Just Beginning (24 page)

“What the heck?”

Jenny’s eyes popped open as her brother’s voice cracked on “heck.” Michael stood next to her, staring. His overgrown mop was layered close on the sides with the top gelled to a carefully messy look. Long hair gone, his square jaw seemed more prominent, hinting at the budding man. “Well, look at you. What an improvement.”

“Look at
you
. What happened?” Michael eased into the nearby chair. His steady gaze followed the stylist’s every movement with wide-eyed fascination.

“Nothing. It was time for a change. Like it?”

“I don’t know.” Michael stared. “It’s different.”

“Different good or different you-need-to-buy-a-hat?”

He angled his head sideways and gnawed on his thumb cuticle. “Just different. You’ve always had long hair.”

“Not anymore.” Jenny snapped her eyes shut again as she was swung around. She didn’t want to see anything until Linda was completely done. No more regrets. She’d made her decision, and she was going to love it—at least until it grew out again.

As Linda blew dry Jenny’s hair, she let the warm air and rhythmic tugging bring her back to that soothing, calm place. All too soon, Linda turned Jenny around and prompted her to look in the mirror. Jenny slowly opened her eyes to a pretty young woman, with huge eyes and a heart-shaped face.

Her usual center part had been moved to the side, accentuating long, flattering layers. Wow. What a dramatic difference. She took the mirror Linda handed her as the stylist swung the chair around for her to inspect the back. Instead, Jenny leaned closer to the hand mirror. Good God, her eyebrows were bushy caterpillars; she had to get that taken care of right away. And she had a long neck. Who knew? Jenny tried out a faint smile.

Michael was right. She looked different—yet the same.

After thanking Linda and leaving her a healthy tip for squeezing Jenny in and creating the adorable transformation, they left Lou Lou’s and headed back to her car.

Michael put an arm around her shoulder. “Well, sis, that might have been more painful for you than for me.”

“Thanks.” She paused in Kramer’s Bed and Bath window and looked at herself. She tossed her head. “I love it. Much lighter. I should have done this sooner.”

Michael pursed his lips and considered his reflection. He lifted his chin. “Yeah, me, too. Gonna be much cooler for tennis.”

Jenny turned to Michael with a big grin and thrust her hand high. “High five, bro.”

“Heck, yeah.” Michael slapped her hand with enough enthusiasm to make it sting.

Jenny caught their reflections in the window and frowned. Her T-shirt and flip-flops were a stark contrast to her new, chic haircut. And her face was nowhere near as polished as her hair. She sighed.

“Hey, let’s go to Sanders and celebrate with a sundae,” Michael said.

As Jenny turned toward the chocolate store, a stunning evening dress in the boutique’s window next door caught her eye. Now
that
little black dress with a deep V-neck and sheer, beaded sleeves was worthy of her new haircut. It’d be perfect for the hospital dinner dance. Exactly what a doctor’s wife should wear.

“Uh...” She rummaged in her bag, pulled out her wallet, and handed Michael a ten-dollar bill. “I’ve gotta run in there for a minute.” She nodded at Dawood’s. “Why don’t you have an extra big one for me?”

“Shopping,” he said, as if it were a dirty word. “Can I get a Frappuccino at Starbucks instead?”

“Nope. Too much caffeine.” He’d be up all night, and Mom would kill her. She watched Michael cross the street, calling out, “Meet me back here as soon as you’re done—no, will you go put a few more quarters in the meter first?”

Michael nodded and headed back to the car. Twenty minutes later, with a fantastic dress slung over her shoulder, Jenny and Michael strolled down Kercheval. “What time is it?”

Michael took out his phone. “Five-thirty.”

“Yikes, we’d better hurry.”

“Yeah, well, we hadn’t counted on your shopping spree.”

“Hey, you got ice cream out of the deal.”

“True.”

They hurried down the street, until bright colors in the Gymboree store caught Jenny’s attention. “Look, Michael. Isn’t that little bear jacket darling? The ears are so cute. You used to have something like that.”

“Yeah. Just
ador
able.”

She ignored his mocking. “Oh my God, that little ducky jumper with the matching bib is so sweet.”

“Yeah, sweet. Let’s go. We’re late.”

“Right.” Jenny pulled herself away from the window and rushed after Michael.
Don’t I know somebody with a baby? It was sooo cute!

