Love Gently Falling (8 page)

Now, because her renovation project was so fresh on her mind, she started to run some of her ideas past him—asking his opinion and explaining how she planned to do the renovations in stages. He was surprisingly interested and full of helpful suggestions about where to find things at the best prices. As they were finishing up their dinner, he pulled out a small notepad and actually wrote down the names of several businesses that he'd recommended, handing them to her.

“But it sounds like you're going to need some hands-on help too,” he told her. “Painting those tall walls, installing the new flooring, getting old stuff ripped out and new stuff installed, and trying to do it quickly enough not to lose business…could be a challenge.”

“Ricky offered to help,” she told him.

“But his back and leg…?”

“I know.” She sighed. “I'm not really sure how much help he could be. I asked the hairdressers, but…well, besides Charlene, they didn't sound too enthused.”

“I know a couple of guys who could help out,” he said suddenly. “A pair of brothers who're still in high school and—”

“Mason and Drew?” she asked curiously.

“That's right. Did you meet them at the salon?”

She explained how they took her by surprise. “I, uh, actually thought that you said that was your account. I expected to see you coming to clean it.”

He pressed his lips together, nodding slowly. “Yeah…well, we sometimes switch things around. Keeps it interesting, you know?”

“Oh…right. Well, anyway, they do good work. In fact, the only thing I can't complain about in regard to Hair and Now is the cleanliness. It might be worn and outdated and have practically no customers, but it is very clean.” She laughed.

“Anyway, I think we could get Mason and Drew to help out. They're hard workers and available for weekends and evenings.”

“I can pay them a little something.” Rita knew she'd have to budget in some help or risk not getting it done.

“We can figure that out later.” He put his notepad away then glanced up in surprise. “Looks like we've got company,” he said quietly.

Rita looked up in time to see Marley and Zinnia coming straight for their table.

“Well, hello there,” Zinnia said in a ultra-friendly tone. “Did you guys have dinner already?”

“We did,” Johnny confirmed.

“And it was delicious,” Rita added.

“We came over for dessert and coffee.” Zinnia put a familiar hand on Johnny's shoulder. “You know how good their berry cobbler à la mode is.”

“But we don't want to intrude,” Marley said quickly, eyeing Rita curiously.

“No, of course not. Besides there's no place to sit.” Zinnia looked around the restaurant and made a sad face. “So I guess we'll have to go somewhere else, Mar.”

There was a long, uneasy pause, and Rita was about to say something, but Johnny beat her to the punch. “Why don't you join us?” Johnny stood, politely pulling out chairs for Marley and Zinnia.

“But we don't want to interrupt your
date
,” Zinnia said with a questioning look. “I
assume
this is a date.”

“No, no,” Rita assured her. “It's not a date. More like a business dinner. Johnny is helping me with something—uh—a project.” She tossed him a warning look, hoping he'd take the hint and not mention their prior conversation to Zinnia.

“That's right,” Johnny told the other women. “Rita was cleaning out a storage room and I was taking out the trash for her. Just part of Jolly Janitors' customer satisfaction service.”

“Yes. And I offered to treat him to dinner as a thank-you,” Rita finished. “That's all. I had no idea that Noah's Ark had turned into such a swanky dinner place.”

As they all chatted and made decisions on desserts, Rita couldn't help but notice how friendly and cozy Zinnia seemed to be with Johnny. As if they were dear old friends. Or perhaps something even more. Rita glanced at Marley, curious as to whether she had observed this, too. But Marley seemed to be simply taking it in stride.

“And don't forget that you still owe me for that bet,” Zinnia was saying to Johnny. “I knew the Bulls were going down last week, but did you believe me?”

“That's because I never bet against my Bulls.”

“Just the same, you owe me, Johnny Boy, and I'll be collecting.” She ran a well-manicured finger down on his cheek, giggling. “You better watch out for me.”

