Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ALLIE
During my lunch hour, I make a quick trip to Rosemary’s to pick up some cookies for practice this afternoon.
I would have made them myself, but I don’t have any baking sheets yet.
Apparently, I’ve been too busy adding to my lamp collection.
I now have ten, which is ridiculous, I know. The thing is, I love them all.
When I was in high school, my basketball coach brought in treats every Friday and served them halfway through practice.
It was a chance for the team to take a break and bond.
Sometimes we talked about basketball, but a lot of the time we just chatted about life stuff.
I want my team to have the same opportunity.
Especially in light of people finding out about Margie’s pregnancy.
Downtown is busy, so I park about a block away from my destination. While hoofing down Main Street, I notice a sandwich board sign on the sidewalk that stops me dead in my tracks. It’s an advertisement for the photography studio and it stars … wait for it … my parents.
Even though the image is only from the shoulders up, I can clearly see my mom is wearing a rather seductive negligee.
My father is bare chested. I stare in horror that my parents have not only had boudoir shots taken, but they’ve allowed the photographer to use them to advertise. At least, I assume they got permission.
Picking up the sign, I storm through the doors of Happy Snaps. The pretty blonde woman behind the counter looks at her sign and greets, “Hello! Are you looking to have some sexy pictures taken?”
God forbid. But I don’t say that out loud. Instead, I tell her, “I don’t think this couple knows you’re using their picture like this. I don’t think they would approve.”
“Margaret and Bob are regulars,” she says with a wink. “They signed a release form.”
Margaret and Bob? She knows them by their first names? What in the world is going on here?
“They’ve been coming in ever since I opened,” she tells me.
“How long has that been?” I ask. I know the shop has been around at least for the year that I’ve been home, but I don’t remember it from before then.
“Three years,” she tells me proudly.
“My parents have had pictures like this taken for three years?” Shock does not begin to cover the horror I’m currently experiencing. These are not the parents I thought I knew. Not by a long shot.
“Your parents?” she asks excitedly. “You must be Allie!” Terrific, they’re telling strangers about me. Before I can confirm her suspicions, she says, “I’m so sorry to hear about Brett. What a loser.”
“My mom and dad told you about Brett?” Who are these people and what have they done with my real parents?
She leans across the counter. “Your mom showed me the photos on Facebook.” With a scoff, she adds, “Imagine, four babies at once!”
I suddenly feel like I’m floating somewhere around the ceiling watching this horrible scene from a movie camera’s perspective. “Yes,” I manage to utter. “It must be a real challenge.”
“I’m Finley, by the way. Finley Harper.” She sounds so nonchalant, like she doesn’t think it’s odd to be having such a personal conversation with a total stranger. Like it’s normal for her to know all about me with me being none the wiser.
“Allie,” I tell her. “But you already know that …”
“I recognize you from Rosemary’s,” she says. “I just never knew you were Bob and Margaret’s daughter.”
I can’t help but wonder why my parents would tell a total stranger my most personal secrets but never bother to mention something as benign as where I worked. That’s when it hits me. They didn’t want Finley to give away their secret.
“I don’t work there anymore,” I tell her. “I’m teaching at the high school now.”
“I suppose that means you must be healing. Good for you!”
“Why would it mean that?” My parents have no discretion whatsoever.
“Your mom said that Rosemary’s was only temporary until you got over your broken heart. Although, she seemed to think once that happened you’d be leaving Elk Lake.”
“Finley …” I’m not quite sure how to continue. She stares at me with large expectant green eyes. “This is kind of strange. I mean, you seem to know a lot about me, but I don’t know anything about you.”
“I’m Finley Harper.” Then like a contestant introducing herself on The Price is Right, she says, “I grew up in Central Illinois, I went to the University of Illinois—Go Illini!” She raises both hands in the air like she’s wielding invisible pompoms. “I fell in love with photography but got sick of taking pictures of corn fields, so I started taking pictures of people and here I am!”
“How did you wind up in Elk Lake?”
“My family used to vacation here in the summer, and I loved it. I thought if I ever left Illinois, I’d want to live here.” She gestures around her before declaring, “And here I am!”
I like this woman in spite of the fact that she’s been taking borderline dirty pictures of my parents. She’s bubbly and sweet. Although I’m having a hard time getting past how much she knows about me. “Well, good for you,” I tell her. “Elk Lake is a nice town.”
“Do you think you’ll be staying?” she asks expectantly.
“For now,” I tell her. “This teaching thing kind of fell into my lap and I’m really enjoying it.” I add, “I’m coaching the girls’ basketball team, too.”
“I played basketball in high school!” she says excitedly. “Freshman year of college, too, but then I tore my rotator cuff. That’s when I found photography.”
“And you say my parents have been coming here for two years?” I really can’t wrap my head around this information.
