Carrie had driven them to the spa today since Darling’s loaner car was at a Mercedes dealer being restored thanks to Ross. She hadn’t initially wanted to do a whole day of beauty—had actually planned to just meet up with Carrie and have lunch or something—but she was glad she went. They grabbed sandwiches at a shop before their appointment and were lucky to be chosen for a special contest the spa was having. All of their services would be free. Darling had only booked a facial appointment but wound up having a body scrub, manicure, facial, hair foils, waxing, and finally a pedicure. She had never been so pampered. The salon owner did her hair, and the color was incredible; her blonde hair was no longer so brassy but had multiple shades of color streaked through.
The pedicure was pure heaven. Why, oh, why didn’t she do this more often? Oh, wait—money and time. Darling wiggled her toes in the bubbling warm water and sank deeper into the massage chair. Carrie was looking just as enthralled with the whole experience.
“So, what’s going on with you and Ross?” her friend asked.
Even though she’d been expecting the question, she was hesitant to answer. She had managed to avoid Madison’s inquisition over the phone the other day but only because Maddie was too far away to wear her down.
“Nothing really. He’s a friend of a friend who needed a place to stay until he can get a new visa issued for travel. I have plenty of room, and he helps take care of Beauty Belle.”
“Yeah, he helps with the dog. I am so hoping for your sake that he is helping with a whole lot more. Like curling your toes on a regular basis.” Carrie smiled mischievously.
“You remind me of my friend Madison; she also has a one-track mind,” she whispered, uncomfortable talking about such things with the spa staff listening. “No, nothing is going on; he’s leaving to join the tour any day now. Besides, he just lost his wife nine months back. It’s probably too soon for anything serious, you know?” Darling studied her drying nail polish, trying to think of a new topic besides Ross. The problem was he was all she could think of. And now he knew she was a sexual train wreck. The way he jumped away from her when she said she sucked at sex—she might as well have said something like she had a terrible herpes outbreak. He wanted nothing to do with completing the deed with her. Maybe he felt too guilty to be with another woman after his recent loss?
“All I’ll say is that if I had a hottie like that under my roof, I’d be sure to jump him every chance I got—who cares if he’s leaving or a little depressed—he’s a guy, he’s famous, he’s rich, and he’s available—and did I mention hot?”
“Several times. I’m just not the put-myself-out-there type. Not the way my dad raised me.”
“From the way you’ve described your dad raising you, I’m surprised you didn’t become a nun. Why did he ship you off to a parochial school anyway?”
“For a while he maintained that I would be better off with a lot of women role models since my mom wasn’t around. Later I realized that he just didn’t like to be around me.” Darling stared down into the swirling water.
“Who could not want to be around you? That’s ridiculous.” Carrie reached down into her footbath and flicked some water toward her.
“It’s true, though. One night when I was in my early teens, he let me come home for the whole Christmas break. Usually he wanted me to go stay with friends or stay on campus and do enrichment classes. He had a little too much to drink and told me it hurt having me around because I looked so much like her—I guess I made him miss her even more. After that week, all the visits could be measured in hours. My dad just likes to pretend I am a little girl still tucked away in a Catholic boarding school. He’ll probably flip when he finds out I’m staying at gran’s house and not just letting my aunt put it right on the market.”
“He did know you went to college in New York City, right?”
“Yes, but Madison sort of helped me convince him we were very serious students attending campus mass every Saturday evening and reading to the blind. She was good at that sort of stuff. In all truth, though, I never went to all that many parties and was pretty mellow all through college. Maddie was the hellion that I often had to worry about, and even she wasn’t too crazy. My dad just hates being around me and doesn’t want to acknowledge that I’m a grown woman.”
“I never really knew what happened to you, how bad it must have been. You really kind of lost both your parents in a way.” Carrie reached over and squeezed her hand.
The spa technicians came by to start the buffing and polishing of their toes, putting an end to serious conversation. Darling was glad; she didn’t want to dwell on her past. Besides, she was her own woman now, and she needed to start acting that way.
The mall wasn’t quite as wonderful as the spa, but she splurged a little bit. She was normally very cautious with her money, but with the weight loss, she did need to pick up a few new things. What used to be oversized outfits intended to hide a few pounds on her were now looking more like pop tents with her height acting as the pole. She could thank Zack for that one thing—his dumping her had dampened her appetite and got her to make some fitness lifestyle changes—at least after that first week of binging on pizza and ice cream had passed.
Carrie talked her into a few short sundresses that she swore showed off her best assets, her boobs and legs. She also picked up some skinny-cut jeans and low-heeled sandals. They both looked at some pricey dream outfits. Carrie practically threw her in a dressing room to try on some designer picks, but that was just in fun—the prices were so far out of her league, they might as well have had a couple more zeroes at the end. Even showing some serious restraint, she wound up hauling home several shopping bags and feared the arrival of her credit card bill next month.
They were just hauling their bags to Carrie’s car when her friend stopped in the parking lot, reading a text. “We have to get to your house. Matt texted that there was a shed fire there.”
“W-what happened? Was anyone hurt?” Darling stammered the words out, pulled from her earlier good mood.
“He said just the shed was damaged, fire’s out, and he met Ross and Beauty, so no one’s hurt.” Carrie summarized the text and flipped her phone shut, patting Darling’s knee. “Let’s get over there and check it out. Hopefully it’s not too bad.”