Unless it was Rita's imagination, Johnny was blushing. And despite all resolve, Rita was seeing red. And her anger wasn't directed at Johnny. Still, she reminded herself, this was
not
a date. She had said as much herself, hadn't she? Even so, she hurried to shovel down her tasty crème brûlée, finally making the excuse that she'd promised her dad and brother that she wouldn't be home late tonight. “I'll just run up and take care of the bill,” she told Johnny in a formal way. “Thanks for helping me with the trash.” She smiled at Zinnia and Marley. “See you girls around.”

It wasn't until she was driving home, still feeling unreasonably flustered, that she realized that she hadn't only paid the bill for her dinner with Johnny, but she'd covered everyone else's confections and coffee, too. Well, maybe buying everyone dessert was what one got for allowing jealousy to creep into what had otherwise been a lovely evening. Maybe it was her just desserts.

Rita offered to visit
her mom early on Sunday morning. Based on what Ricky and her dad had told her Saturday night, her mom had made great strides in rehab the past few days. But perhaps Rita's hopes had been too high…because when she actually sat down with Donna, she was dismayed that she didn't seem to have progressed much further than the last time she'd seen her. Even so, Rita kept a positive smile on her face and bit her tongue as she waited for her mom to communicate her recent happenings via a few words, pantomime, and the drawing pad. Rita wished she had more patience, but finally she just had to tell her about some of the ideas for the salon.

Rita explained how she wanted to do a complete renovation to the salon, not only reusing the chairs, but putting in new floors and painting the walls and all sorts of things. She pulled out the fabric sample, laying it on the bed. “But I want it to be something you'll like. And it has to be done on a pretty tight budget.” She shared some of her money-saving ideas and how she planned to do most of the labor herself. “Those lime green chairs are a real treasure,” she reminded her. “You were so smart to hold on to them.”

Donna nodded happily. “Yeah…yeah…”

“They'll make the salon really retro and chic. Like something you'd see in Beverly Hills. And I know I can do it, Mom. I just need your blessing for all the changes. I mean, it's not going to look the same at all. The pink will be totally gone.”

“Yeah…yeah…yeah.” Donna nodded, making her funny little half smile. “Yeah.”

“Great.” Rita bent down to hug her. “That's what I'm going to do then. And that means I can't be with you throughout the day as often as I have. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah.”

“Ricky will be home with you in the daytime. And then Dad gets home after work. And I'll see you when I can. But mostly I'll devote my time to redoing Hair and Now. I only have a couple of weeks to get it done.” She still hadn't decided about extending her visit, but knew it made sense. “My goal is to have it finished before On Ice opens. I want to do some promotions in tandem with that. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah.” Donna smiled. “Gooo…I like…”

Rita kissed Donna's cheek. “Well, I've got a full list today. Dad should be here any minute. But I'll be with you when you're at home tomorrow. I bet you'll be glad to get discharged.”

Her mom's last “yeah” echoed in Rita's ear as she rode down the elevator. Clearly, Donna was as worn out from being in the hospital as her family was from visiting her there. Another reminder that Rita should do some homecoming preparations for her. So much to do. So little time. But at least she'd have a whole day without interruptions. Her plan was to finish cleaning all the lime green chairs, store them in the cleaned-out storage room, and then start stripping down areas of the salon that no one would miss, getting it ready for the big renovations she was planning for the end of the week. She'd have to close the shop from Saturday through Tuesday, which would give her four days to get it all done. Was that even possible?

Out in the hospital parking lot, she called Roberto's and punched in her manager's extension number. She knew that Vivienne wouldn't be there at this early hour on a Sunday, but maybe that was for the best. She left a long message, explaining about what she was doing and why and finally asking for an extra week. “I know this can't be considered vacation time,” she said, even though she knew she hadn't taken two weeks of vacation every year. “But it's going to take that long to get my mom's salon set up…to do it right.” She said a few more things, then promised to call back on Monday to confirm this was okay.

