Chapter 31
Harlow
“There’s my girl.” Shay comes in for a hug before squeezing my cheeks in her hands. “Today going any better?”
“Yes. I gave Rob another piece of my mind. How was I ever attracted to a man who could act like that?” I ask as we stroll down the sidewalk arm in arm.
“From the stories I recall, there was a lot of tequila involved. Don’t worry, my dear. We’re drinking vodka today. Your virtue is safe with me.”
My eyes bounce from one shop sign to another, curious where we’re going. I’ve lived here forever, but the salon I use is on the other side of Candy Cane Key. “Where is this spa you mentioned?”
“Okay, so it’s not like a fancy schmancy spa. More like a fun place to get your hair and nails done, a facial, or a wax treatment with a Steel Magnolia’s vibe. Like, a no pretense spa day. With drinks.” She snorts.
“That’s right up my alley! How’ve I not heard of this place before?”
Shay shrugs. “Not sure. They’ve been here a few years now. But I only learned about it from a friend recently. If you’ve been going to your place a long time, maybe there wasn’t a reason to look for new places in town.”
As Shay’s steps slow, I look up. “To Dye For. That’s cute.”
“What do we want? Manicures? Pedicures? Does your kitty need waxing?”
“Uh, no. Thank you. I think I’ll stick to my nails.”
“Suit yourself. I might get a trim and a blowout. I haven’t gotten my hair done in so long. And all of the reviews of this place say it’s top notch.”
As the bell chimes overhead, I notice a pretty blonde woman standing behind an older lady. They’re admiring her hair in the mirror.
“You like, Ms. M?”
“Always, Charlene. Thank you.”
Leaning in to Shay, I whisper, “Isn’t that Margaret Montgomery?”
“Yeah. Wow. If she comes here, this place has to be good. She could afford to go anywhere she wanted.”
“I can’t believe Margaret Montgomery comes here instead of the ritzy spa I go to across town.”
“Just ’cause it costs more, doesn’t mean it’s better,” Shay says as the older woman walks in our direction.
“See you next week, Ms. M.”
“Wouldn’t miss it, Char.”
Suddenly, the blonde’s eyes connect with mine, and a lump wedges in my throat. How do I know this girl? I’d remember if I’d met someone as pretty and outgoing as she is. Her stare is making me unsettled, so I drop my gaze to the floor. But not before catching the bright red nails.
Wait?
Glancing back up at her, I note a slight upturn at the corner of her mouth.
“Hi. I’m Charlene. This is my salon.” She pauses. “And you’re Harry’s girl.”
“What?”
“You’re the nurse, right?”
My mind flips through images as if searching for a specific phone number in a rolodex. Where had she seen me in my uniform? Suddenly, the visions come to a halt as I picture her pretty face as she sat next to Harrison in the emergency room. “Are you? I… I think I’ve seen the two of you together.” My tone is almost accusatory. As much as I’m trying to put a filter in place, my green-eyed monster is showing. That and the rejection I feel is still too raw. “Were you a redhead?”
Shay’s mouth drops open. Reaching for my arm, she glances back at blondie. She’s probably playing the same mental match game I had.
Tilting her head, Charlene lets a giggle dance from her pretty red lips. “Yes, until a few weeks ago.” She flicks her gorgeous blonde locks over her shoulder. “You have to keep them guessing.” She winks.
I don’t understand. Do they have some weird open relationship? Does she know about the new redhead in Harrison’s life? Most likely in his bed. Jealousy crawls over my skin like a venomous spider, and without thinking, I spin on my heel and head for the door. This is too much. First the girl in Harrison’s driveway, the text, Alec stealing his Magic 8 ball, and now this flamboyant, mysterious girl.
It’s too much.
“Harlow. Don’t go,” Shay begs.
I cover my face in my hands, trying to hold it all together. I’m a proud, tough girl. But everyone has their breaking point. “Shay, I just don’t think I can handle this.”
“Wait, wait.” Charlene runs over to my side. “Please, don’t go. What’s wrong? Have I done something?”
