Beachside Beginnings by Sheila Roberts

Author:Sheila Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2020-02-19T19:41:58+00:00

Thirteen

On Saturday Moira and Chastity arrived at the salon, ready to paint. Pearl was waiting for them wearing a pair of ancient gray sweatpants and a black top that looked like a leftover from the eighties. Her hair was covered with a bandanna. Chastity was in faded jeans and a ratty sweatshirt she said she’d had since she was seventeen. Moira, in a pair of cuffed jeans and a shirt she hoped wouldn’t get too paint splattered, didn’t quite match the other two.

Pearl looked at her and frowned. “You don’t want to paint in those clothes. You’ll wreck them for sure.”

“It’s all I have.” It was either her jeans or her bra and panties, and she preferred to get paint on the jeans.

“I’ve got something you can wear. Don’t even go near a can of paint until I come back,” Pearl commanded.

“You don’t need to sacrifice your clothes,” Moira protested.

“And you don’t need to be giving up a Saturday,” Pearl said, “so I guess that makes us even. Don’t start without me, girls.”

“No painting,” Moira promised. “We’ll get the mirrors down, though.”

Taking down the mirrors was nerve-racking. “Seven years bad luck if you break a mirror. That’s what my grandma once told me,” Chastity said as they moved one into the storage room.

Moira had already had enough bad luck. “Then let’s be super careful.”

“At least we don’t have to take up those salon chairs,” Chastity said as they returned for another mirror. “I’m glad I’m not the guys.”

“Same here. It’s going to be a lot of work pulling up this old floor, too,” Moira said. She could already see Victor King wielding a crowbar, pulling up chunks of the old floor with his bare hands. Bare. With all that hard work and sweating, he’d be shirtless, of course.

“I’m glad Pearl decided to redo the whole place instead of going halfway,” Chastity said.

“It is going to look awesome,” Moira agreed, and then thought of Pearl herself. She was an attractive older woman who dressed nicely enough. But her hair, drab gray, straight and in that ponytail—it didn’t exactly project an image of style. Could they do something about that? Preferably before the grand opening?

Pearl returned with some ancient drawstring pants and a long-sleeved top like the one she was wearing, only this one was a dingy white. “They’re ancient and ugly,” she said, holding them out to Moira, “which makes them perfect for painting.”

The top was snug through the bust—Moira was definitely curvier than her boss—but it fit well enough. “How do I look?” she joked when she came out of the back room where she’d changed.

“Like a serious painter,” said Pearl. “Let’s get to work, girls.”

The work should have been tedious but Moira found it pleasant and satisfying, visiting with the other two women, watching the wall begin to glow with its new color.

“This is going to be gorgeous,” she said, taking a step back to admire it.

“The whole place is going to be gorgeous,” Pearl said. “I’m so glad you girls convinced me to do this.

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