Mom mumbled off something that sounded to me like she
wanted to stuff him into a hole.
When we got to their house, Mom and Dad sat down to
discuss the new diet, Kalen took a nap, and I took a walk down
to the beach and called Hailey. She was still at the office but took
time out to talk to me.
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Pitifully Ugly
“I’m glad you called. I was wondering how things were
going,” she said cheerfully.
“Dad’s being a bit uncooperative about taking his new meds,”
I said.
“Sounds like he had a touch of distemper. Put the pill in the
back of his throat and clamp his mouth closed, then rub his neck
until he swallows. That’s what I do with Fuzzy.”
I laughed at the mental image.
“I referred someone here at work to Marvin today, so I called
him and gave a heads-up. You’d have thought I’d given him a
million dollars. He invited me out to have a few drinks with his
friends tonight.”
My heart nearly stopped. I wondered if those “friends”
included Alicia. “Don’t you have to work tomorrow? Marvin and
his buddies are night birds.”
Something in my tone must have given away my discomfort
with the idea. “Well yeah, I wasn’t going to make a late night of it
though,” Hailey said uneasily.
I didn’t want to come off sounding jealous, but I knew that
Alicia would be all over Hailey the minute she caught sight of her.
“One of his friends…she’s…she kind of comes on strong. I feel
like I should warn you.”
“You know this by experience?” she asked in a playful tone.
“Unfortunately.”
“What’s her name?”
“Alicia.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for her then.”
“Better keep a bat handy, too. You’ll need it.” I wasn’t
joking.
“Does that mean you think she may find me attractive?”
Hailey asked.
“You’re extremely attractive.” I put emphasis on the word
attractive. “But Alicia is the type of woman that would find a tree
stump alluring.”
She lowered her voice. “You find me attractive?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I kissed you the other night in case you
don’t remember.”
10
Robin Alexander
Her sigh sent shivers down my spine. “I haven’t forgotten.
You…umm…changed the subject the other night when I asked
you if you found a spark.”
I kicked at the sand and blurted out what I thought before I
lost my nerve. “You should know by now that it’s you that I feel
the spark with. The real question is if you feel it with me.”
“I needed to hear you say it,” Hailey said barely above a
whisper. “I feel it, too. I’m just… Hi, Kelly, come in and have
a seat. I’ll be finished here in a sec.” Hailey’s tone switched to
business. “Shannon, I hate to cut this short, but I have someone
in my office. We’ll set up a meeting when you get back in town.”
“I look forward to it,” I said in the same businesslike tone.
“I’d like you to text me when you get in tonight, so I’ll know you
made it home safely. And yes, I know you can’t argue with me on
this point, because you have someone in your office, so just do
as I ask.”
“I will consider your proposal. Thank you for calling,” Hailey
said politely before ending the call.
I snapped the phone closed with a smile, then frowned when
I thought about Hailey going out with Marvin and his friends.
I wondered if my name would come up in conversation since I
was a mutual friend and if Alicia would say anything about my
encounter with her. I also wondered what Hailey had planned to
say before she was cut off. All of it made me uneasy.
I had no appetite at dinner. In my mind’s eye, I could only see
Hailey on the dance floor with Alicia, and I wanted to go home.
Mom, Dad, and Kalen were engrossed in conversation about what
room would be best as the nursery and fencing the backyard now
that they’d have a little one running loose. No one noticed that I
only picked at my food.
After dinner, Dad settled into his recliner while Kalen
stretched out on the couch. Mom and I cleaned the kitchen. Then
we took our coffee to the patio. “Mom, can I ask you a personal
question?”
She looked over at me and raised her brow.
“Why did you stay with him?” I asked softly.
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Pitifully Ugly
She seemed surprised at first. “I thought you’d forgotten
about that night.”
I wished I had.
After a long sigh, she said, “At first, it was that I didn’t want
to break up our home. I was a housewife with no education and
two girls barely in school. That’s why when you two started high
school, I went to beauty school,” she said with a sad smile. “I
waited until y’all went off to college to confront him.”
“What did he say?”
“He was shocked that I’d known all that time and never said
anything. He begged my forgiveness and swore it was only once.”
Mom set her cup on the table and folded her hands in her lap. “I
have no idea if that was the truth, but I chose to accept it as so.”
I couldn’t imagine living all those years coping silently with
the betrayal. “Why?”
“I loved him and I couldn’t make myself stop,” she said as if
it were as simple as that. “After I told him that I knew, he’s spent
all these years trying to make it up to me. I’m not saying the
affair was a blessing in disguise, but our relationship has been
wonderful ever since. I wonder if it’d been as good otherwise.”
“When I think about the women I’ve been involved with, I
don’t think I could’ve forgiven any of them for that.”
Mom tilted her head and looked at me intently. “I know you
loved the women you were serious with, but I’ve wondered if you
were ever truly in love.”
“I was content. It was nice to have someone to share things
with,” I admitted as I toyed with my cup. “I know love isn’t really
like it’s depicted in movies and books, but that’s what I want.”
Mom laughed. “Yes, they never show or tell you what happens
after the happy couple rides off into the sunset. But someone has
to do the laundry, take out the trash, and pay the bills.”
“I know it sounds pathetic, but at this stage in my life, even
those chores sound romantic,” I said with a smile. “If the one I
was doing the chores for made my heart skip a beat whenever she
walked into the room.”
“Does Hailey make your heart skip a beat?” Mom asked.
“From the second I saw her.”
10
Robin Alexander
“What makes her so different from the others?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s just a connection, and as
silly as it sounds, I feel like we’re supposed to be together.”
“I’m curious to know what Kalen thinks about her,” Mom
said.I winced, knowing exactly what Kalen thought and would no
doubt tell Mom. “She doesn’t like her.”
Mom’s brows rose. “Really?”
“Hailey is divorced,” I said. “She had an affair with a
woman.”
Mom stared at me for a moment. “Well, that’s kind of hard to