The Shop on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #1)(70)

“We weren’t dating…. We were just friends.”

“Past tense?” Lydia pried gently. “You aren’t seeing him anymore?”

“I haven’t seen him in a while. He’s got more than one friend, if you know what I mean.”

“You saw him with someone else,” Jacqueline guessed.

Alix’s head was so low her chin sank into her chest when she nodded.

“Someone pretty,” she mumbled. “And blond.” The girl in church.

“Naturally,” Jacqueline added. She’d always imagined that Reese’s mistress was blond, and regarded with suspicion any blonde who came near him. Not that she cared, she told herself, but Jacqueline had to admit she occasionally wondered what the woman looked like. At the same time, she didn’t want to know. In fact, she usually tried not to think about her at all.

Jacqueline’s marriage, what was left of it, had been strained since the night Reese had walked out on their dinner. She hadn’t forgiven him; more than that, she’d avoided him.

Reese hadn’t made any effort to bridge the gap, either. Apparently, finding his roses stuffed in the garbage the next morning had been message enough.

The three of them sat knitting together in silence. Lydia had to put her own knitting aside twice to help customers, and that left Jacqueline alone with Alix.

Jacqueline wasn’t sure what prompted the idea, but once it took hold in her mind, it refused to leave.

“I owe you a favor,” she announced with some fanfare.

“For what?”

Jacqueline was astonished that Alix had forgotten. “Dear girl, you might very well have saved my life.”

A hint of a smile came and then quickly vanished. Alix shrugged as if her stepping into the alley that day and standing up to those hoodlums was just a routine incident. An ordinary, everyday event.

“It’s time I repaid your kindness,” she said decisively.

Alix was plainly curious. “How?”

“I think,” Jacqueline said with flair, “that we’ll go for a complete makeover. My treat, naturally.”

“A what?”

“A beauty treatment.”

Alix frowned. “What good’s that going to do?”

“It might get you noticed by a certain young man.”

“What kind of beauty treatment?” Alix tried to disguise her interest, but she didn’t fool Jacqueline.

“We’d start with your hair.” Jacqueline examined the purple-tinted ends with a critical eye and resisted the urge to cringe. That dreadful color had to go. Motioning with her hand, she offered a few suggestions. “Get it cut and styled. Perhaps dye it a different color.”

“Only if I like it,” the girl said warily.

“Of course!”

“Any color I want?”

“Within reason.”

Alix made a careless movement with her shoulders. “I suppose that would be all right.” She acted as if she was doing Jacqueline a favor. Two months ago Jacqueline would have taken offense at that but now she knew it was simply posturing.

“I’d like to take you to my fashion consultant and—”

Alix was shaking her head even before Jacqueline had finished the sentence. “I don’t need any advice on how to dress.”

“Whatever you say, but I do think we should get you a couple of new outfits.”

Still Alix hesitated, but then she gave a halfhearted nod. “Your treat?”

“Of course.”

“I guess it’s okay. When do you want to do this?” She asked as if her social calendar was full.

“Soon.” Jacqueline set aside her knitting and retrieved her cell phone. “I’ll call Desiree right now. She’s the best hairdresser in town. It sometimes takes weeks to get an appointment.”

“Okay.” Alix couldn’t hide her eagerness now. She sat up straight, nibbling on her lower lip.

“I need an appointment with Desiree ASAP,” Jacqueline said, hoping the receptionist caught the hint of urgency in her voice. Desiree was a top beautician and the prices she charged were enough to perm Jacqueline’s hair without chemicals. Still, she was worth every penny because of the miracles she performed. All the women at the country club went to her, and if they didn’t, they wanted to.

Jacqueline waited impatiently while the receptionist put her on hold. It seemed forever before she returned. “Desiree says she’ll stay late this evening if you can be here by four-thirty.”

“Four-thirty?” She glanced at Alix, who nodded. “We’ll be there,” Jacqueline crowed triumphantly. She turned off the cell and placed it inside her purse. She felt certain that Alix didn’t realize her good fortune. Jacqueline had to book her haircuts a month in advance.

Lydia was back, and although she hadn’t heard a lot of the conversation, she seemed to understand what was happening and nodded in approval. Jacqueline was on a mission now, confident that with a change in wardrobe and a decent haircut she could turn Alix into an attractive young woman. A thrill of excitement went through her. This was going to be fun.

As soon as the knitting session was over, Jacqueline took Alix to Nordstrom for a new outfit. She purchased her own designer clothes at the Seattle-based department store, where one particular sales clerk had been in charge of Jacqueline’s wardrobe for years.