The Summer of Me (11 page)

D
ESTINY SMILED AS SHE LOOKED AT THE YOUNG WOMAN,
Leslie, seated on the stool in front of her. “So what do you think?” she asked.

“Is it really me?” Leslie asked, looking up at Destiny with wide eyes.

Destiny nodded. “It's really you.”

Leslie looked back at her reflection in the mirror. “It is me, isn't it?”

Destiny's heart filled. These were the moments that made her job so much more than a job. Leslie had called a week or so ago saying she needed a makeover because she had to have some professional photographs taken. She was a first-time author and her publisher wanted a picture for the back cover of her book. She had been very anxious when she'd sat down. The difference in her now was magical.

Leslie gave a self-deprecating smile. “It's amazing what some face paint will do, isn't it?”

Destiny shook her head, unwilling to feed the woman's
insecurity. “The makeup only brings out what's already there. You were beautiful when you sat down in this chair, Leslie. The makeup just makes that beauty obvious to everybody else.”

Leslie didn't look as though she believed her. “I'll never be able to do this on my own,” she said.

“Oh yes you will,” Destiny said. “I'll make sure of it. If you stop back by here after you have your pictures taken, we'll wash it all off and you can reapply it.”

Leslie began shaking her head. “No way am I washing this off today. No way. After I finish having pictures taken, I have to go show my new look to my mom and a few friends. I sure do wish I had somewhere to go tonight.” She smiled up at Destiny. “I just may have to invite some folks over for dinner.”

Destiny chuckled. She'd seen this kind of excitement before, so she wasn't really surprised. She handed Leslie one of her business cards. “Okay. Call me when you want to come back for a lesson. We can do this multiple times until you get the hang of it.”

“Thank you so much, Destiny,” she said. “I'm going to have to dedicate my next book to you.”

“That's not necessary. I didn't do anything to help with the book.”

“You did a lot to help with the author photo that's going to be on the book. I'm probably going to sell a few thousand copies on looks alone.”

Destiny could only shake her head. Leslie was getting carried away now. “You're going to sell a lot of books because
you're a good writer. You don't have to dedicate your next book to me, just make sure I get a copy of this one.”

Leslie slid off her stool. “You'll be one of the first people to get one. I'll autograph it and everything.”

“You'd better.”

Leslie looked at her watch. “I need to get to that photo session upstairs, but first, why don't you put one of everything you used on my face in a bag for me.”

Destiny laughed. “You don't have to buy everything.”

“Oh yes I do,” Leslie said. “I want to look like this all the time.”

Destiny held back her laughter this time. “Maybe not all the time.”

Leslie looked at her, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Most of the time?”

“That's more like it,” Destiny said, collecting the requested items. After she rang up all the purchases and bagged them, she said, “I have a card on you that I'll keep here at the counter so anytime you need something, I can look at your card and make sure we're consistent with the shades and colors.”

Leslie handed Destiny a credit card. “You'll never know how much I appreciate it, Destiny,” she said. “Writing a book comes naturally to me. I find it easy to sit around my house and make up characters. How I look really doesn't come into play. But having my picture on a book, going on a book tour, meeting readers, those things are out of my comfort zone. I'll still be self-conscious and nervous but at least I know I'll look good in the process.”

“Now that's what I like to hear,” Destiny said, tucking the
receipt in the bag and handing it and the credit card back to Leslie. “Here you go.”

Leslie glanced at her watch again. “I really do have to go,” she said, “but I will call you next week about coming in for a practice session. In the meantime, I'll see what kind of magic I can work up on my own with the goodies you've sold me.”

“That's a great idea,” Destiny said. “And stop by anytime you're in the mall. You don't need an appointment to visit.”

“I'll do it,” Leslie said, backing away from the counter. Waving she said, “I'll be back.”

Destiny looked after the young woman with a smile on her face.

“So this is what you do every day?”

Destiny turned around and faced the other side of the makeup counter. “Mrs. Robinson?”

The older woman shook her head. “We're not at school,” she said. “I'm Annie.”