As she drove to Millersburg Mall, she felt confident that Vivienne would allow her an extra week. Vivienne had a reputation for being a hard-nosed businesswoman, but Rita knew she had a heart of gold. But Rita also knew that there were plenty of hairdressers who would gladly take her job if they could. Working at Roberto's of Beverly Hills was something she did not take for granted. She wanted Vivienne to know that.

Rita went right to work at the salon. She had her to-do list broken down by days, and before this day was over, she wanted to have everything on today's done and the salon ready for tomorrow's appointments. She was just taking down some old headshot photos, ones her mom had let her put up more than ten years ago, when she heard someone knocking on the front door. Tempted to ignore it since they were closed, Rita set the framed print on the floor. But when the knocking continued, Rita went to see.

“Marley,” she said as she unlocked it. “What're you doing here?”

“I tried your cell phone,” Marley told her. “But when you didn't answer, I figured I'd see if you were here. What's up?”

Rita updated her on the renovation project. “But I'd appreciate it if you kept all this under your hat.”

“You mean don't tell Zinnia?”

Rita shrugged. “Yeah…I guess. I don't know why. Maybe I want it to be a surprise.”

“Or maybe you want to keep the competition at bay.”

Rita smiled. “Maybe…”

“Want to grab a bite?” Marley asked. “Or did you already have lunch?”

Rita sighed to see that it was nearly two, confessing she hadn't had anything since a carton of yogurt this morning. And so, once again, they headed for Noah's Ark, and, with a big bowl of Hungarian mushroom soup in hand, Rita led the way to a table under the rainbow.

“Why did you run off last night?” Marley asked as they ate their soups.

Rita shrugged as she broke a piece of sourdough bread. “Time to go?”

“Really?” Marley looked skeptical.

“It was late.”

“Come on.” Marley narrowed her eyes. “This is me, Rita. I
know
you.”

“What are you saying?”

“You're into Johnny, aren't you?”

“No. Of course, not. He was helping me take out the trash, that's all. I wanted to repay him with dinner. Nothing more.”

“Really…?” Marley still looked seriously doubtful.

“Oh, I don't know. What are you getting at, anyway?”

“I saw you and Johnny talking before we crashed in on you last night.”

“Yeah…so…?”

“So, it looked like you guys were really into each other. Like some kind of mutual attraction was going on.”

“Oh…?”

“Come on, admit it.”

“Oh, Marley.”

“Did you know that Zinnia has been pursuing Johnny for a couple of years now?”

“Seriously?”

“Absolutely.” Marley nodded as she ate a bite of soup. “Take it from me. Zinnia is out to get him. She's got a whole big plan laid out. She's told me about it.”

“Really?” Rita frowned. “Does Johnny like her?”

“He's always polite to her. But then Johnny is polite to everyone.”

“Well, that makes sense in his business. You don't want to make enemies with the businesses you clean.”

“Maybe so. But Johnny is a great guy, Rita. And if he's interested in you, why not—”

“It was just business, Marley.”

“Okay…” Marley looked unconvinced. “So I suppose you're not interested in what Zinnia told Johnny about you last night.”

“What do you mean?” Rita set down her spoon.

“Well, it's partly my fault.”

“What are you talking about?”

Marley made a nervous smile. “Zinnia was asking me about you last night, when she invited me to go have dessert. Seems you piqued her curiosity after you'd gone spying in her salon.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. For some reason she was extremely interested.”

“And?”

“So I sort of told her about Dr. Wright.”

“What?” Rita frowned. “Why would you—”

“Because Zinnia was acting like you were such a loser. She was putting down your mom's salon and acting like you really didn't work in Beverly Hills, acting like you'd come home because you couldn't make it there. And she made a point of you being single and never married, like you couldn't get a guy.”

“What does that have to do with—”

“I know it was stupid. But I was bragging to her about how you had this doctor trying to get you to go out, making it into a bigger deal than it probably is.”

“Oh…” Rita just shook her head, trying to figure this whole thing out.

