Stepping to a New Day (18 page)

R
iley had Clay drop him off bright and early for his first day at work. In fact, he beat Kelly there.

“Morning,” she said as she unlocked the door. “Thanks for showing up on time.”

Feeling self-important, he followed her inside. She hit the lights and put down her bag. “You'll use that station over there,” she said, pointing to a chair and a table.

“No barber chair?”

“Did you bring one?” Her frosty eyes held his and when he couldn't stare her down, he shook his head.

“Then you'll use that one. If you work out, Ms. Brown will get us a real one.”

“What about clippers?”

“They're in the drawer.”

At one time he'd owned a collection of expensive barber tools but sold them to a pawnshop when he and Cletus went on the lam after Morton Prell's death. He was pretty sure she'd gotten substandard ones but when he opened the drawer and
saw the quality of the scissors and clippers neatly laid out on a barber towel, she must've seen his surprise.

“I do know what I'm doing, Mr. Curry.”

He didn't want to admit it but apparently she did.

She continued, “Aprons are there. Put the dirty ones in the hamper beneath that table.”

He looked to where she pointed.

“Your broom and wastebasket are behind you.”

He swiveled.

“Questions?” she asked.

“Lunch?”

“Half an hour. And for now you'll work part-time. Tuesday nine to three. Thursdays nine to three. Saturdays same time. If your clientele picks up we'll add more hours.”

Riley wasn't pleased. He'd been counting on a forty-hour week but kept that to himself. “Tips?”

“What you get you keep. Everything else you bring to me and I'll put it in the safe.”

“Which is where?”

“You don't need to know.”

He growled silently. He didn't like her. At all.

“Here comes your first customer. Have a good shift.”

Clay walked in and she called out in a cheery voice Riley didn't know she possessed, “Morning, Mr. Dobbs.”

“Morning, Kelly. How are the twins?”

“Giving the day care people over at the school fits, but they're well.”

He took a seat in the chair and Riley thanked him for coming in.

Clay's response, “You can't pay me what you owe me if you don't make any money.”

Riley growled silently for the second time.

“Oh, and Mal said to tell you he'll be by later,” Clay added.

He sighed. It was going to be a long first day on the job.

But it turned into a fruitful one as word of his services spread. He cut Mal's hair and then the doctor married to the singer—he didn't remember their names. Sheriff Donovan stopped in along with a couple of his deputies. Two construction workers came in on their lunch hour followed by a Mexican guy who introduced himself as Luis Acosta, the town's fire chief—which was news to Riley because he didn't even know Henry Adams had a fire department. He decided maybe working for Kelly and Ms. Brown wasn't going to be so bad after all. Not only did he make a wallet full of tips, he saw his customers as potential supporters if and when he decided to make a run for mayor.

By quitting time at three he felt pretty good, and then Clay showed up.

“Bing's back,” he told Riley. “You and Cletus can stay tonight but you need to be out by noon tomorrow. Meet me at the rec when you're through here.”

Wearing the mocking smile Riley had grown to hate, Clay strolled out.

Riley was stunned. He knew Bing was due back and that he'd have to move out eventually, but by noon tomorrow? Where was he going to stay? More importantly, if he couldn't rely on Clay's help anymore, how would he get to work?

“What's the matter?” Kelly asked from across the room.

Riley didn't want to tell her but he knew he had to. “Clay's kicking me out and I need a place to stay.”

“Starting when?”

“Tomorrow at noon.”

“You're going to need a way to work, too, now?”

Angry and grim he gave her a terse nod. “Probably.”

“You made the shop a decent piece of change today and I want you to stay on. You can't live with me but I can swing by and pick you up as long as it's not too far from town.”

Riley stared.

She shrugged. “I'm a businesswoman, Mr. Curry. No more, no less.” That said, she resumed sweeping up the hair near her station.

When his shift ended, instead of meeting Clay at the rec, Riley walked down to the Power Plant to see Bernadine Brown instead.