Destiny wasn't sure she'd feel comfortable calling the older woman Annie. Her southern upbringing had been pretty thorough. “I'm surprised to see you,” she said. “Are you out shopping today?”

Mrs. Robinson nodded. “And I remembered that you worked here. I decided to drop by and see how you are doing. I hope you don't mind.”

“Not at all,” Destiny said, feeling the same easy rapport she'd felt when she first met the woman. “Thanks again for helping me get all set up with my courses.”

“How are they going?”

“So far, so good. I've only been to the first class for each
of them, but I think they're going to be okay. My old brain seems to still be functioning at a high enough level that I can keep up.”

Mrs. Robinson eased down on a stool. “Of course you can keep up. You're going to do well. You'll be one of the better students. I can tell.”

“You can?” Destiny asked. “How?”

Mrs. Robinson nodded. “I've been watching you.”

“You have? When?”

“Just now. I watched you with that young woman.” She picked up one of the lipstick samples and, looking in the mirror on the counter, applied some to her lips. “You've got a way with makeup and you also have a way with people. That's a great combination. Have you thought about opening a salon or a beauty spa of your own?”

Destiny's mouth opened but no words came out. Maybe God was trying to tell her something.

“How's that?” Mrs. Robinson asked, looking up at Destiny after rubbing her lips together to smooth out the lipstick.

“That's a good color on you.”

Mrs. Robinson looked in the mirror again. “It is, isn't it?” she said. “Why don't you ring me up two tubes?”

“You don't have to buy anything,” she said, her thoughts still on the woman's comment about her opening her own salon. First, Natalie and Bertice, and now Mrs. Robinson.

Mrs. Robinson turned to her. “This is a business, Destiny. You always want the customer to buy. Always.”

“Always?”

Pulling out her credit card, Mrs. Robinson added, “You
always want to make the sale but you want to make sure the person being sold to is getting what's best for them. So, yes, you want to sell lipstick to everybody but you don't want to sell every shade or color or brand to everybody. The only reason you shouldn't want to make this sale to me is if you don't think the color or shade or brand is good on me. If it is, you make the sale. If it's not, you find the color, shade, and brand that works and you make that sale.” She tapped her finger to her temple. “Running a business is not that difficult. Consider that a tip from Salon Basics 101.”

Destiny rang up the sale and handed Mrs. Robinson her bag. “Thank you,” she said. “For the sale and the tip.”

Mrs. Robinson took the bag and handed Destiny a card. “You should drop by my salon one day and see the setup.”

“I appreciate the invitation,” Destiny said, “but no way am I ready to open a salon.”

“You may not be ready today,” Mrs. Robinson said, “but who knows about some day in the future. You remind me of me, Destiny,” she said. “You see the value in personal grooming, you know that people feel better when they look their best, and you get some level of joy and personal satisfaction in knowing that you've helped somebody put forth their best self. The business plan for my salon started with little more than that.”

Things were going too fast for Destiny. She didn't know what to say.

“Just come by the salon one day,” Mrs. Robinson said again. “I can already see you as a salon owner but you need to see it for yourself. Will you come by?”

Destiny looked down at the card she'd been handed, and then she looked up again. “I'll come by,” she said.

“Saturday?”

Destiny couldn't see a reason why sometime during the day on Saturday wouldn't work. “I'll stop by on Saturday.”

“That's great. It'll be hectic but I think you'll like the frenzy.”

D
ANIEL GLANCED UP FROM STUDYING THE PLAN FOR
the financial program that Destiny had provided to him and found her yawning. Her full-time job, school, working with him, and the nonjob she was doing for HR Solutions seemed to be taking a toll.

“Excuse me,” she said, covering her mouth.

“Tired?”

She shook her head. “Not really.”

“That yawn says otherwise.” He tossed the stack of papers he'd been reading on the table. “I know you have a lot on your plate. We don't have to do this today.”

“No, today is fine. I was up late last night doing homework.” She shrugged. “I'm trying to stay ahead. Completing assignments near the due date got me in trouble the first time I was in school so I'm trying a different strategy.”

“Good for you,” he said.

She inclined her head toward the papers she had given him. “So what do you think?”

