Love Gently Falling (13 page)

The next few days passed in an exhausting but productive blur of tearing out, sanding, patching, taping, removing, painting, tiling, installing, and cleaning. Everyone was amazingly helpful, and, thanks to being so busy, Rita and Johnny never had a chance to talk about anything besides the various projects. She hoped that awkward exchange they'd had over Zinnia might be forgotten…or at least diminished.

But finally it was Wednesday, and the results of their labors were truly amazing. Even Rita, who had been seeing it in her mind's eye for days, was surprised with how perfect it all looked. From the gleaming checkerboard floors to the lime green chairs, to the black workstation cabinets with their clear glass knobs and marble-like quartz countertops, to the tiled mirror frames against the margarita-toned walls, clear up to the encouraging words that Rita and Marley had meticulously applied just below the ceiling line, it was all wonderful!

“Oh, Rita,” Charlene gushed at the end of the day on Wednesday. “You really did it. Everything is absolutely beautiful.”

“It's not done yet,” Rita reminded her as she arranged the product that had just arrived from Roberto's on the freshly painted shelf by the reception desk. “I still have accent pieces to put up. Marley's going to help with that. And Mr. Cabot is bringing some of the chairs for the waiting area tomorrow morning.”

“Well, it looks fantastic.” Charlene gave a lime green chair a spin. “And everything seems to be in good working order. It's all just fallen beautifully into place.”

“So, are you feeling a bit more hopeful now?”

“I am. And I can't believe how many appointments we've booked for the next few weeks. Partly from the ads you've run, but even more seemed to be the result of Ricky's flyers and coupons. That boy really had a good idea with that.”

Rita chuckled. “And it doesn't seem to have hurt his love life either. Did I tell you that he inadvertently handed a flyer to a hairdresser from Zinnia's and they've been talking and texting ever since?”

“Oh, dear. Ricky better not get involved with a
Zinnia
girl. No fraternizing with the enemy.”

Rita laughed. “Zinnia's is not the enemy. If anything, I should be grateful for Zinnia for leading the way. If I hadn't seen what she'd done with her salon, I might not have been inspired to give this place a makeover.”

“So when do we let Donna see it?”

“Not until everything is in place.” Rita looked toward the windows, which were still covered with brown kraft paper. “Everyone gets tomorrow off. But I'll come in so Mr. Cabot can deliver the chairs. And I'll do some tweaking and put up decorations for the grand reopening. Let's plan on having Mom here on Friday morning. That way she won't get overwhelmed by too many people, and she can really look around. And the sneak peek for clients doesn't happen until the three in the afternoon. How's that sound?”

Charlene gave Rita another hug. “You are a wonder, Rita. I'm going to hate to see you go next week. You really have to leave on Monday?”

“I do. I promised to be back at work on Tuesday. They're already getting booked up for the upcoming Oscars.” Rita held up a bottle of shampoo. “And Vivienne was so generous to give us all this fabulous product. The least I can do is show up for work on time.”

“You will be missed.”

Rita sighed, wondering if they would miss her as much as she would miss them…and this place. But some things were better left unsaid. “Hopefully business will pick up enough that you can hire a new manager soon,” she told Charlene. “Unless you've changed your mind and would consider doing it.”

Charlene firmly shook her head no. “I already told you, Rita, I have no interest in that. I do hair and that's it. You can't teach this old dog new tricks.”

“Well, I'm sure it will all work out. And once Mom sees what we've done here, I'm thinking it will lift her spirits and she'll be super-motivated with her rehab. She'll be chomping at the bit to get back in here. I just know it.”

“I think you're right. I can't wait to see her face, Rita. I'm bringing my camera—I want to capture the whole thing.”

That reminded Rita that she still needed to pick up something from the frame shop. She'd had the old photos from the early days enlarged into black-and-whites, and they were being matted and framed. She planned to hang them in the reception area along with a little sign she'd made that said,
THAT WAS THEN…HAIR IS NOW.

On Thursday morning,
Rita was relieved to have the salon all to herself. The last several days had been such a crazy rush with people working, coming and going, banging and clanging…it was lovely to be able to just quietly putter as she put things away, adding the final finishing touches here and there. Her only interruption was the occasional jangling of the phone—but that was a welcome sound, and she couldn't be happier to book hair appointments. At this rate, they would have to hire more stylists before long. A good problem. However, she was surprised when one call was from Ricky's new friend, Melinda, the hairdresser from Zinnia's. “Ricky told me you might be hiring,” Melinda said a bit hesitantly. “I mean, not right now…but sometime in the not too distant future.”

“I think that's a real possibility,” Rita told her.

“I'd just like you to keep me in mind. I'm still employed at Zinnia's, but I'm not real happy here. But please don't tell anyone I said that. Ricky said I can trust you.”