Inside, he knocked on her partially opened door.

She looked up. “What can I do for you, Riley?”

“I need a key to the door of Eustacia's place.”

“Why?”

“Me and Cletus are going to move in.”

She studied him for a long moment. “You know there are no appliances or utilities.”

“I do, but Clay wants me out tomorrow and I need a place to stay so I can keep my job. Kelly said I can ride in with her on the days I work.”

“That's nice of her. Your first day must have gone well.”

He nodded and waited.

She finally opened a drawer and pulled out a key ring. There was one key on it. She handed it to him.

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

He exited and a very thoughtful-looking Bernadine watched him go.

* * *

Eli and his dad were watching for his grandparents to enter baggage claim at the Hays airport. Eli had been allowed to leave school early to make the ride and the other students were left in the hands of Ms. Marie. He wasn't sure how this visit was going to go but his dad looked kind of tense, so Eli hoped the weekend wouldn't be a disaster. When they finally appeared, his grandfather Jack Sr. waved and his grandmother Stella smiled and blew a kiss. Hugs were shared and after the luggage was retrieved they made the walk to the parking lot to the car.

Stella said, “Goodness, Eli, you get taller every time I see you.”

Jack Sr. cracked, “Goodness, Stella. You say that every time you see him.”

She playfully hit him on the arm. “Quiet, you.” She turned to her son. “So, Jack. How are things in my favorite small town?”

“Hopping as usual. Now that weather's better, Trent and his crew are going to be building up a storm. We should have a new swimming pool by the Fourth of July.”

“That sounds exciting.”

Eli agreed. He couldn't wait to dive off the high board. He wondered if Wyatt knew how to swim.

The luggage was put in the bed of the truck and everyone piled in.

Jack Sr., riding shotgun, said, “I still can't get used to you driving a truck, son.”

Jack smiled. “It's the ride of choice out here because of the winter weather.”

Stella asked, “And how's Rocky?”

Jack steered them off the airport property. “She's doing well. She's looking forward to seeing you two again.” They'd last visited at Thanksgiving.

“Looking forward to seeing her again, too.”

Eli met his dad's eyes in the mirror.

She must have seen their look because she said, “I know you think I don't approve of her but I do. Especially now that I've rebooted myself.”

Eli wondered what that meant.

Jack Sr. chuckled softly. “Oh, here we go.”

Eli's dad grinned and asked, “And that means what, Mom?”

“You know how much I love Oprah.”

“Yes, I do,” he replied, sounding amused.

“Well, she talks a lot about embracing the inner you, so I've been doing that. I'm meditating and given up being judgmental and temperamental. I've even taken up yoga. I'm learning to embrace my inner Stella.”

“And how is that working for you, Dad?” Eli's dad asked.

“Pretty damn well. I no longer want to bury her in the backyard five days a week.”

She cut him a look. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You are better, lovey.”

“Thank you. I've been trying to get him to go to yoga class too, but so far nothing.”

“I don't look good in a leotard.”

As the truck filled with laughter Eli thought the weekend might not be so disastrous after all.

Eli's dad said, “Well, since you're brand-new, Mom, you should know that Rocky and I are getting married.”

Silence.

Jack Sr. cracked, “Embrace your inner Stella. Take a deep cleansing breath.”

She leaned forward and playfully popped him on the back of his head. “Stop. That's great news, Jack. It really is.”

Eli's dad asked him, “Is your grandmother's nose growing?”

Eli laughed. “Doesn't look like it.”

Stella countered, “I was just taken by surprise.”

“Whatever you say, Mom.”

Eli wanted to ask her how could she not want his dad to be with someone as awesome as Rocky, but being the kid he knew his job was to sit and keep his mouth shut, and besides, his grandmother was speaking again.

“Your dad and I have good news, too. We're in the process of selling the house so we can move to Henry Adams.”

Eli blinked as his dad asked, “Really?”

