Читать книгу Poetry Man - Melanie Schuster - Страница 12

Chapter 2

Despite Sherri’s insistence that a list would make things easier in the dating department, it only made things worse. Alexis dutifully wrote down all the characteristics she was looking for in a man. However comprehensive the list was, it wasn’t magic; even months later, the list didn’t cause Mr. Right to show up at her door. She was sticking to her resolution not to look anymore, but she hadn’t noticed a sudden influx of new men in her life. She told Emily so while they spoke via Skype that night. Emily was breast-feeding one of her sons and Alexis felt a pang in her own breasts as she watched. She was so fascinated that Emily had to call her name a couple times to reengage her in conversation.

“You aren’t listening to me, are you?”

“Not really,” Alexis admitted. “Where is Daniel?”

“I’m impressed. Most people can’t tell Randall from Daniel. Daniel has already dined and his loving daddy is changing him and putting him to bed. So tell me what happened with the dating thing? We talked about this back in June and here it is, almost Halloween and you’ve done basically nothing to improve your dating situation.”

“I told you I’m not on the hunt anymore. He’s going to find me and so far he’s taking his own sweet time.”

Emily was about to say something when Todd came into view to scoop up Randall. He was bare chested and wearing scrub pants and the look of love he gave Emily made Alexis’s heart turn over. After he greeted Alexis with a quick hello, he bent to kiss his wife and cradled their son on his shoulder, patting his little back to insure a good burp. Emily stared after him with the same besotted look in her eyes and Alexis suggested that they talk later, but Emily wanted more dating details.

“Emmie, there are no more details. I just haven’t had any social intercourse to speak of, really.”

“Wow. You made this decision way before the babies were born and now it’s the end of October. But I really do think it’s better to take your time than to mouse around with a slew of losers. Don’t worry. Your man is on his way, trust me.”

“He’d better get here soon because frankly I’m losing interest in the whole idea. I’m looking for a couple new spa locations, one in Hilton Head and one in Georgia. I’ve decided to be a tycoon. I don’t have to look for anyone or wait for anyone to do what I do best.”

Emily sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her hair. “Don’t give up on love, Alexis. There’s someone out there for you, I know there is.”

Todd returned to the bedroom and soft music started playing. He had a tray with two flutes of what looked like champagne and a plate with fruit and cheese. This time Alexis insisted that she had to leave and Todd gave her a grateful smile.

“I’m not giving up, Emmie. I’m just not looking anymore. If my Mr. Right is out there, he’ll find me. Now it looks like your Mr. Right has some plans that don’t include a third wheel so you go ahead with your evening and we’ll visit again soon. Good night, you two.” Before Emily could protest, Alexis got offline at once.

She stared at the computer screen and traced the outline of her lips several times, something she did when she was deep in thought. Without actually realizing what she was doing, she took out her navy journal and turned to the pages with her secret list. “Maybe I need to rethink this,” she murmured as she picked up her pen.

* * *

Now that her list was complete, it occupied a permanent corner of her mind. Given the time of year, it seemed like an early letter to Santa Claus. She was headed to work in her cute little MINI Cooper Countryman. She loved the little car with its custom paint job; the roof was creamy ivory and the base was chocolate brown and it suited her perfectly. While she was fastening her seat belt, the list was still foremost in her mind and she started giggling at the Santa Claus idea. “Dear Santa, I’ve been a very good girl. Could you please bring me a burning-hot hunk of tall, dark-chocolate-colored love to have my way with on Christmas morning? I’ll be a very bad girl then, I promise.”

Alexis was still laughing out loud as she pulled into the parking lot of Sanctuary One, the first spa she’d opened five years before. When she crossed the employee entrance in the back of the spacious building, she was engulfed by the familiar scent of her home away from home. It was a combination of organic hair products, scented candles and the incense from the yoga studio. She inhaled deeply and smiled as she went to her small office to leave her purse and jacket. After she looked at her daily planner, she slipped on a fresh smock while she took off her taupe platform heels and put on her black wedges. They were just as high as her heels, but she’d learned the hard way not to wear light-colored shoes to work. One drop of tint was all it took to ruin an expensive pair of pumps. That was also why she protected her expensive clothes with a cover-up; one drip of peroxide or even permanent wave solution would wreck an outfit. This she knew from sad experience.

