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“
Sei pazzo!”
my father yelled. “That means ‘you’re crazy,’

for the non-Italians in the room,” he added.

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“Which would essentially be everybody,” I said.

My father started shaking his fist. “What kind of hair-dresser drops a dime on his neighbor’s septic system?
Scemo!

Stupido! Cretino!
” He spit on the floor of the salon.
“Disgrazio!”
Vicky walked over and started sweeping up the spit on the floor.

The Best Little Hairhouse guys shook their heads. “We have no idea what he’s talking about,” the shorter one said.

My father took a step forward. He made the finger-popping-from-his-chin gesture again. “
Disgusto!”
he yelled.

Mario grabbed him by the belt loop of his camouflage pants.

The taller guy handed the for sale sign to Todd. “Just keep him away from our salon, okay?” As soon as they left, Cannoli ran over to the door and started barking.

“A little late, don’t you think?” I said.

“That’s not a dog in my salon, is it?” my father asked.

“Okay, let’s not get testy, everybody,” Mario said. “We’ve got a big week ahead of us.”

“So, is Andrew all set for the wedding?” Angela asked when we all sat down again, except for my father, who’d gone back to the house to get a bottle of grappa. “By the way, we’re not leaving until Saturday morning. The kids have Friday afternoon soccer games they can’t miss.”

Mario smiled. “I think he’s getting a little bit nervous about the wedding. He hates being the center of attention.”

“Mike wanted to work late on Friday and meet the kids and me there on Saturday,” Tulia said. “I said no way, so we’re all flying down together Friday afternoon. Maggie still can’t believe she really gets to be a flower girl at her cousin’s wedding.

And Andrew was so nice to ask both Mack and Myles to be ring bearers. I just hope Myles doesn’t eat the ring. He’s in an oral 164

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phase.” The kids weren’t with her today, unless she’d forgotten to take them out of the car.

“Well, they’re the perfect age,” Angela said. “My kids loved it when they were in Bella’s wedding.”

“Let’s not go there,” I said.

“You know,” one of the stylists said, “I keep thinking it’s Friday night, and it’s almost time to go out.” She shook her head. “It’s very disorganizing.”

There was a knock on the door. “I wonder who that is,” Sophia said. She looked at me and smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. She got up and started walking to the door.

The door opened. It was the Silly Siren father. I grabbed Mario’s arm.

“Hi,” Sophia said. “Looking for something? Maybe with four legs?”

Mario peeled off my hand and stood up, too. “Nice to see you again, sir,” he said. “Can I help you?” I hunched over Cannoli so she wouldn’t be so noticeable.

Mario walked past Sophia and told the Silly Siren father we were in a meeting. He opened the door, and they walked outside together. Sophia paused at the doorway. The rest of us all leaned forward in our chairs, trying to hear them.

Sophia turned around and looked right at me. “I can’t believe you’re trying to take his daughter’s dog away from her,” she said.

“Look who’s talking,” I said. “Care to discuss who took what from who?”

Vicky looked up from sweeping. “Whom,” she said.

“Wow,” one of the stylists said. “She has good grammar.”

“Not good,” another stylist said. “Well.” Sophia and I were still glaring at each other when Mario came back in, holding the pizza.

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“What happened?” about half the people in the room all asked at once.

Mario put the pizza boxes on the reception desk. “Okay, here’s the official story. I told him you brought the dog back here because you didn’t know what else to do. And when no one came to get it, I had to drop it off at the Marshbury Animal Shelter because we already had a salon dog. One who was known to be vicious with other animals. Killer Cannoli.” I got up and gave Mario a big kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best,” I said. I held up Cannoli so she could give him a kiss, too. “Did you hear that, Killer?”

My father came back with the grappa and opened a pizza box. He held up a slice.
“Mangiamo!”
We started reaching for the paper plates. “Did we have the meeting yet?” one of the stylists asked.

• 22 •

IT WAS GREAT TO HAVE A FOCUS. I’D BEEN WORKING

almost round the clock and had a pile of kits all made up with nowhere to go. Once I finished the design and uploaded my Web site, I’d be in business. Lizzie’s kit was already in the mail. I’d been buying her makeup since she’d first asked for lipstick just like mine, so I knew exactly what would and wouldn’t work on her.

I mixed up her foundation first. She had tawny hair, deep brown eyes, and cool medium skin, so to make her eyes pop, I also added some Revlon Molten Metal eye shadow in a gray-blue called Scene Stealer and a Bobbi Brown long-wear gel eyeliner in Sapphire Shimmer Ink to her kit. I didn’t put in any more makeup, because I wanted an excuse to send her another package soon.

At the last minute, I’d decided to throw in four coupons for free online makeup kits for Lizzie to give to her college friends. I mean, why couldn’t I do a little bit of buzzing of my own? Plus, they could be my guinea pigs to make sure all the questionnaire links worked on my Web site. And their feedback would be a big help in fine-tuning the process. My goal was to make sure my foundation and product suggestions were as accurate online as they were in person.

I put the rest of the kits in a box on one of the closet shelves Craig had abandoned. My latest idea was that if I filled up all the space he’d left, I could make him disappear for good. I’d called Summer Blowout

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the plumber, too, and now that the toilet was fixed, I couldn’t imagine needing my ex-husband for anything ever again.