“You can trust me.” They talked a bit more, and Melinda even hinted that she had a hairdresser friend who might also be looking for a new job. So Rita wrote down Melinda's number and promised someone would get back to her by early next week. Interesting…

Rita was just peeling the paper from the front windows when she saw Mr. Cabot wheeling the first of the waiting room chairs up to the salon. She held the door as he maneuvered the chair inside.

“It's beautiful!” she exclaimed once they had positioned the green and white chair on the large shag rug that she'd just unrolled.

“White carpet?” Mr. Cabot looked a bit concerned.

“It's made of a fiber that's supposed to be easy to clean.” She bent down and brushed her hand over the shaggy loops. “But it's so pretty and luxurious. Don't you love how it looks with this chair?”

He nodded. “Very nice. And now I'll go back for another one.”

“How many did you manage to finish?” She asked as she held the door open for his cart.

“All of them.” Mr. Cabot grinned.

“You are my hero!” She patted him on the back. “Thank you so much.” She followed him outside and stared in wonder at the ice rink. “It's all finished!” she exclaimed. “The ice rink is frozen and ready for skaters.”

“Haven't you seen it yet?”

“No.” She explained how she'd only used the back entrance these past few days. “And the windows have all been covered with paper.” She walked over to get a better look. “It's absolutely beautiful. I'm so glad they brought it back.”

“Yes, it will be good for the businesses down here. And the children will love it.” Now he told her about how On Ice had commissioned an ice sculpture for the grand opening on Valentine's Day. “And I heard they're going to drop three hundred red and pink balloons, and they'll have an exhibition with a pair of skaters who were in the last winter Olympics. I don't recall their names. But it will be a very festive day.”

“And we'll be having our grand reopening too,” she said happily. “It's going to be great.”

By one thirty, all five waiting room chairs were in place, and Rita was just hanging the last black-and-white photo when Marley arrived with lunch. “I got tomato and basil soup and sourdough bread,” she announced as Rita let her inside.

“Yum!” Rita took one of the bags from her.

“Ooh, it looks beautiful.” Marley opened the other bag, removing a large lime green ceramic bowl. “I found this at that estate sale you told me about.” She centered it on the glass-topped coffee table in the waiting area then placed three decorative white twine balls inside of it. “How perfect is that?”

“Absolutely perfect.” Now Rita led Marley throughout the salon, showing her all the final tweaks and enjoying Marley's reactions.

“I can't believe this is the same salon,” Marley said as Rita led her into the back room. “I'm so glad you took before photos. You should put it on Pinterest.”

“We'll eat here,” Rita set the bag on the lunch table and retrieved a couple of water bottles from the fridge.

“You even redid it back here.” Marley sat down at the table.

“It's not as decked out as the salon, but it's definitely better.” As they ate lunch, Rita filled Marley in on the upcoming plans. “I hope you can come in for the sneak peek party on Friday.”

“I wouldn't miss it.”

“I've lined up some yummy appetizers and even bought a case of champagne.”

“Ooh, big spender.”

Rita chuckled. “It's not an expensive brand. Hopefully no one's a real connoisseur.”

“And you still have the grand opening party on Valentine's Day?” Marley asked.

“Yes. The grand reopening is Sunday.” Rita sighed. “And then I fly out Monday morning.”

“I bet you're looking forward to that warm California sunshine.”

Rita nodded. “It's been pretty chilly here.”

“I hear we're supposed to get snow this weekend.” Marley shook her head. “I'm ready for spring to come.”

“You should come visit me in California.”

Marley's eyes lit up. “Yeah, I'd love to. I've never been there before.”

As they finished up, Rita pulled out a calendar and they talked dates that might work for Marley to make the trip. “As long as I can find someone reliable enough to manage the shop for a few days. Maybe my mom could do it.” Marley tossed her emptied soup container in the trash. “Speaking of the shop, I better get back.”

“Thanks for lunch.”

“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.” Marley made a slightly sheepish face. “Zinnia wants to come down here and see the salon.”

“Oh…?”

“Sounded like she was going to pay you a visit today.”

Rita grimaced. “Oh…okay.”

“I think she's worried.”

Rita laughed. “Well, that's ridiculous.”

“Anyway, just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks.” Rita wasn't overly eager for Zinnia's visit, but she did appreciate the heads-up. No doubt Zinnia wanted to check out the competition—and hadn't Rita done the same a couple weeks ago? As she cleaned up the lunch things she noticed how quiet the salon was and remembered the CDs she'd picked up for her mom's old CD player the other day. She knew her mom loved listening to an oldies radio station—both at home and at the salon—but Rita wasn't a big fan of the multitude of weird ads that were played between songs. For that reason, she'd gotten a package of golden oldies CDs. Enough for hours of “easy listening.” Maybe someday she'd talk Donna into an MP3 player, but for now it was better than radio ads.

With songs from the sixties and seventies playing, Rita got out the Valentine's decorations she'd found at the estate sale and went to work filling the front windows. She had just plugged in the strings of hot-pink heart-shaped lights, which looked absolutely perfect, when she spied Zinnia striding up to the salon like she was on a mission.

