Frankie by Sadie King

Author:Sadie King
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sadie King

8

BILLY

It’s five minutes to eight, and I’m seated at the diner watching the door. My fingers drum the table, and as the minutes tick by I become more impatient.

At five minutes past eight, she walks in the door. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. She looks stunning. Her hair is tied back off her face, the fiery color offset against a green summer dress that hugs her curves.

She sees me and nods, her face set in a serious frown. I’ll make it my mission to make her smile tonight, I decide. To make her laugh.

She takes a seat in the booth opposite me.

“I’m glad you came.”

She eyes me warily. “I thought it was only fair to give you a chance.”

I pass her a menu. “What’s good here?”

“They do the best ribs in town.”

“Ribs it is then.”

We place our orders, and I study her over the table. She’s studying me back, a determined set to her face. “What I don’t understand is that you haven’t even opened your beauty salon yet. Why not take up the relocation offer and open it on Burlap Street?”

“Firstly, Burlap Street is at the wrong end of town. No one goes there. Secondly, it’s where my mom had her salon.”

“Why did your mom close it down?”

She looks at me for a long time. “She passed away last year.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

She waves her hand dismissively. “Why would you? She opened that salon when I was just a baby. She was incredibly proud of it, going into business while raising a family. I spent a lot of my childhood there. It’s where I grew up, darting in and out of the shops along those streets.”

“So it has great sentimental value?”

She looks at me sharply. “Not just for me. It’s where people used to meet.”

The ribs arrive, and she keeps talking.

“That salon was bustling on a Saturday, all the women of Little Mountain View getting their hair or nails done. You’d hear all the gossip, but not just the malicious stuff--who was struggling, who needed help with the kids, who needed a safe place to stay for a few nights. Mom would spend Saturday in the salon, but after it closed up, she’d go around delivering care packages or collecting children for the night to give someone a break.”

“She sounds like an amazing woman.”

“She was.” She picks at her ribs. “Mom died of breast cancer. She worked until she was too sick, and I shut the place down while I cared for her. I promised her before she died that I’d reopen the salon. Because it’s not just about doing hair and nails. It really is about community.”

She blinks back tears, and I pull out my handkerchief.

She smiles thinly as she takes it. “I don’t know anybody who still carries a handkerchief. Does it have your initials?”

I hold my hands up. “Monogrammed in the corner.”

She laughs, and I notice a sprinkling of freckles across her nose that seem to dance as she smiles.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.