Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Grandma Joy’s Words of Wisdom:
‘Do something different every day. Keep living your life.’
‘Soup of the day, thanks.’ Miranda smiled at the waitress, who smiled back and took Trisha’s order for a beef burgundy pie. ‘You must be hungry. You’re not ... eating for two, are you?’
‘Oh, not yet I’m afraid.’ Trisha’s lips curved downwards as she glanced at the napkin entwined in her fingers. ‘But,’ she said. ‘They say it can sometimes take a while at first, so we’ll keep trying. Anyway, tell me how the interviews went.’
For the past month, Miranda had been busy finishing off the final requirements and practical placement of her course, and was now the proud owner of a Diploma of Beauty Therapy, which she’d put in a sparkly silver frame and hung on her living room wall. She didn’t waste any time securing interviews, having attended five in the past week, two of which were this morning. The problem was, all the other new graduates were attending interviews as well, making for tough competition.
‘So far so good, except for the first one where I knocked over a bowl of hot wax and it landed on the salon owners head.’
‘You’re kidding?’ Trisha’s hands rose to her face, mouth hanging open.
‘Yeah, actually I am!’ Miranda laughed, and Trisha kicked her lightly under the table. ‘But seriously, I think they went well, although I was a bit nervous for the first few.’
‘Naturally. So, where are you off to after lunch?’ asked Trisha.
‘The gym.’
‘The gym?’
‘Yeah, their ‘City Beauty’ salon has an opening for a casual beauty therapist, mostly on Saturdays. I’d rather a permanent position with more hours, but I’ve gotta take what I can get first.’ She sipped on her water. ‘If I get the job, I’ll still have to work at the hotel, so I hope they can tailor my roster to fit.’
‘That shouldn’t be a problem. You’ve been a reliable employee. Anyway, who knows? You might get one of the full-time jobs, then you’ll be able to say goodbye to Harbourside Towers, and David Oaks, forever!’
‘Maybe. I don’t want to get my hopes up. I still enjoy working there, but now I’m qualified, I’m itching to whack on my uniform and – ’
‘Pour hot wax over people’s heads?’
‘Something like that!’ They laughed, leaning back from the table as meals were placed in front of them .
Miranda glanced to the right where a toddler in a high chair sat at a table with his grandparents – well, she presumed they were grandparents as they looked a tad old to be new parents. The little boy laughed as his grandfather played peek-a-boo behind the menu, and Miranda noticed they shared the same smile and the same angular forehead. She’d spent a lot of time looking at foreheads during facials and eyebrow waxes, so she was quite the expert. Something twinged inside her, as she wondered what her future baby would look like and if he or she would inherit any of her father’s features. She missed his wide smile. It would be so amazing to see it on the face of her own child. He’d also had these interesting dark eyes that sloped downwards slightly at the outer corners, making him appear sympathetic and calm, like he was always considering another’s feelings.
How I’d love to look into those eyes again...
‘You okay?’ Trisha asked.
Miranda looked back at her friend. ‘Yes, fine. I’m great.’ She smiled. ‘So, does Shane cook gourmet meals like that every night?’ She pointed to Trisha’s beef burgundy pie.
‘Not every night, often we just have leftovers from the restaurant. Apart from that, we eat fairly simple food, and I even help him cook.’
‘You’re lucky to have such a great man, Trisha. And one that can cook.’ Miranda whipped out her notepad and wrote ‘must be a good cook’ as item number sixty-four on her list.
‘Aw, you’ll find someone that’s right for you, hun, and probably when you least expect it. You’ll be completely engrossed in something else, and bam! He’ll appear out of nowhere.’
‘I just hope when he appears he’s not wearing a hot-pink shirt.’ Miranda rolled her eyes .
‘Huh? You didn’t go out with another one of those internet dates, did you?’
‘Yep. Last night. I don’t know why, but I keep attracting guys with interesting fashion choices. The first one wore a cloak, and this one a silk shirt the most shockingly bright shade of pink.’
‘Well, pink is a nice colour.’ She winked.
‘I almost needed sunglasses to protect my eyes. He was a bit weird; said he usually wears pink because it’s the colour that connects him spiritually to the universe and raises his vibration. He’s a tarot card reader, actually, which at least made the date quite interesting.’
‘Tell me he gave you a reading?’ Trisha leaned forward.
‘He gave me a reading.’
‘And?’
