Late the next morning, I walked into Maude’s House of Beauty and went right to the pedicure chairs.
I bent to touch cheeks with Alyssa, who was working on Josie’s toes, gave a “Hey,” got a “Yo, babe,” back and then moved to do the same with Josie.
“Careful, her fingers are still wet,” Alyssa warned.
I was careful as I gave Josie her greeting then lifted up the arm in the next chair and climbed into it.
“How’s Jake doing with Conner gone?” I asked Josie.
She tipped her head to the side, sadness seeping into her eyes and answered, “Amber and Ethan aren’t good. They miss their big brother. So he has his chin up for them.” She drew in a breath and lowered her voice. “But I found him in Con’s room the other day, just sitting by himself on Con’s bed. I left him to it and didn’t mention I found him there. But I know he’s melancholy.”
I nodded. Having lost my kids in my own way, I understood Jake and it didn’t thrill me that I got them back just in time to have Auden for two years before I’d be going through the same thing.
“How’s Mickey?” Alyssa asked.
I shook away my thoughts and smiled down at her. “He’s good.”
“I’m sure he’s good, havin’ a hot neighbor who puts out,” Alyssa returned (incidentally, they were my friends, I didn’t go into details—much to Alyssa’s despair—but they knew how things were progressing with Mickey and me). “But I’m not talkin’ about that. I’m talkin’ about his ex gettin’ hauled in for drunk driving,” Alyssa went on.
I stared at her in horror. “How do you know that?”
“Babe,” she replied, then threw out a hand holding the brush of a bottle of nail varnish.
I took in the salon, mumbling, “Right.”
“He’s probably used to it,” Alyssa said, turning her attention back to Josie’s toenails.
He wasn’t used to it.
I looked to Josie. “Do you know about Rhiannon?”
She looked apologetic as she answered, “I’ve never met her but Jake’s told me about her, and I’ve…heard things.”
“Small town,” I noted.
“Yes,” Josie agreed.
“If I were Mickey, I’d haul her ass in front of a judge,” Alyssa remarked.
“I don’t want to share Mickey’s business,” I told them. “But I’ll say he isn’t happy.”
“I’ll bet,” Alyssa muttered.
“Are his kids okay?” Josie asked.
“No,” I answered. “But they have Mickey so they cope.”
“Very sad,” she said softly.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
I heard my phone in my purse chiming to tell me I had a text, so I dug it out and looked at it, the pall of our conversation lifting when I saw it was Auden.
Can I come over tonight, hang and catch some of my shows?
I texted back, Of course. Do you want me to make dinner?
To that I received, That’d be cool.
To which I sent, Is your sister coming with you?
And while Alyssa announced to Josie, “You’re done. Don’t move. I’ll sort you after I get started on Amelia,” I got a return text.
Don’t know. I’ll ask her. Gotta go to class.
Thus I replied, Okay, kiddo. Talk to you later, and got back, Yeah. Bye.
I set my phone aside as Alyssa grabbed my hand armed with a cotton ball and polish remover.
She started going at my polish and I shared, “That was Auden. He’s coming over for dinner and to watch TV.”
I got two beaming smiles from two beautiful blondes as well as Josie’s, “That’s fabulous, Amelia,” and Alyssa’s, “Right on, sister!”
They were correct.
It was fabulous.
It was just sad that my life with my family was shifting to fabulous while Mickey’s seemed to be careening down an unknown path that was dark and forbidding.
Josie stayed while we did girl talk and I got my mani-pedi. Then Josie and I left and she took me to The Shack on the wharf, which was just that. A dilapidated shack that I’d noticed when Mickey walked me down the wharf weeks ago. With Josie, I found during the day it served coffee, breakfast and lunch, and it was run by a friend of Josie and Jake’s, a man named Tom who was all Magdalene: warm and friendly.
He also brewed excellent coffee.
Josie went her way, I went mine, mine being to Dove House.
But before I went in, I took out my phone and rang Mickey.
“Hey, baby,” he answered.
“Hey, honey, do you have a quick sec?” I asked.
“Sure,” he told me.
“I mean, a quick sec for not great news,” I shared carefully.
“Fuck,” he muttered then louder, “Sure.”
I launched in because he was working and also because not great news was always best delivered quickly.
“I had a mani-pedi at Alyssa’s with Josie this morning and Alyssa had heard about Rhiannon,” I informed him.
“Babe, not a surprise,” he replied surprisingly calmly. “Told you a long time ago, small town. People talk. Word gets around and fast. Especially that kind of word. Everyone knows about Rhiannon. The only one who doesn’t is Rhiannon.”
“Oh, right,” I mumbled.
“Thanks for heads up, though.”