Until Sage (Until Him 2)

“Mrs. Ethel? Sheesh! Who knew the cheap, mean old goat had it in her to be sweet?” Ellie mutters, and I laugh.

“I can’t believe she sent me flowers.” I smile, leaning in to sniff one of the huge pink roses, and Frankie shakes his head.

“That woman adores you. You’re the only person she talks to when she comes in, and since you started here, she’s been a regular of yours. I’m not surprised at all that she sent you these,” he states matter-of-factly, and I blink at him, realizing he must not know she doesn’t really talk to me. Honestly, I don’t think she’s even said more than a dozen words to me since she’s been my client.

“Well, they are beautiful. I should give her a call and say thank you.” I decide, pulling the appointment book toward me so I can retrieve her number. Scanning through the pages, I finally come across it and then reach for the salon phone to dial her number. Putting the phone to my ear, I listen to it ring three times before a woman answers.

“Duesaw residence. How can I help you?”

“Is Mrs. Ethel available?”

“Yes?” she replies, and I wait for her to say more then realize if I do, I’ll likely wait a year. Knowing it’s Mrs. Ethel, I continue on, forgoing normal phone etiquette. “It’s Kim. I just wanted to call and say thank you. I got the flowers and they are beautiful.”

“Of course they’re beautiful. They cost me fifty dollars,” she mutters, right before I hear a loud click.

Frowning, I pull the phone from my ear, look at it, and then put it back to my ear. “Hello?” I call, but get nothing. Taking the phone from my ear once again, I stare at it in disbelief.

“What did she say?” Frankie asks, and I look from him to Ellie and back again.

“She said of course I like them, because they cost her fifty dollars, and then she hung up on me,” I respond, feeling my lips tip up as Frankie and Ellie both start to laugh. “I’m thinking you might be wrong about her adoring me,” I add, and Frankie cackles harder as Ellie doubles over, snorting in amusement when she does.

“I don’t know about that,” Ellie says, wiping away the tears in her eyes. “The one time I had to do her hair when you were out of town, she gave me a twenty-five cent tip after complaining I was doing it all wrong, which I didn’t. She looked exactly the same way you make her look.”

“She’s very set in her ways.” I smile, smelling the flowers again, not being able to help myself.

“You could say that.” Frankie smiles at me then his eyes turn serious. “I know this isn’t exactly the best time to talk to you girls about this, but I’ve been putting off this conversation for a few weeks now and Alex is starting to fret.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask, watching him go to flip over the “Open” sign and lock the door.

“Come have a seat.” He sits on the purple couch in front of the window, and Ellie and I look at each other before going over to take a seat across from him. Folding my hands in my lap, I wait to see what he will say while my stomach fills with worry.

When I moved to town, Frankie took a chance on me and gave me a job. I didn’t have much hands-on experience before I started, but he didn’t care. He hired me anyway and, with his help and guidance, I’ve gotten really good at what I do. I don’t know what I will do if he tells me that he’s getting rid of the salon, or worse, getting rid of me.

“I know both of you have a lot going on,” he starts, looking at Ellie and I both softly, making me worry even more. “Alex and I are moving to Florida.”

“What?” Ellie and I ask at the same time.

“This hasn’t been an easy decision for us to make, but Alex’s mom is getting older and needs us closer, so we have decided to put the shop up for sale,” he says, and my chest starts to get tight with anxiety as my hands ball into fists. “Before we do that, we wanted to offer it to one or both of you for a little off the asking price. I know this is unexpected, so you have a little time to think about it before you give me your answer. But I hope you both really think about saying yes.” He smiles at us, and his face softens. “You girls have worked your asses off for this salon. The clients love you, and I know if you two do decide that you want to buy it, you could do some amazing things with this place.”