They exchanged concerned glances.
“I think it’s great that you know you don’t need a man to be you and to be happy,” Keisha encouraged while massaging the top of Karen’s foot. Her toes curled in ecstasy.
“I never said I was happy.” I took a large drink, swallowing so quickly that the gulp hurt the back of my throat. Everything was so hard to swallow these days.
“Okay then, you don’t need a man . . . to be you,” Keisha corrected. I caught Karen wink at her. I wasn’t sure why she did, but I thought it was cute. I had been a fan of women supporting other women (before Crystal came along), so to see this sweet exchange brought me a little joy. I wanted more of that in my life, and I hated that I had started to become a person who despised other women. I didn’t want to be that, but sometimes you become the person you hate the most.
“And who cares about all those people?” Karen piped in.
“I do,” I said.
“Yes . . . yes, but you can prove them all wrong. Prove that what they thought about you and what they thought about Bryce was wrong,” she added.
“You’re right, I guess. But how? They all think I’m a joke now—a has-been, a washed-up divorcée and ex-chairwoman.”
Karen and Keisha gave me sympathetic looks.
“Being yourself is the strongest, most powerful thing you can do. It’s like signing your autograph on something you created. You’re saying, ‘This is me, and I’m so fucking proud of it. I’m proud of me,’ ” Karen exclaimed with so much conviction in her voice she could have led a riot. Where did this come from? She was always outspoken, but not with this much confidence. Whoever this new Karen was, I liked her. I reached over and grabbed her hand and squeezed it, exchanging a pleased look with her.
Last night, everything felt like it was going to hell. But today, things felt a little better, like everything was going to be okay. Life was funny that way. Living in Buckhead was like a roller-coaster ride. You’d wait in line for a very long time, and then finally, you were in. You were on the ride of a lifetime. But this ride wasn’t consistent. It was ever-changing. Sometimes you’d scream. Sometimes you’d be sick to your stomach. Sometimes you’d beg the operator to stop the ride, so you could get off. Sometimes you’d smile and laugh out of pure enjoyment. Sometimes you’d have to hold on tighter than usual for fear of falling off. And sometimes you’d just let go, waving your arms and hands freely, without a care in the world. I was letting go, or at the very least, I was starting to.
30
Crystal
I headed straight to the salon after taking care of some errands and things around the house. I needed to talk with all of them. I needed to tell them what was happening with Olivia. She wasn’t safe in that relationship. I could feel it. I wanted to help her, and I wanted to get the girls to rally with me. I had been in a bad relationship before, an awful one. It nearly destroyed me. From that relationship, I learned that monsters don’t change. They can hide who they are, they can morph into something else, but their ugliness never goes away. They’re predators to the core.
I flung open the door of the salon and wandered through the curtains, finding Karen and Shannon sitting in pedicure chairs sipping lemonade, while Keisha massaged Karen’s feet. They all looked over at me as my heels clacked along the hardwood floor. It would appear Shannon had made peace with them. Perhaps Bryce was telling the truth. Maybe they did agree to move past the gala night and learn to get along. I hoped it was true.
“I’m so glad you’re all here,” I exclaimed. Karen and Shannon held up their glasses. I walked over to the pitcher of fresh lemonade and poured myself a glass.
“So, you saw the video?” Shannon tapered her eyes.
“What video?” I asked. “No, I wanted to talk to you all about Olivia.”
Shannon’s eyes stayed tight for a moment as she looked me over carefully, then she relaxed them and took a sip of her drink. I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, but before I could ask, Karen spoke up.
“What’s going on?”
The back door swung open, and in walked Jenny dressed in white tennis shoes, tan shorts, and a striped sleeveless top with a turtleneck. She pulled off her sunglasses, revealing a fading black eye. It was almost completely covered with makeup, but I could still see it.
“Hey, Jenny. How are you feeling today?” I asked.
I poured her a glass of lemonade and handed it to her.
“Thanks, and I’m fine. Even the doctor says so.” She nodded and brought the glass to her lips, taking a long drink.
“No need to be tough, Jenny. We’re all here for you. Whatever you need,” Shannon said.
“Seriously, please don’t worry about me.” Jenny took her cross-body bag off and placed it on the back of her salon chair. Then she began tidying up. She was always cleaning, even though the salon was spotless.
“Crystal was just about to tell us all something about Olivia,” Keisha said, changing the subject.
“Can we go one day without hearing about or from Olivia?” Shannon asked.
“Be nice.” Karen patted Shannon’s hand.
“No, she has it in for me.” Shannon shook her head.
“You were saying, Crystal,” Karen added.
Jenny stopped cleaning to give me her full attention, and Keisha stood up from massaging Karen’s feet and wiped up some of the water that had spilled on the floor.
“Wait, hold on.” Shannon put her hand up. “Jenny, I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, Shannon.” Jenny nodded.
“Aren’t you going to apologize to Crystal?” Karen whispered, although it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Shannon shook her head again. “Anyway, you were saying, Crystal . . .”
The talk Bryce and she had didn’t go well enough for her to apologize to me, but I’d take what I could get with Shannon. At least she was acknowledging me.
“I had drinks with Olivia last night, and she said something about Dean . . . and I’m just worried about her.” I fiddled with my glass and took a small sip, then clutched it tightly.
Shannon adjusted her feet. “Well, what did she say exactly?”
“She said she was scared. That Dean had never been physical with her before the night of the gala, but he had been verbally abusive, and she was afraid of him one day taking it too far.”
“This might be out of line, but it’s more likely that Olivia would be handing out the beatings, not Dean,” Shannon said with a laugh.
I let out a huff of annoyance and tapped my foot on the floor repeatedly. I drank my whole glass of lemonade and then poured myself another.
“Now, now, ladies. Olivia’s our friend. If she’s in trouble, we should be there for her,” Jenny said.
“Like she was there for me when my husband left me for her?” Shannon pointed at me. I took another large gulp of lemonade.
“Let’s not get hung up on the past,” Karen said.
“The past? What do you mean, the past? The fucking past is standing right there,” Shannon pointed at me again.
There was no way I was going to get through to them. Shannon was clearly mad about something. Karen was a bit more understanding.
“You know what? If you ask me, Olivia could use a good beating.” Shannon cackled. Jenny, Keisha, Karen, and I held our breath at her comment and just stared.
“Anyway, I really think we should try to be supportive and encouraging of Olivia.” I took a seat in a salon chair, crossing one leg over another. They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak up. I bounced my foot up and down, hoping they would get on board. I knew Olivia was no ray of sunshine, but women needed to stick together. Perhaps Olivia’s behavior was a result of her toxic relationship with Dean. I didn’t know her well enough to know otherwise, but I tried to see the good in people. There had to be good in Olivia.