Alexis worked very few customers these days. Her emphasis was on managing the spas, not servicing customers. Hiring, training, managing the budget, advertising and other such areas were her bailiwick now. Besides hairstylists, she had aestheticians, yoga and Pilates instructors, nail technicians and manicurists to manage, in two locations, no less. But there were a few clients she continued to work on mainly because they were close friends and they simply wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch their heads. She also liked to keep her hand in the various offerings so that her skills would remain sharp. Emily’s mother was one of those ladies she couldn’t abandon and, since she was in town, of course she was getting the full treatment today.

The salon was laid out in such a way that each patron had the luxury of some privacy due to the half walls that separated the stations, yet it wasn’t so closed off that they couldn’t chat with one another. There was something about being in a hair salon that encouraged even the most reserved women to relax. There was always pleasant conversation to go along with the soothing jazz that played all day, except for the early afternoon when the soaps were played on the wall-mounted flat-screen televisions. Alexis was making her customary preopening walk-through to make sure that everything was in proper order. It was always pristine and perfect, a tribute to her management and to the loyalty of her staff. All Alexis had to do was start the coffee and the water for tea, and she really didn’t have to do that because her lead stylist, Javier, was already taking care of that.

He greeted her with a raised eyebrow and a grin. “One of these days you’ll let someone else do things around here and we’re all going to pass out from shock,” he said dryly.

Alexis pretended to misunderstand him. “Oh, then I shouldn’t have made those ultrarich brownies and pecan tassies last night? Well, shoot, I guess we don’t need them here. I can just drop them off at church for choir rehearsal, I guess.”

“Don’t pay me any attention, I’m still half asleep,” Javier said hastily. “Did you leave them in your office? I’ll just go back there and get them and you can arrange them any way you like. Just ignore me altogether. You know I don’t have good sense.”

Nothing could have been further from the truth, of course. Javier DeLaCruz was very smart as well as being very talented. He was also quite easy on the eye with smooth golden skin, jet-black hair and eyes and a smile that brightened any room. Alexis sized him up as he left the room. He was a devoted and trusted employee of several years and there was no reason not to consider promoting him to a management position. He had the experience and education and the right attitude. Alexis would be foolish not to offer him a better position with a higher salary; if she didn’t, he might leave and start his own salon. She was still mulling over that idea as she continued the opening procedure for the day.

One of the things that made Sanctuary so popular was the ultra-deluxe treatment of the clientele. Alexis always provided refreshments for her customers, hot coffee and tea along with fresh fruit and luscious baked goods that she often made herself. It was a practice that was as popular with the staff as with the customers, but there was no real need for her to make them herself. Alexis had a moment of clarity that told her she was doing too much. It probably came from the gentle little dig Javier made about her doing everything around the place. His remark had merit, and she was going to give it serious thought when she got home that evening. She knew she worked too hard and too long, but the results were well worth it.

Sanctuary One was all about relaxation and nurturing. It was decorated in soothing peach and green with lots of live plants and specially designed lighting. Sanctuary Two was similar in design, but it was robin’s-egg blue and chocolate-brown. She enjoyed the brief moment of calm before the doors opened; it always gave her a sense of accomplishment as well as inner peace, but it didn’t last long. The salon came to life first, as usual. Early morning appointments were very popular especially toward the weekend. Alexis had to bite her lower lip as she noticed that her receptionist was once again late. Plus, she hadn’t called in to let anyone know she was going to be tardy, which was a requirement of all employees. Here was another thing to put on Alexis’s must-do list: a serious talk with a backsliding employee.

As usual, Alexis didn’t let her annoyance show, she merely took over the desk, checking in customers and fielding calls until her appointment arrived and the missing receptionist showed up. Luckily the two events occurred at the same time. Ava, looking pretty and flustered, hurried into her seat at the reception counter with excuses pouring out of her mouth. All Alexis said was, “We’ll talk about it later.”

She turned her full attention to Lucie Porter, Emily’s mother. “Ms. Lucie, I have to say that Chicago agrees with you. As much as I miss seeing you when you’re away, I can tell that you’re really enjoying your new life in the Windy City.”

Lucie was a lovely woman and she did indeed show every indication of having a rich, fulfilling life. “I’m having a ball, Alexis. It’s wonderful being in the same city with my daughters and my grandchildren, but I’m also meeting some fabulous men,” she confided.

Alexis wasn’t really surprised to hear that. Lucie was pretty and vivacious and she attracted men in droves. She was a great dancer and Chicago was a dancing town. Sure enough, Lucie told her about a dance club she’d joined and how much fun it was. She also had new pictures of Emily and the twins, plus pictures of her other daughter, Ayanna, who had twin daughters and two teenage sons.

“They’re growing so fast, aren’t they? They’re so handsome,” Alexis praised. “Emily sounds so happy every time I talk to her.”