“I don’t think so. She’s had a really tough week. That’s why we came here. I’d heard great things and thought it would cheer her up.” Shay looks at me with such empathy. “And she’s not Harry’s girl anymore,” she blurts out.
“Shay!” I snap and slowly turn back to face Charlene. Why am I so embarrassed by this conversation? Might as well just put it all out there so we can move on from this mortifying start to a spa day. “I don’t think I was ever his girl.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong.” Charlene reaches for my hand. “Please? Come back in and sit down. I’m going to make some drinks, and then we’re going to clear the air.”
She leads Shay and I to a couple of comfortable cushioned chairs in the back of the salon. Looking about, the place has a quirky vibe. Kind of like Charlene. Of course Harrison would like her. I pull at the collar of my T-shirt, envy making me hot and stuffy in this otherwise cool and comfy retreat.
“You all right, Harlow? We don’t have to stay if you’re that uncomfortable. I honestly had no idea she worked here.”
Why would she? I think Shay saw her for the same brief time I had in the emergency room that day.
“What’s your pleasure? I have Mimosas, Bellini’s, and Bloody Mary’s,” Charlene announces as she places a pretty vintage silver serving tray down on the round tufted ottoman. There’s two of each cocktail. Does she think we’ll need all of this?
Shay reaches for a Bellini and nods to the Bloody Mary beside it. “It’s got your name on it, Harlow,” she sings.
Picking up the spicy cocktail, I decide it could only help at this point. I take a small sip and can’t contain my sigh. Wow, Charlene knows how to make a mean Bloody Mary.
“Good?”
“Yes. Very,” I admit.
She pulls a chair over, sits down, pulls her legs up to her chest, and drops her chin to her knees. And just watches me. Taking another sip, my eyes flick over to Shay, wondering what the heck is happening. “Sorry. I just needed to wrap my head around this. It’s fate, I tell you.”
“What is?”
“You’re my new best friend.”
I splutter tomato juice, Shay swiftly patting my back to clear my airway. Is this girl nuts? What Twilight Zone have we entered?
Charlene hands me a clean hand towel from a stack near one of the hair washing stations. “Sorry. You’ll learn to get me.” She snorts. “Harrison has become my best friend over the last few years. Which means, now you’ll be mine by association.”
Shay leans in and whispers sarcastically, “I think you missed the part where they’re not together anymore.”
“No, I know. But I’m hoping you’ll give him another chance. He’s not great at relationships. Has avoided them like the plague. But then you came along.” She shakes her head, the blonde tresses bouncing in front of her unable to mask the pretty grin on her face. “Harrison hasn’t had it easy. I think he tries to keep his cards close to the vest, but there was no hiding how he felt about you. And not just you, but your boys.”
Putting my drink down before I do something else ridiculous, I wipe my hands on the gray towel. “He told you about my boys?”
“Did he?” Charlene claps her hands together. “He said they reminded him of when he and Matthew were young. Honestly, I’d hoped he would take a chance with you. God, he wanted to. But he’s got such a damn big chip on his shoulder.”
I stare at her blankly. “I don’t understand.”
“Harrison and Matthew were adopted. He was born not far from here, while his brother Matthew was adopted from Russia. Not long after his little brother was home, their dad decided he wasn’t interested in being a father. So, he left. And never came back.”
My head falls forward. I knew after the short conversation I’d had with him about the Magic 8 ball, something to this affect had happened. He just never went into further detail.
“I think both boys struggled with questions about their past once they reached their teen years. Why had their birth parents not wanted them? Why would their dad go through all of the hoops necessary to adopt them, just to leave?”
My eyes are glued to this woman, hanging on her every word.
“I think Matthew was able to make peace with it all. But Harry stayed focused on how abandoned he felt. His only real relationship with a woman ended when she stormed out of his life because he wouldn’t put his mother in a facility.”
My shoulders tighten at the realization people like this exist. While I’m angry I wasn’t enough for him, no one deserves that.
“Heck, even his brother high tailed it out of state the minute he turned eighteen. He thinks everyone he cares about will leave him. I think it’s part of why he was so focused on his mother. Not only was he grateful that she gave him a sense of identity, but he could also use her illness as a crutch to avoid getting into another failed relationship.”