After dropping Michael off at her folks, Jenny sped home. The station wagon sat in the garage. Gabe was already home. She grabbed her purchases and rushed in the house, calling out, “Hi, I’m home.”

No answer.

She draped her dress over a kitchen chair on her way to the study. “Gabe?”

She trotted upstairs. “Gabe?”

Jenny pulled her cell from her pocket, then paused. Maybe he was down by the boat. She skipped downstairs and headed for the patio doors, when she saw him cleaning off the grill. “Gabe?”

“Hi, babe. I saw the steaks thawing so thought I’d get the grill rea—” Gabe turned around, and his mouth dropped open.

“Surprise.” Jenny threw her arms wide, then pirouetted so her hair whipped around her face. “What do you think?”

Gabe snapped his mouth shut and stepped closer, peering. “Oh. My God.
What
did you do?”

“I got my hair cut.”

“What did you
do
?” He moved closer, circling her, staring.

“I got my hair cut. Do you like it?”

“Oh my God, you cut your hair.”

She nodded. Smiling, she tucked a lock behind her ear. “Isn’t it great? It’s like Julianne Hough’s.”

“You cut your hair.”

She frowned. “Stop saying that.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s annoying.”

“No, why’d you cut it?”

“I wanted to.”

Gabe lifted the back of her hair. “It’s a wig, right? It’s a joke?”

Jenny slapped his hand away. “
No
, it’s not a wig. I cut my hair and donated it to Locks of Love.”

“But why?”

“I wanted to.” Her face fell. “Don’t you like it?”

“I... It’s different.”

“You hate it,” she said flatly.

“Nooo, I...it’s a surprise.” He examined her closer. “You look so much...”

“So much what?” she narrowed one eye and cocked her head in warning.

“I don’t know. Older. Different. What do you think?”

“I love it. It’s so much lighter and gonna be easier to care for, and I think it makes me look chic.”
Older. Sophisticated
.

“If you love it, then I love it.” Gabe pulled Jenny close and locked his arms around her waist. Then he leaned back and tipped his head this way and that, inspecting her face and hair. He frowned. “You look so different. Like someone else. It’s almost like I’m having an affair.”

Jenny chuckled.
Looked like someone else
? That might be a slight exaggeration, but a move in the right direction. This could very well be the perfect thing she needed to help her. “Well, knock yourself out, and let’s make all your fantasies come true, ’cause this is the only affair you’re ever likely to have.”

“Fantasy affair? More like a nightmare.” Gabe shuddered, then pulled her close and rested his cheek on her head. “Pleasing the woman I have keeps me busy enough.”

Jenny grinned.
Good.

* * *

Gabe kissed Jenny on the cheek and watched her burrow deeper under the flowered covers until all that showed were a few wispy clumps of hair. How could she breathe, let alone sleep, like that? Strange woman.

Gabe put Ritz’s electronic collar on her, grabbed his black helmet from the hook, and tapped the garage door opener. Rolling his bike into the drive, the early morning mugginess sent him back inside to add ice cubes to his water bottle. Damn, it had to be the hottest August on record. He went back outside.

“Ready?” Steve stood in the drive petting Ritz.

Gabe nodded and mounted his bike. Tail wagging, Ritz trotted behind them down the drive as far as her electronic collar would let her go. They turned onto the near deserted street.

“Gonna be hot today,” Steve said.

“And humid.”

“There’s a cold front moving in.”

“Can’t wait.”

Gabe loved these morning workouts. Steve was a good companion, and he knew how far to push them to keep testing their tired muscles. In the beginning, he suspected Steve held back a bit until he’d gotten in shape, but now Gabe held his own.

Steve was a smart, interesting guy even if he did disagree with Gabe, sometimes just for the hell of it. Typical lawyer. An hour ride to warm his muscles and wake him up, followed by a hot shower, was a great way to start the day. Making love with his wife was the only thing to top it.

They peddled south on Lakeshore Drive in silence, passing the Pier, St. Paul’s church, and before long they approached the War Memorial. Suddenly Gabe downshifted and sprinted past Fisher, pumping furiously until his thighs burned. He coasted a bit, but before long Steve zipped by, and he was hustling to catch up.

They rode side by side awhile before Steve glanced sideways at him. “So what’s with Jenny?”