“After you left, Zinnia started talking about Dr. Wright and you to Johnny and—”

“She what?” Now Rita was mad.

“Yeah. She made it sound like you and the good doctor were practically engaged and—”

“You've gotta be kidding!”

“I'm sorry, Rita. I tried to do damage control, but Zinnia just made me sound silly.”

“I thought you said she'd changed.” Rita shook her spoon at Marley.

“Well, she's changed some…but not completely…apparently. Maybe her true colors come out when you cross her. And I'm guessing that seeing you with Johnny last night felt like you'd crossed her, Rita. She's got you in her sights.”

“Good grief!”

Marley put her hand on Rita's hand. “Will you forgive me?”

Rita let out an exasperated sigh. “Are you going to tell Zinnia about the makeover I'm giving Mom's salon?”

“No, of course not.”

“If you keep that promise, I'll forgive you.” Rita smiled. “And I'd forgive you anyway.”

“You have my word, I won't tell her a thing about Hair and Now. And I'm sorry about the Dr. Wright slip of the lip.”

“It doesn't matter.” Rita dipped her spoon back in the soup and sighed. “Like I said, it was just a business dinner.”

On Monday morning, Rita did some housekeeping, including giving her parents' bedroom a good deep cleaning. Then she made a quick run to the store to get some fruit and vegetables as well as a selection of soft and liquid foods that her mother could eat. She also picked up a balloon bouquet and some crepe paper then hurried home to make a welcome-home banner and make the house look festive.

By the time Richard and Ricky brought Donna home in the afternoon, she was almost too tired to appreciate much. But as Rita helped her into her bed, she muttered a barely intelligible. “Than' you.”

“You're welcome, Mom.” Rita kissed her cheek as she pulled the covers up to her chin. “Have a rest and we'll talk more later, okay?”

“Wai…” Donna held up her left hand like a stop sign.

“What?”

“Wai…don…go.”

Rita paused to process this. “You want me to stay?”

“Yeah.” Her mom nodded with one arched brow.

“You want to tell me something?”

“Yeah.” Her mom reached up and tugged her hair.

“Hair?”

“Yeah.” Now she made a scissors motion. “How…?”

“How is Hair and Now?”

“Yeah.” She nodded eagerly. “How?”

So Rita gave her a quick update, even sharing about how Johnny helped her to haul out some trash, quickly explaining it really was trash and how she'd gone through everything. “I stored everything you want to keep in plastic cartons that are clearly marked.” She told her about how great the storage room looked now. “And I'm keeping all the lime green chairs in there. They're mostly cleaned up and—”

“Wai…” Donna held up her left hand again.

“What?” Rita peered closely at her.

“You…go…hair…” Donna nodded.

“You want me to go to Hair and Now? Now?”

“Yeah.”

“To keep working on it?”

“Yeah.”

Rita smiled. “Well, I'd like to keep on it, Mom. But I promised Dad and Ricky to be here for you and—”

“Wai…” Donna reached for her tablet and after a bit, she drew stick figures of two men and one woman in a house. Then she clumsily wrote their names.

“You think Dad and Ricky can take care of you here. Meanwhile I'll keep the renovations going at Hair and Now?”

“Yeah.” Donna looked relieved.

“Okay, Mom.” Rita squeezed her hand. “I'll let the guys know.”

“Than…you…”

Rita took Donna's writing pad out to show her dad and Ricky. She explained her mother's wishes. “I know she's worried about Hair and Now,” she told them. “And rightly so. There's a lot to be done there to get that place back into a profitable business.”

“And you really think you can do that?” Richard asked.

“I believe I can. But my time here is limited. I have to make the most of it. Mom seems to understand this.”

“Then you should give it all you've got, Rita.” Her dad made a hopeful smile. “It would be wonderful if your mother could go back to work…someday…but even if she can't, anything you can do to make Hair and Now work better will be appreciated.”

“Maybe I can come over and help too,” Ricky suggested. “You know, when Dad's here in the evenings.”