I nervously grab my drink. My heart hurts for him. But it doesn’t change how betrayed I feel. How disappointed I am he couldn’t have tried harder.
“And now that she’s gone, he’s spiraling.”
“What?” I gasp, my hand flying to my heart as if I was trying to prevent it from cracking in two. “Gone?” the four letter word is almost unrecognizable, suffocated by a sob. My eyes immediately fill with tears, thinking of Harrison. How devoted he was to her. I’d only met Carolyn a few times, but each instance with that sweet woman was as permanently etched into my memory as the tattoo on my arm.
Harry loves you.
“Oh, Harlow. I’m sorry. I thought you knew?” Charlene’s tone is soft, sincere.
I shake my head, batting away the tears before I remember the hand towel. “We hadn’t spoken for so long. Then I was in Germany with the Guard for two weeks. Once I got back, I’ve been focused on my boys. I had no idea.”
“He’s so lost. He was away when she died. I’m not certain he’s forgiven himself for not being there.”
Oh, that poor man. He tried so hard to give her the moon and the stars. The memory of the night she knocked on his door flashes in my mind’s eye. How sweet he was with her.
Shay grabs hold of my hand, giving me a reassuring squeeze.
My gaze lands on a vibrant bottle of red nail polish and I blink back the remaining moisture in my eyes. “I’m really sorry to hear that.” I sniffle. “She definitely left her mark on my heart. I’m glad I got to know her, even if only for a short while.” I pause, trying to regain my composure and lift my chin at the memory of him in his driveway. “But lost or not, he’s moved on. And I deserve better than the way he treated me.”
“You’re right—” Charlene pauses. “Hold up. What do you mean? He’s moved on?”
My eyes fix on Shay who gives me a nod of encouragement. “Shay had pushed me to man up and go talk to him. Thinking it would give me closure. Our relationship had dissolved into text messages, before eventually going radio silent. So, last week, I went by his house early one morning to speak with him in person, hoping I’d catch him before he headed out for the day. No more hiding behind a phone.”
I pause, biting the inside of my cheek to try and stay strong in front of Charlene. She doesn’t need to see me breakdown over Harrison’s rejection after I finally recovered from hearing about his mother. “But it was too late.”
Charlene tilts her head flashing me a perplexed expression.
My face falls as I force myself to repeat it out loud. “He was kissing a pretty redhead goodbye.” The image of him in the low slung shorts reappears. “It was clear she’d spent the night there.”
When the silence lingers longer than feels comfortable, I peer up to Charlene’s blank expression.
“What day was this?”
“Um, Saturday, I think. Yeah. Saturday.”
She taps her lower lip contemplatively before an unexpected grin pulls at the corners of her mouth. “Harlow, that was my OG BF, Ellie. She’s Harrison’s sister-in-law. Matt had to fly back to Sycamore Mountain. He’s a firefighter there. But Ellie stayed behind to help Joyce and me pack up Carolyn’s things. I remember she called to ask for a last minute lift to the airport, but I had a client I’d already moved twice. She said Harry needed to jump onto an unexpected zoom call to tie up a few things at work and so she offered to catch a ride from Barnacle Bob.”
I slump back in my chair, relief spreading over me like mist in a rainforest.
“Har.” Shay squeezes my hand.
My head is spinning. This is too much information for one day. Pulling my hand back from my sweet friend, I drop my face into my open palms and fight the need for a good cry. I’m clearly overwhelmed. “Charlene, I really appreciate you sharing this with me. It’s a lot to digest.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“But that’s half of the problem. I adore Harrison. But I’ve had nothing but one failed relationship after another with the men in my life. They all treated me as if I wasn’t worthy of them. My father didn’t stay either, but the others… well, I can’t get rid of them.”
Shay snickers.
“I’m all my boys have. And I refuse to have a relationship with anyone where I’m not treated as an equal. My heart hurts for him, but I really do deserve better.”