It was somehow Thursday night already. I couldn’t believe Sean Ryan hadn’t called me back yet. I mean, after all, sharing his table in Atlanta had been his idea. Even that almost kiss was his idea in the first place, if I remembered correctly. And I’d called him not once, but twice, so in the age-old game of telephone tag, he was clearly, indisputably It.

All week long I’d been sure Sean Ryan was going to call me any second. I even made up excuses for why he hadn’t called yet. Emergency excuses, like sick relatives. Entrepreneurial excuses, like antioxidant issues at the microbrewery. Even psychological excuses, like he was afraid of falling for me.

I not only made up several excuses under each category, but I’d also played our entire telephone conversation in my head.

I’d accepted his apology and forgiven him completely. We’d made our plans for the college fair and the wedding. And still not a word from him. I hated that.

I started packing my suitcase for Andrew’s wedding. I’d bought a great dress this week, while I was waiting for the phone to ring. It was a silk crepe halter with a deep V-neck, a ruched bodice, and a soft fluid knee-length skirt. The vibrant blue worked well with my dark hair, pale skin, and green eyes, and it also saved me from having to buy a new outfit for Cannoli. It matched the bridesmaid dress she’d been wearing when I’d met her perfectly.

Cannoli watched me put her cornflower blue taffeta bubble dress in the suitcase. “Don’t get any ideas,” I said. “You’re definitely not going to the ceremony, and I’m not even sure I’ll be able to sneak you into the reception.” She jumped up on the bed and put her front paws on the edge of the suitcase. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” I said. “Of 168

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course, you’re coming with me. You just might have to spend a few hours hanging out in the hotel room by yourself, that’s all.” After I packed a weekend’s worth of clothes for both of us, plus dog food and toys, I pulled the box of kits back down from the closet. I decided I’d fill the rest of the available suitcase space with as many kits as I could fit. As long as I was buzzing them to college kids, I figured I might as well hand some out around the hotel during the downtime before and after the wedding.

I wasn’t sure whether I should mix the foundation and write a list of product suggestions for people, or if I should just give them a coupon to get them to my Web site. In the end I decided it would be more impressive to give them an actual kit. My family still didn’t know about the kits, which might complicate things, but I could be discreet when I concentrated. And, I mean, why shouldn’t I do some test marketing in Atlanta, too?

I fed Cannoli at home, but I wanted to wait and pick up a salad at Marshbury Marketplace for me. I’d eat it on the beach while I let her run around. Even though it was still August, you could really feel fall in the air the last few days. I knew it would get hot again, but it was still a reminder that summer didn’t last forever. Plus, I wanted Cannoli to be good and tired before she had her first plane ride tomorrow. At least the first plane ride that I knew of.

I wondered what had happened when the Silly Siren father went to the Marshbury Animal Shelter. Maybe I’d get lucky and it would turn out he just picked out another dog and hoped his daughter wouldn’t notice. Since he hadn’t come back to the salon again, it might mean the crisis was over, and we could all live happily ever after now.

Or possibly the fact that the Silly Siren bride hadn’t shown up at the salon with him meant she wasn’t all that interested

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in getting her former dog back, that she’d just asked her father to stop by and look for her if he happened to be in the neigh-borhood. Maybe the Silly Siren father hadn’t even bothered going to the shelter.

It was starting to get dark already, so Cannoli and I had the beach pretty much to ourselves. She ran right down to the edge of the water and started rolling around on her back in a pile of seaweed and who knew what else. I decided to just let her go, since I was planning to give her a bath later anyway.

I flipped off the top of my salad and took out my plastic fork, which made me think of Sean Ryan again. Last time I’d been to this beach, we’d been eating fish and chips together.

I popped a cucumber slice into my mouth. Then I practiced chewing and being self-sufficient at the same time.

I STILL HAD SEAN RYAN’S BUSINESS
card in my wallet, and I took it out before I started up my car. His address wasn’t exactly on our way home, but it wasn’t really out of the way either. Plus, it was a nice night, and I liked to drive. And it was dark, so it wasn’t like he’d see me if he happened to be looking out the window at the same time we were driving by.

“Oh, this is so high school,” I said to Cannoli. “But I’m afraid we’re going to do it anyway.” Cannoli stood up on her hind legs on the passenger’s seat, but she was still too short to see out the window. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I promise I’ll get you some pillows. Or even a phone book. My grandmother on my mother’s side used to have to sit on three of them just to see over the steering wheel. Did I ever tell you that? I guess we all got our height from our father’s side of the family.”

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Cannoli looked over with interest. We pulled out of the beach parking lot and took a right. I flipped off the blinker when it didn’t turn off on its own.

“I know,” I said. “I’ll be Thelma and you can be Louise. No, wait. You can be Thelma and I’ll be Louise, because I’m more the strong, independent type. Okay, so, here we are, taking off for some girlfriend time, a simple weekend free of men. . . .”

Sean Ryan’s house was in North Marshbury, and the beach roads we were taking to get there twisted and turned all over the place to hug the coastline, which added to the sense of adventure, in my opinion. I pulled over to the side of the road so we could put the top down. I just wished I had a scarf in the glove compartment to make me look more like Susan Saran-don in the movie. And too bad I didn’t have a little matching doggy scarf for Cannoli. I mean, how cute would that be.

“We’re just going to have to pretend we have scarves,” I said out loud. “It’s too late to go shopping, and we’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” Cannoli didn’t seem to have any problem with this. I lifted my shoulder bag from the floor to the seat, so she had something to stand on.