‘He said I’ll be having lunch with a very nosy friend tomorrow.’ Miranda crossed her arms and grinned. ‘No, he actually said some interesting things.’ She slurped her pumpkin soup and licked her lips. ‘Apparently, I’m going through a period of ‘transition’. And in order for this transition to be positive, I need to get in touch with my inner spirit.’
‘Ommm...’ Trisha closed her eyes, connecting her middle fingers and thumbs together. ‘Ommm...’ she chanted, until Miranda kicked her under the table.
‘Stop it, you!’ Miranda giggled. ‘He actually made a lot of sense, I’ll admit. I’m going to try meditation.’
‘You? Meditation?’ Trisha tried to hold back a grin.
‘Why not? It will help me get in touch with my...’ she curled two fingers over to symbolise quotes, ‘...inner spirit.’ Miranda kicked Trisha gently a second time before she could chant again. ‘The tarot cards also indicated I’d be taking a holiday this year, which is weird, I don’t see how that would be possible. Anyway, I’ll just let my inner spirit guide me on my transitional journey.’ She crossed her hands over her heart. ‘And I’m seeing him again in three months.’
‘You are?’ Trisha choked back a cough.
‘For a follow-up reading.’
‘Oh, right.’ Relief softened Trisha’s face, and she lifted a piece of pie onto her fork. ‘So how are things living on your own, new place going well?’
‘Well, you know I miss having you around, but I quite like it. I feel all grown up and mature!’ She chuckled. ‘I’m making room for someone special too. I sleep on one side of the bed, and I’ve made some space in the wardrobe.’
‘How’s that working out for you?’
‘Yeah ... not so great. If my dream man moved in, he’d only have room to hang two shirts and a pair of pants! But at least I’m making an effort.’
They clinked their glasses of water together.
‘Oh, you know what happened last week?’ Miranda asked.
‘What?’
‘I locked myself out of the unit.’
‘Oh no, another Miranda Moment! How did that happen?’
‘I went into the garage through the internal door to put the green shopping bags back in the car, and for some reason I closed the door behind me. It’s one of those doors that just locks when you shut it. To cut a long story short, there I was, stuck in the garage. I had no shoes on, and no phone with me. Luckily, I could open the garage door manually, and I knocked on the neighbours’ doors until someone let me in to use their phone! ’
‘Oh, Miranda!’ Trisha shook her head.
‘Mum’s the only other person with a key, so I waited on the front porch for half an hour. As soon as she got there and let me in, she grabbed the spare key from my key ring and sticky-taped it to the wall in the garage!’
‘Always practical, your mum.’
Miranda nodded. ‘Then, her motherly instincts took over. She inspected my almost-bare cupboards, and insisted on going grocery shopping with me. Talk about embarrassing!’ Sue Sheppard had the habit of giving other customers a running commentary on the progress of her shopping list. She’d say: ‘Where on earth are the AA batteries?’ and ‘Why do they put things up so high?’ while climbing the shelves to reach her favourite brand of toothpaste. ‘She makes such an event of the shopping,’ Miranda explained. ‘She might as well have turned it into a Sunday barbeque. I could just imagine her setting up deck chairs in aisle six, sipping a cup of coffee, and handing out hors d’oeuvres .’ The worst thing was, she had no qualms about publicly discussing which brand of toilet paper Miranda should buy. ‘This one is so soft Miranda, you’ll love it! No, don’t get that scratchy one. Yes, I know it’s half price, but trust me, you’ll use less of the three-ply one and end up saving more money. Anyway, the subtle ridges on this one makes it much more absorbent.’ Sue kept comparing the pros and cons of each brand, not noticing that Miranda had already scooted half way down the aisle to avoid being seen with her.
‘At least you have a caring mother,’ Trisha said, her eyes streaming after recovering from a fit of laughter. ‘So, what are you doing tonight?’
‘Probably collapsing in a heap on the lounge. This past week has been exhausting.’ As if to prove her point she leaned back in her chair.
‘Shane’s working tonight, so why don’t I come over and we can both collapse on the lounge. We can watch a good ol’ chick flick.’
‘That sounds like just what I need. Oh Trisha, if you were a man, I would marry you right away!’
‘What about Mr Pink? I bet he likes a good ol’ chick flick.’
The friends laughed and chatted as they continued their lunch, Miranda getting up soon after to head to her next interview. ‘Wish me luck!’
‘Just remember to channel your ‘inner spirit’ and you’ll be fine.’ Trisha winked, and Miranda and her inner spirit walked away smiling.