Charlene scoots her chair closer, looking directly into my eyes. “You’re right. You absolutely do. And you’re well within your rights to walk away. Let some other woman deal with helping him learn how to be a good partner.”
Her words are like driving a stake through my heart. I don’t want to let some other woman anywhere near him. I’m simply hurt. And afraid.
“Think about it. If you decide you’re willing to give him a chance, I know he’ll take it. He’s nuts about you. And they don’t come more loyal than Harrison.” She stands from her seat, her arms outstretched. Walking into her embrace, I accept her hug, shocked at how this morning has gone. “See, besties already.” She laughs.
“Now, you two give me a call in a few days so we can reschedule this spa day. I only want happy tears around here.”
Shay and I return to Charlene’s salon the following week. She greets us with drinks in hand, declaring its spa day 2.0. This girl. She’s so incredibly likeable. You can’t help but smile in her presence.
As I lay with my face covered in a mask, cucumbers over my eyes, I reflect on the last few days. My heart hurts for Harrison. Sure, he’s a grown man and needs to learn how to communicate better. But if anyone deserves a pass, it’s someone juggling work and an ill parent. Knowing his issues of abandonment, only make his plight that much more endearing.
It will take commitment on my part to really slow things down. Heck, we might even need counseling. Although, something tells me that Charlene could moonlight as a couples’ counselor.
“What color are we thinking for these nails?” she asks.
Reaching up, I remove the cucumber slices to find her shaking several different colors of nail polish in each hand. Yet it’s not the ones she’s displaying that have my attention. “Fire engine red,” I answer as I peer at her distinctive nails.
She smiles brightly at me. “You got it!”
“Did you paint Carolyn’s nails that color?”
“I sure did.” Her smile is so bright. I’m glad Harrison and his mother had this fireball in their life.
“I did too,” I mumble, remembering that fateful day.
“Yeah? I’m hoping she’s showing them off to everyone up there,” Charlene says, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before uncapping the vibrant polish.
“Charlene?” I whisper.
She leans in. “Yes?”
“I’m scared.”
Placing the little bottle off to the side, she stands and pulls me in for a hug. As she lets me go, I find my green apple mask all over her hair and face.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be silly. Gives me an excuse to pamper myself along with you a little.” Our laughter is interrupted as Shay saws out the loudest snore I’ve ever heard. We both giggle.
“Well, she did have to work late last night.”
“Catch a cat nap where you can, I say.” Wiping the face mask off her cheek with a towel, she sits back down in her chair. But before she begins painting my nails, she looks up at me in earnest. “Harlow, I’ve been through a lot with men too. Not the same as you. But it’s taken me a long time to put myself out there again.” She pauses. “It’s not easy trusting someone after you’ve been hurt. I’m scared too.” She pauses as she fiddles with the towel in her lap. This incredibly vivacious woman hides her pain where no one else sees. “I want the fairy tale.”
“You’ll get it, Charlene. I have no doubt.”
Looking back up at me, she gives me a hopeful expression. “You will too. I can be your fairy godmother. If you’ll let me.”
I laugh. “What do you mean?”
“Give him another chance, Harlow. I know you’re scared. So is he. But isn’t that how the best fairy tales are supposed to be? Overcoming all odds to be together?”
Sitting back in my chair, I consider her question. That and the fact I’ve been dying to go to him all week.
Charlene finishes polishing my fingers and my toes before she stands. “Let these dry for a few minutes. Kick back and relax. Maybe not as much as her.” She snickers, pointing an elbow at Shay. “I’m going to put on some music. Do you need anything?”
“No, thank you.”
“Okay. I’ll check on you in a bit.”
Laying my head back, I close my eyes and try to enjoy the remainder of my afternoon. All of a sudden, the melody of a song I haven’t heard in years starts to play. I can’t recall the singer’s name, but she croons about not taking life for granted. That when you’re given the opportunity to sit it out or dance, you should dance. I hang on every word of the chorus, more certain by the end of the song that I’m giving this thing with Harrison another go. Scary or not.
A few moments later, Charlene escorts me to a sink in the back to wash the mask away.
“Charlene?”
“Yeah?”
“I want the fairy tale too.”