“Did you think I was kidding at Thanksgiving when I told you how much I loved the town?” she asked.

Eli changed his mind. Yep, the weekend was going to be a disaster after all. Big time.

While Wes Montgomery's greatest hits played through the Bluetooth speaker she'd been surprised with at Christmas by the kids, Genevieve prepared for her date. Because Terence was taking her to the rec and not the opera there was no need to get dressed to the nines but she did want to look nice. She considered the white cashmere turtleneck she'd been dying to wear but the thought of accidentally dropping taco sauce or mustard from a hot dog on it made her nix the idea and put it back into the closet. She settled instead on a black merino wool sweater with a bateau neck and a pair of black velveteen straight-leg jeans. A girl could never go wrong with black, and it would go well with the silver jewelry she planned to wear. Her wardrobe decisions made, she got dressed.

By six thirty she was ready for his arrival. She was also a
nervous wreck. It had been so long since she'd been out with a man she felt like a long-tailed cat in a room filled with rockers, as her mother had been fond of saying. Thinking of her mother made her wonder what she'd think of her daughter's new life. The women of the twenty-first century had more freedom and options than her mother's generation and Gen was glad. Home and children were no longer the whole world and they could be more than teachers, nurses, and secretaries. A part of herself regretted having stayed married to Riley for so long, but because she couldn't change the past her choice was to step boldly into her future. The sound of the doorbell broke into her musing.
Terence.
Would he be part of that future? Truthfully, she hoped so. Tonight would be another new beginning.

She walked to the door and let him in.

“You look nice,” he said.

“Thanks. You do, too.”

“Thanks.”

He was wearing a navy blue knit collared shirt, a black leather jacket, and gray slacks. A thin silver chain peeked through the undone buttons at his neck and the signature silver hoop hung discreetly from his ear. Fighting to corral her nerves, she said, “Let me get my jacket and we can go.” At the closet, she took down her red leather.

“Here. Let me help you with that,” he said.

She loved his old-school manners but having him near enough to notice the heat of his body touching hers shot her already soaring nervousness into the stratosphere. “Thanks,” she told him once the jacket was on. Hoping he didn't see her shaking hands, she picked up her purse and they stepped out into the fading evening light.

In the truck he put the key in the ignition. Before starting the engine, he glanced her way and confessed, “I haven't done this dating thing in a while so I'm a bit nervous.”

His honesty was endearing. “Truthfully, so am I.”

“Oh, good.” He sounded relieved.

She could already see the looks they'd get in the auditorium. “We're going to be the talk of the town when people see us together, so be prepared.”

“I'm okay with that. How about you?”

“I'll be fine.” And the envy of every unmarried woman of a certain age in the place. He was handsome, fit, and with her. A girl couldn't ask for more.

When they entered the auditorium the surprise and raised eyebrows on the faces of Marie and her friends at the concession stations made her smile inwardly, but she set their interest aside to consult with him about where they should sit.

“You pick,” he said to her.

They decided on seats in the middle and she noticed him discreetly eyeing the crowd.

“You were right. We're getting a lot of looks,” he said.

She saw Clay checking them out, and thought she saw regret in his eyes before he turned away. “I know. As I said, talk of the town. Are you still okay?”

“I'm with the prettiest lady in town, so I'm definitely okay.”

The heat in her cheeks made her drop her eyes shyly. When she raised them he was smiling.

“How about I get us something to eat?” he asked. “What would you like?”

“The grilled chicken tacos and a cola.”

“Got it. Be right back.”

So thankful to have such a wonderful guy in her life, she
was taking off her coat and settling into her seat when Lily walked up. A smiling Gen knew she'd come to grill her. “Yes?”

“So, you were ogling him at the town meeting that night.”

“Go away,” she told her. “Aren't you supposed to be serving hot dogs?”

“Is he nice, Gen?”

The idea of him made her melt inside. “Nicer than any man I've ever met.”

“Good. Enjoy yourself. But no necking when the lights go out. There are children here.”