worth almost a billion dollars,” Julie said softly. “He can’t just be a normal guy. I’d pass out every time I logged into my online bank account.”
A billion dollars? How hadn’t she known he was that rich? It hadn’t occurred to her to look up that information.
Of course, Danielle had never been overly impressed by people with a lot of money. She had been raised by wealthy parents, so it hadn't been something she was particularly focused on. She realized that was a great privilege, and that many people grew up in much different circumstances, including Bennett.
"Well, all I can tell you is that he's a totally normal person. If you didn't read all the news stories, you'd have no idea he had that much money. He does a lot of good with what he has."
Julie finished making the latte and slid it across the counter. "No charge. We like to give visitors to our little town a free coffee."
Danielle smiled. "Thank you. It really is a great town from
what I can see."
"You should go up the street and visit my mom's bakery. It's called Hotcakes, and she has the best pound cake you'll ever taste. I think she's featuring strawberry pound cake this week, so I highly recommend it."
Danielle nodded. "We will definitely do that. I have a bit of a sweet tooth."
"What's this about a sweet tooth?" Bennett asked as he walked up to the counter with two books in his hands.
"Julie was telling me that her mom owns a bakery up the street with wonderful pound cake. Care to take a walk and have a little treat?"
"Of course. We want to see everything that Seagrove offers today. We don't get off the island much."
As he paid for his books, Dixie made some recommendations. “We have a yoga studio up the street if you want a challenge."
Danielle laughed. "I don't think Bennett is the yoga type."
"You don't know that!" he said, chuckling. "Maybe I do downward dog every morning."
She looked at him. "Do you?"
"Well, no, but you didn't know that."
Dixie and Julie laughed. "You might also want to go on a marsh tour with my son."
"We were thinking about doing a marsh tour. How do I get in touch with your son?" Bennett asked.
"Here's his business card. He runs tours all throughout the day. They are really informative and fun."
He took the card and put it in his pocket.
"Thank you for all the information and the wonderful drink. I think we need to go get our pound cake and keep moving. I'm tempted to just sit down in here and read books all day."
As they left the bookstore, Danielle was finding herself feeling more and more at home. The people in the area were friendly and she could see how they would become family quickly if she lived there.
"They were nice," Danielle said as they made it to the sidewalk.
"Yes, they were. That's why I love this area so much."
"Do you ever get tired of people recognizing you by your name?"
He shrugged his shoulders. “There's good and bad with everything. I will never complain about my blessings because I know what it's like to live on the opposite end of the spectrum. So yeah, it's been difficult to know who's really a friend and who is just with me because they want access to my money."