“Three years,” she corrects me. “They’ve amassed quite a portfolio. They have some very beautiful shots, if I do say so myself.”
“Are they all … you know …” I gesture to the sandwich board of them.
Her head bobs up and down. “This one is pretty tame compared to some.”
“Are the others … pornographic?” I whisper the last word like it’s poison.
“What? No!” she assures me. “I don’t take indecent photos, just sensual ones. You know, ones that show people’s love for each other.”
“This isn’t something I’d ever have thought my parents would do,” I tell her. “In fact, I could see my mother being kind of judgy about people ...” Words escape me so I wave my hand in the direction of the sandwich board.
“Your mom does seem very refined,” she says. “But there’s another side to her.”
“Clearly.”
“You should come in and have some pictures taken of your own,” she says. “You’re very beautiful and I know I could get some lovely shots of you.”
“As flattering as that is,” I tell her, “I can’t imagine doing boudoir shots on my own. How would that even work?”
“Those aren’t the only pictures I take,” she says. “Remember those stores they used to have in the malls that took beautiful pictures of people?”
“Glamour Shots?” I ask.
Touching her finger to the tip of her nose, she says, “Yes! Well, I take pictures like that, but you know, more tasteful. I also do a lot of wedding and graduation photos. I’ve even done some prom portraits, although most people don’t spend money on those.”
“Huh. I knew you were here,” I tell her, “I just didn’t realize you had such a booming business.”
“It’s getting a lot bigger now that your mom and dad are sending their friends my way.”
“Their friends?” I can’t imagine any of my parents’ friends wanting pictures like this, but then again I find my mom and dad’s involvement more than a little scandalous.
“We should have coffee sometime!” Finley declares. “How about now?”
“I have to be back at school in twenty minutes,” I tell her. “But I could get together on the weekend.” I haven’t had a real friend in town since Lorelai left, and I find that I’m not opposed to the idea.
“How about tomorrow at one?” she asks. “I could meet you at Rosemary’s.”
“That sounds nice. I live in the apartment right upstairs from there.”
She claps her hands like she’s about to give me a standing ovation. “I live in the apartment above the yarn store. We’re neighbors!”
“I’m happy to meet you, neighbor,” I tell her. Then turning toward the door, I add, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hurry over to Rosemary’s to get my cookies. Faith isn’t there but her husband, Teddy, is. I still can’t get over having a real movie star living in town. I mean, Teddy Helms is a big deal and people the world over know who he is.
“Allie!” he greets enthusiastically. “We miss you. How are you doing?”
“I’m good, Teddy. How are you?”
“No complaints. I leave in a month for another film so I’m hanging out with my family as much as I can.”
“Are Faith and the girls going with you this time?” From what I understand, they usually go together.
“They’ll be here most of the time. The girls just started preschool, and Faith wants them to have a routine. I’ll come home every weekend that I’m able.” He takes a breath, and asks, “Now, what can I get for you?”
“In addition to teaching, I’m also coaching basketball,” I explain. “I’d like to pick up an assortment of three dozen cookies for my team.” I figure I’ll go ahead and get them for the boys, too. After all, we do practice with them.
“Cool,” he says. He packages the cookies and hands me the bag. “They’re on the house today.”
“No way,” I tell him. “I’m paying.”
He shakes his head. “We are very community minded here at Rosemary’s, and we like to support the kids. Plus, Faith would kill me if I charged you.”
“Teddy,” I tell him, “I want to come back and get cookies all the time, but I won’t feel comfortable doing that if you don’t charge me.”
He thinks about this for a minute before deciding, “Fine. You can pay, but only half price and that doesn’t start until your next visit.”
Taking the bag from him, I say, “Thank you. I appreciate it and I know the kids will, too. Tell Faith hi for me.”
“Will do!” Before I can leave, he tells me, “You got another delivery today. I left it inside the door to your apartment.”
After thanking him, I walk back outside, wondering which of my new purchases arrived today. I’m looking forward to finding out when I get home. Although, I’m kind of hoping it isn’t more lamps. I’ve gone a little crazy without realizing it.
For now, though, I need to get back to school so I’m not late for my sophomore English class. So far, today is a good day. I seem to have made a new and unexpected friend. My old boss gave me a great deal on cookies, and now I get to go back to school where I will see Noah again.
I suppose he’s also become my friend. While my feelings for him are mixed, as in, there’s part of me that yearns for more than a platonic relationship, I’m still glad to have him back in my life.
Hopefully, in time, I can make him forget what a pathetic fangirl I used to be. The list of ways I embarrassed myself is truly legendary.
Out of nowhere, a startling image pops into my head. It’s of me and Noah posing for a picture like the ones my parents like to have taken. My mouth goes dry at the thought, and I have to force it to go away.
Noah and I are only friends and that’s all there is to it. I repeat this a few times trying to convince myself, but the truth is I wish it was something more.