“She is,” Lucie confirmed. “Both of my girls are very happy with their husbands and their families. But truthfully, Alexis, I thought you’d be all married up and happy, too, by now. I expected you’d be married long before Emily,” she admitted. “What are you waiting for?”

Alexis covered her surprise at Lucie’s question by putting a terry wrap around her neck, followed by a pretty protective cape. “I think it’s time for a touch-up on your relaxer and a trim. And you’re overdue for some color, unless you’ve decided to leave it au naturel.”

As she hoped, her words distracted the older woman. Lucie picked up a hand mirror and looked intently at her hair, particularly at the silvery strands that were beginning to surround her face. “Let’s leave the color alone for right now. I’ve started liking the silver, believe it or not. I have a friend in Chicago who has the most beautiful white hair you ever saw. It’s more like platinum, actually. By the way, she’s going to be down here in a few weeks. Would you mind taking her as a client? I know how busy you are.”

“Of course, Ms. Lucie, I’d be happy to. Any friend of yours is a welcome client of mine.”

“Wonderful! I’ll give her your card and let her know to call you. Her name is Vanessa Lomax and she’s a fascinating woman. I think you’ll like her.”

Lucie chatted happily while Alexis parted her hair, applied the protective base to her scalp and hairline and then carefully stroked on the cream relaxer to the new hair that had grown since then. After she smoothed the relaxer with the back of a wide-toothed comb and she could see that the hair was sufficiently relaxed, Alexis took Lucie to the shampoo area and made her comfortable before rinsing her hair thoroughly and washing it with neutralizing shampoo.

Lucie was perfectly content during the process. “Alexis, you have the most relaxing hands in the world. I have trouble staying awake when you start working on me,” she confessed.

“I have magic fingers,” Alexis said cheerfully. It was true, her customers always told her how sleepy they got as soon as her hands touched their heads. It was sometimes a problem when she was giving a haircut, especially to a man. It wasn’t too bad with Lucie; Alexis was used to doing Lucie’s long thick hair and the older woman’s silence gave her time to mull over what she’d said about Alexis being married with children. She was so far away from that territory she didn’t even know if she wanted to venture that direction. Maybe it was better if she stayed right where she was, doing what she knew best.

Her day ended long after it had begun, but Alexis was still wired up, and it wasn’t from too much coffee. It was part exhaustion and part frustration that was making her edgy. After the spa closed its doors that night, she had to have a talk with her almost-always-tardy receptionist. They had gone into Alexis’s office and Ava, the guilty party, started spouting off a long list of reasons why she was late. Unfortunately, she chose the one phrase that was guaranteed to drive Alexis batty.

“See, what had happened was…”

Alexis held up a hand and closed her eyes. Every time Ava started an explanation with “What had happened was,” the end result was usually an argument.

“Ava, stop. Let’s not go there, please. You have to get to work on time if you intend to keep this job. Any job, as a matter of fact. You can’t expect your employer to fill in for you when you can’t manage to get to work on time. You’re way too casual about punctuality which is why you’ve lost so many jobs in the past.”

A glimmer of panic went across Ava’s pretty face. “You can’t fire me. You told Mama you’d give me a job until I went back to school.”

Alexis squeezed her eyes shut before opening them slowly. “Don’t play the baby-sister card, Ava. It’s only because you are my sister that I haven’t bounced you out of here on your fanny. You have a lot going for yourself, kid. You’re good-looking, you’re smart and talented. Why you can’t seem to pull yourself together and do something with all the gifts God gave you, I just don’t know. But you need to stop playing the victim and start living up to your potential. Start with something small, like getting to work on time,” she said pointedly, “then work your way up.”

As usual, Ava didn’t seem to absorb anything that Alexis was saying. Her next words were proof of that. “Can I move in with you? Mama is driving me crazy.”

“You know, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity,” Alexis said as she picked up her purse and set the alarm. “You keep asking me that question and the answer is always the same. No, you can’t move in with me. And from what I hear, you’re giving as good as you’re getting in the crazy department. Mama isn’t thrilled with you, either. I’ll give you a ride home, but I’m not putting a roof over your head. Let’s go.”

“Can I have that purse?” Ava, having ignored all the advice her sister doled out, was on to the next thing, in this case, a fabulous Louis Vuitton bag she’d coveted for some time.

“Don’t beg, it’ll make people hate you,” Alexis advised as she turned into the driveway of her mother’s pretty brick home.

“I’m not begging, I just want to borrow it,” Ava whined.

“You don’t have to borrow it. You can have one just like it when you finish school and get a good job. Until then, Payless is having a BOGO. Tell Mama I’ll call her after my book club.”