“What do you mean?” He dropped back behind Steve as they entered a busier area, then moved back up beside him when traffic allowed.

“Short hair. Heels. Makeup.”

Gabe shrugged. “She wanted a change.”

“That’s not a change, it’s a transformation. Like a fat person losing a hundred pounds.”

“Don’t let Jen catch you callin’ her fat.” Gabe looked over his shoulder before crossing the street and heading for Three Mile Drive Park.

Steve followed. “What’s wrong with the way she looked?”

“Nothin’. She wanted to try out a new look.” What else could it be? Why would someone change her looks so drastically? “Well...the kids and their friends have been around a lot this summer. Jen probably wanted to look her age.”

“She’ll never look her age.”

Sweat trickled down Gabe’s temple and onto his shoulder. “Alex got a little ticked at her graduation party when the guy she’s had a crush on thought Jenny was her sister.”

Steve flashed him a quick glance before adjusting his gears. “Jenny’s a beautiful lady.”

“Yeah, well, Alex didn’t like her heartthrob eyeing her stepmom.”

“Understandable.”

“Jen laughed it off, but I think she was embarrassed.” Longing for the cool shade up ahead, Gabe dropped back and took his bottle out. He squirted water in his mouth and held it there for a minute before swallowing. He replaced the water and hurried to catch up with Steve.

“Bingo.
That’s
why she butchered her hair.”

“She didn’t ‘butcher’ it. It’s way shorter. Took me awhile to get used to it, but it looks nice. She looks older.”

“She looks older. That’s it.”

“Said it was cooler. And she wanted a more stylish look for work,” he huffed.

“Did it work?”

Gabe sighed as they rolled into the shade by the park, savoring the break before they turned around and really worked on the six-mile race home. “Hell, I don’t know. She’d be gorgeous in a brown paper bag.”

Hands on his hips, Steve coasted, resting for their return sprint. “Did you tell her that?”

“What?”

“That she’s beautiful. That it’s not her age that attracts men.” Steve raised a shoulder to wipe his dripping face. “It’s her. A sophisticated haircut and preppy clothes isn’t going to make men stop admiring her.”

“It’s stupid.”

“Not to her.” Steve sloshed water around his mouth before spitting it out. He raised an eyebrow as if considering something before looking away. “Comments about her being so much younger than you upset her.”

Steve studied their surroundings with extra attention, as if the conversation made him uncomfortable. Why now? He’d never hesitated to voice his opinion before.

“How do you know?”

Steve swallowed and capped the water. Still not looking at him, he pushed away from the curb, saying over his shoulder, “She told me.”

How come she never told me?
Was she embarrassed, or maybe she feared he thought she encouraged men? Naw, that was stupid. If it were important, his Jenny would have confided in him. They shared everything important. Steve must be reading too much into some off-handed remark she’d made.

“She’ll get over it.”

Steve abruptly swerved to the side. Gabe flew on by him, then circled back wondering if he’d gotten a flat, but Steve stood straddling his bike. When Gabe approached, Steve clenched his jaw and looked away a minute before pinning him with an angry scowl. “She’s not going to just ‘get over it’. She needs your reassurance.”

Wow. Steve’s anger, an almost palpable thing, hung between them in the humid morning air. How come? A slice of jealousy cut through Gabe. “Why don’t
you
reassure her, since you seem to know so much about my wife?”

Steve gave him a look of pure disgust. His lips tightened then released, repeatedly, as if trying to decide to say something, or not. Eyebrows pinched together so they nearly met, Steve glared at him.

“She doesn’t want my reassurance, you idiot. It’s
your
opinion that matters to her. For some reason she’s convinced the sun rises and sets by your sorry ass. It’s
you
she’s desperate to please, not me.” Steve hopped on his bike and rode away, leaving Gabe to trail behind.

Were things really that difficult for Jenny? She had lopped off a good foot of hair. And her new clothes were stodgy. He frowned. Maybe she was going through some crisis, and he’d missed the signs.

Steve was right; something weird was going on with her—not that he’d ever admit it to the other man. He pulled up next to Steve. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Soon.” Steve smirked, all traces of his former anger gone. “Before she gets a buzz cut, starts wearing horn-rimmed glasses and granny smocks.” Checking traffic, he turned in a big arc. Steve arched a brow. “Ready?”