“We're not open,” Rita told her after she unlocked and opened the door.

“That's okay. I'm not here to get my hair done.” Zinnia laughed like this was funny.

“No, I didn't think so.” Rita stepped back. “Want to come in?”

“Thank you.” Zinnia walked in with an air that seemed to suggest superiority, but maybe Rita was just being judgmental again.

Remembering what Johnny had said last week, Rita was determined to be more gracious. To break the ice, she explained about how the chairs had been recycled. “Everything had to be done on a shoestring budget,” she told Zinnia. “But it was fun. And I think my mom will be pleased.”

“Well, it's quite a transformation.” Zinnia frowned. “But that's not why I'm here. I have a bone to pick with you, Rita. Several in fact.”

“Really?” Rita folded her arms across her front. “What's that?”

“I don't like that your brother's been sniffing around my salon, attempting to steal my patrons and flirting with my employees and—”

“
What?
” Rita felt immediately defensive of her baby brother.

“That's right. I saw him out there handing out flyers. And I know that he's been talking to Melinda.”

“Ricky and Melinda are both interested in each other, Zinnia. Surely, you can't tell your employees who they can or cannot date.”

“And what about stealing my customers? Not to mention my employees?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I overheard a couple of my girls talking, Rita. I know that you're trying to lure them away.”

“We're not trying to lure anyone away. We simply want this salon to thrive like it used to thrive.”

Zinnia narrowed her eyes. “I know what you're up to, Rita.”

“What am I up to?” Rita calmly asked her.

“You're trying to get back at me. To get even.”

“Get even?” Rita studied her closely, watching as Zinnia nervously picked at her cuff. “For what?”

“You
know
what.” Zinnia put her hands on her hips and stuck her chin out.

“Are you talking about how you used to treat me?” Rita tipped her head to one side, waiting. “Back when I was still in high school and you worked for my mom?”

“Johnny told me all about it.”

Rita took in a sharp breath.
Really?
Was it possible that Johnny had betrayed her confidence like that?
How dare he!

“Don't act so surprised, Rita. What did you expect him to do? Johnny and I are very close. Why wouldn't he tell me?”

Rita slowly shook her head, trying to sort out all the crazy conflicting feelings that were raging through her. “Zinnia,” she said evenly. “Why exactly are you here?” There was a long pause and Rita silently counted to ten, willing herself to remain calm.

“Look, I know I was horrible back then,” Zinnia said unexpectedly. “I can admit that much. But I was young and dumb…and besides, that was a long time ago. Can you really hold that against me all these years later? What about letting bygones be bygones?”

Rita shrugged. “Hey, I'm happy to forget about all of that.”

“Good.” Zinnia nodded with a slightly triumphant twinkle in her eyes. “And I'm sorry I was such a witch back then. But I
have
changed, Rita. I really have. You need to give me a second chance.”

“I've been trying to do that.”

“And I know you'll be gone soon…back to sunny Beverly Hills and all your celebrity clients. Lucky girl.”

“Right…” Rita felt slightly off balance, like something about this conversation wasn't quite on the up and up.

“All right then.” Zinnia looked around the salon again. “So you're really not trying to get even with me?”

“I'm not trying to steal anyone's employees or customers, Zinnia. But it's a free country. Surely you recognize that people will come and go.”

“I suppose. But that's not the only thing I thought you were trying to steal.”

“
Really?
”

“Oh, Rita, I'm not blind. I know that you've been after Johnny ever since you got back here. Even Marley suspects you've been crushing on him.”

Rita felt betrayed again—this time by Marley. She also felt confused and couldn't help but remember how mean and manipulative Zinnia used to be. Was it possible she was doing it again? Somehow Rita had to get to the bottom of this. If that was even possible.

“Johnny has been a good friend to me,” Rita said in voice much calmer than she felt. “I never could've finished this renovation without his generous help. I'm grateful to him. But that's where it ends.”

“Johnny helped you redo this place?” Zinnia looked seriously aggravated, and for some reason that was satisfying. Childishly satisfying.

“I'm surprised he didn't tell you.” Rita studied Zinnia as she spoke. “Didn't you wonder why Johnny had been so unavailable this past weekend?”

“We were both busy…” Zinnia glanced away.

Now Rita was getting even more suspicious. “Just how close are you two anyway?”

“I don't think that's any of your business.”

“Except that Johnny is my friend.”

“He's my friend, too!”

“I know. Johnny has made it clear to me that he
is
your friend, Zinnia. And Johnny is a very loyal friend. He's Marley's friend, too. And he's even my mom's friend. Come to think of it, Johnny has quite a number of friends.” It was like a lightbulb was going on inside her head. “Is it possible that you and Johnny are only
just
friends, Zinnia, but perhaps you're trying to make it into something bigger?”

Zinnia's features tightened—as if Rita had hit a nerve.

“Marley gave me the impression that you have some pretty high expectations of your relationship with Johnny,” Rita persisted. “Is that true?”