“Book club, swim class, work, aerobics classes, my God, do you ever just sit your butt down and do nothing?” Ava got out of the car and slammed the door a little too hard for Alexis’s taste.

“I’ll have plenty of time for that when I’m dead. Slam my door again and you’ll be walking home from now on, heifer.”

* * *

The rain was pouring by the time Alexis left her book club meeting. She didn’t mind, she was used to driving in the rain, even a downpour like this one. The meeting had been stimulating and enjoyable as always, even though the book wasn’t her favorite genre. The books were funny and well written, but nothing Alexis could fantasize about. There was no way she could hook up with a vampire. It made her shudder to think about it. The idea of cold skin next to hers was daunting and the thought of somebody sucking blood out of her body was… A sudden thud made her snap back to reality. She stopped the car and checked all the dashboard lights to see if there was something internal going on with her vehicle. Finally she bowed to the inevitable and got out of the car with her little pink flashlight.

Damn, damn, damn. A flat friggin’ tire! She hopped back in and reached for her cell phone. She hit the speed dial for AAA and waited to get through to a human. An eerily bright blaze of lightning preceded an unnaturally loud crash and her head almost hit her roof when a huge branch fell down in a shower of sparks, barely missing her hood. Crap. If it was like this all over Columbia, it could be quite a while before she got help. Alexis patted her chest in the vicinity where she imagined her heart was. She was normally quite calm, but the past few minutes had her really unnerved. That’s why she screamed when she heard the tap at her window. Of course, when she saw a pale face with deep-set pale eyes and stringy wet hair she yelped again. “A vampire!”

The man looked puzzled and touched his ear to indicate that he couldn’t hear her, thank God. She didn’t need him thinking she was crazy; he looked nutty enough for both of them. She let the window down a bit so that she could talk to him, but she prudently locked the doors as she did so.

“Umm, yes, did you need something?”

He smiled a crooked, surprisingly sexy smile that did funny things to her while she tried to compose herself.

“I think you need something,” he said. “I can see that you have a really flat tire and I can change it for you if you will open your hatch.”

Okay, that wasn’t what she was expecting. “Thanks, but AAA is on their way. I’m fine.”

“Well, they’re likely to be a while with the weather and all. I can get you up and running in about fifteen minutes,” he offered.

Nice. The stranger outside her door was certainly a rock and the flat tire was definitely a hard place. This was how people ended up on those true-crime shows, accepting help from a stranger. He said he wanted to help her but he could probably gut her like a fish and string her entrails on the fallen branch in the road.

“No, really, I’m fine,” she insisted. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m sure they’ll be along in a few.”

“Listen, I understand you not wanting to trust a man you’ve never met before. I have two sisters and you’re doing exactly what I’ve told them to do. Tell you what. I’ll just wait in my car until they get here so that no one bothers you, okay? I’m behind you and I’ll stay there until your help arrives.”

Alexis mumbled her thanks and put up the window while she tried to call her big sister. Alana was the owner and operator of Custom Classics, the best auto repair and remodeling shop in Columbia and if AAA couldn’t make it, Alana could come get her in ten minutes. She hated bothering her sister, but sitting on a dark street with a wet weirdo behind her was just not a plan. Unfortunately, Alana didn’t answer her phone. She tried her house, her cell and her office to no avail. Crap. She’d just have to wait it out. Her heart rate had completely slowed back to its normal rate and she was now calm enough to rummage around the car to find something sharp and potentially lethal just in case she had to defend herself.

The rain showed no signs of letting up and the thunder and lightning continued, accompanied by winds strong enough to blow down more branches around her. A particularly strong burst dropped another huge branch, along with a power line—complete with scary sparks that flew in all directions. Lovely. After that display, the stranger returned with a determined expression.

She cracked open the window again and before she could speak, he delivered a speech he’d apparently practiced.

“I know you don’t know me well, but I promise you I only want to help you.” He held out his cell phone to her as he continued to talk. “My name is Jared VanBuren and I have the police on the line so that they can hear everything that’s going on. I explained the situation to them and they’re willing to listen in so that, if anything goes wrong, they’ll be here in like five minutes to arrest me and save you. Go ahead, talk to the dispatcher, he’s waiting.”

Alexis stared at the phone, and then directed her wide eyes to the tall, soaking-wet man who looked less like a vamp now. He looked more like a Samaritan. She took a deep breath and put the cell phone to her ear. This was turning into the strangest day she could ever remember and she knew without being told that she wouldn’t forget it any time soon.