The Guardian

She put the receiver to her ear. "Hello?"

There was no reply on the other end, though it seemed the line was still open.

"Hello?" she said again.

Nothing. Julie put the phone back in its cradle and went to let Singer in. In her haste, she'd slammed the door in his face. But as soon as she reached the door, the phone rang again, and she went through the same routine.

Again, there was silence on the other end. Only this time, before she lowered the phone, she thought she heard a faint click as the caller hung up.

"So how are things going with Julie?" Henry asked.

"Good," Mike answered, his head buried beneath a hood. Over the past week, he hadn't said much about it to his brother simply because he hadn't had the time. With summer coming, air conditioners were going on the blink as fast as they were being switched on, and people were rolling into the garage with dirty rings on the collars of their shirts. Besides, it was so much fun having information Henry wanted and not sharing it. Kind of made him feel he had the upper hand for once.

Henry regarded him. "Based on how much you've been seeing her, I'd hope they're going better than that."

"You know how it is," Mike said, continuing to work. He reached for a socket wrench and began trying to loosen the bolts that held the compressor in place.

"Actually, I don't."

Yeah, I know!

"Like I said, it's going good. Can you hand me a rag? My hands are kind of slick."

Henry passed it over. "So I heard you made her dinner at your place a little bit ago."

"Yep," Mike said.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What happened?"

"She liked it."

"That's it?"

"What do you want me to say, Henry?"

"How do you think she feels about you?"

"I think she likes me."

Henry brought his hands together. Now they were getting somewhere. "You think she likes you, huh?"

Mike took an extra few seconds to answer, knowing Henry wanted details.

"Yep."

Under the hood, he smiled, thinking, This is great!

"Mmm," Henry said. Oh, this guy thinks he's so slick, but there's more than one way to get answers. "Well, listen, I was wondering if you two would like to head out on the boat next weekend with Emma and me."

"Next weekend?"

"Yeah. I figure we'll do a little fishing, have a few beers. It'll be fun."

"I think we might be able to work that out."

Henry raised his eyebrows. Little brother thinks he's a big shot now, he thought. Funny what getting a girlfriend will do.

"Try not to sound so thrilled," he grumbled.

"Hey, don't get all flustered. I just meant that I had to check with Julie first."

"Oh," Henry said, "that makes sense." And unfortunately, he thought, it did.

Henry stood beside Mike for another minute, but Mike didn't so much as bother to pull his head out of the car. Finally Henry turned and headed to his office, thinking, Okay Mike, you're in for it now. All I wanted was a little info, but no, you had to play the strong, silent type.

The only problem was, even after twenty minutes, he couldn't think of anything he could do. He loved a good zinger, but fair was fair, and he wasn't about to ruin things for his little brother.

I may be a weak man, he thought, but I'm not a mean one.

"I'm telling you, you're practically glowing these days," Mabel said.

"I am not. I've just been in the sun lately," Julie answered.

They were in the salon, enjoying a lull between clients. Andrea was cutting hair at her station and carrying on a conversation about politics that was doomed as soon as she mentioned that she liked the current governor because "his hair looked nicer than the other guy's." The "other guy" she was referring to seemed irrelevant to her client; he hadn't come for the conversation anyway.

"It ain't the sun I'm talking about, and you know it."

Julie reached for the broom and began sweeping the floor around her chair.

"Yes, Mabel, I know. You aren't exactly the most subtle person I've ever met."

"Why be subtle? It's so much easier just to come out with it."

"For you, maybe. We mortals are sometimes plagued by things like how we might be coming across to other people."

"Darlin', you can't worry about stuff like that. Life's too short. Besides, you like me, don't you?"

"You're one of a kind, that's for sure."

Mabel leaned toward her. "Then dish up."

An hour later, Andrea's latest client had finished up and left, leaving a tip big enough to cover the new Miracle Bra she'd had her eye on. In the past couple of weeks, she'd decided that her problem was that her chest wasn't quite big enough to attract the right kind of guy, but the new bra would definitely help with that.

It would also help her feel a little better about herself. For the past week and all morning long, Mabel and Julie had been whispering to each other as if they were planning to rob the bank down the street, but even Andrea understood they were talking about Julie's relationship with Mike. Not that they were willing to share anything other than the basics. So she'd kissed him? What's the big deal? Andrea had been kissing boys since second grade, but Julie seemed to believe the whole thing was as romantic as the movie Pretty Woman.

And besides, Andrea thought, the thing with Mike was completely ridiculous. Mike or Richard? Come on, she told herself, the choice is obvious, even for a moron. Mike's a nice guy, but he wasn't Richard. Wasn't even close to Richard. Richard had it all, and Mike? The big zip as far as sex appeal went. But Julie was as blind as an albino bat when it came to men.

If anything, Andrea thought, Julie should be talking to me. I could give her some serious pointers on how to fix the situation with Richard.

Just then the bell on the door jingled, and Andrea turned her head, thinking, Well, speak of the devil . . .

For a long moment, the salon was silent. Mabel had slipped out for a few minutes, and Julie's client was heading out, too. Richard held the door for her as she left. He was wearing sunglasses, and when he turned back around, the reflection of her own features when he faced her left Julie with an odd, sinking feeling in her stomach. Singer sat up on the blanket.

"Richard," Julie said.

The word came out tentatively.

"Hello, Julie. How are you?"

There was no reason to be rude, but she didn't feel like exchanging pleasantries, either. Though she didn't mind bumping into Richard now and then, since it was inevitable in a small town, she wasn't sure she wanted him to keep coming here. It was one thing for their meetings to be accidental, it was completely another to know that she'd continue seeing him regularly, and she didn't want to do anything to encourage him. She certai

nly didn't want a repeat of their meeting at the grocery store.

"What's up?" she asked instead.

Richard slipped off his sunglasses and smiled. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "I was hoping that you had time to cut my hair. It's about that time again."

Wondering if that was his only reason for coming, she scanned her appointment book, already knowing what she'd find. She began shaking her head.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I can fit it in-I'm pretty busy today. My next appointment is in a few minutes, and after that, I have a color job to do, and they can take a long time."

"I guess I should have made an appointment, huh?" he said.

"Sometimes I can work people in, but today I just don't have the time."

"I see." He glanced away. "Well, since I'm already here, maybe we could set something up. How about Monday?"

She flipped the page, again knowing what she'd find.

"I'm booked solid then, too. Mondays are always busy. That's when the regulars come in."

"Tuesday?"

This time, she didn't need to look. "I'm only working half a day. I've got some things to take care of in the afternoon."

Richard closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again, as if asking, So this is how it's going to be, huh? However, he didn't turn to leave. Sensing the tension between them, Andrea stepped back from her chair.

"I can do it, sugar," she said. "I've got a little time."

After a moment, Richard took a small step backward, still holding Julie's eyes.

"Yeah," he said, "that'll be fine."

Andrea tugged at her miniskirt, glanced in the mirror, then led the way.

"C'mon, sugar. Let's go to the back. I need to wash your hair first."

"Sure. Thank you, Andrea."

She looked over her shoulder at him, giving him her best Christmas smile, thrilled by the way her name sounded on his lips.

"What was he doing there?" Mike asked. As soon as he'd seen Richard leave the salon-Mike had a tendency to stare in the salon's direction whenever he had a spare minute, if only to imagine what Julie was doing right then-he'd hurried over, and Julie went outside to meet him.