“I think you've been doing more than studying. This is a pretty extensive plan. I really like the idea of using the Dave Ramsey materials.”

“You don't think the series will be too long? It shouldn't be a burden for folks to participate.”

He shook his head. “I think eight weeks is about right for us. The twelve-week version would be too long. And I like the idea of holding two sessions—one during the day and one in the evening.”

She nodded. “I followed the pattern of how Gavin does Bible study. He holds a Wednesday-midday service and a Wednesday-night service. Both have good turnouts, so it seemed we should do the same.”

“Great idea. Do you think we should take the same approach with the small business development program?”

She shook her head. “I thought so at first.”

“But—”

“The programs are so different. It seems to me that everybody in the church would want to go through the personal finance class, but only select folks would be interested in the small business development class. I was thinking we could have those interested folks complete applications and we'd select a group of twenty to twenty-five for the first class. Instead of arbitrarily picking a day, we'd come up with the day after looking at the availability of the interested folks.”

“Makes sense to me,” he said. “I've pretty much laid out the curriculum in the materials that I gave you, but I haven't worked on an application.”

“No problem,” she said. “I can do that. I ran across a good
template for one when I was looking for the personal finance materials. I can pull something together for you by next week.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “In the meantime, I'd like to get moving with the personal finance class. We're going to need at least two teachers. I'd prefer a man and a woman colead each class.”

“A married couple?”

“Maybe one married couple and two singles.”

“I like that,” she said. “It can be awkward for singles when everything is catered to married couples.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “There are probably more of us than there are of them anyway.”

She laughed. “Singles united.”

Daniel's thoughts went back to Gloria. In all honesty, he'd enjoyed being married much more than he enjoyed being single. Now that he was considered single again, he began to see all the challenges that came with the status. The world seemed to be a much easier place to navigate married than it was single.

“You're thinking about your wife,” she said.

Though he knew it wasn't a question, he nodded.

“Did she love you as much as you loved her?”

Though he'd never thought of their love in comparative terms, he knew what he felt for Gloria had been returned, so he nodded.

“Then you're fortunate.”

He knew without her saying it that she'd loved before but
that love hadn't been returned. He guessed it was her kids' father but he didn't dare ask. “I was more than fortunate,” he said. “I was blessed. Don't think I don't know it.”

“She was a lucky woman.”

He shook his head. “I was the lucky one.”

“Let's just say you two were fortunate enough to love each other.”

Since she seemed to have opened the door, he said, “He was a fool.”

She looked up at him, eyes wide. “What did you say?”

“The man who didn't love you well was a fool.”

She nodded. “Yes,” she said. “He was.”

Daniel thought he saw another layer to Destiny in those few words. Instead of deflecting his question, she'd been forthright in her answer though it was obvious the topic was still painful for her. Understanding that pain, he moved the conversation back to the work at hand. “Do you have any recommendations for the personal finance workshop leaders?”

“Not really,” she said. “Let's open it up to the church and see who's interested. Then we can select the best folks from those who express interest.”

“It's going to be a couple of months before we can start on this, isn't it?”

She nodded. “At least. The leaders are going to need training and that's going to take a couple of months.”

He frowned. “I had hoped that we could get these programs off the ground quicker. I guess that was wishful thinking.”

She smiled at him. “There's nothing wrong with wishful thinking. It just shows how important the programs are to you.”

“They are. Money problems can lead people to make bad decisions, decisions that will impact them for a long time,” he said, thinking of her and Bertice and the sticky situation they'd gotten themselves into with HR Solutions. “If we can help folks stop the self-inflicted problems, there will be fewer of those bad decisions that wreck lives. Programs like the personal finance class can help with preventing problems in the future, but people also need help getting out of today's financial binds.”

“I know,” she said.

Daniel couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking about her own situation.

“There is good news though,” she continued. “While we're prepping for the personal finance classes, we can start a financial support program, but it's going to be tricky to pull off.”

“Tricky? How?”

“Well, how do you decide who gets support and how much that support should be?”

He grinned at her. “I supply the money,” he said. “You get to answer those tough questions.”

She smiled back. “What if we make it a loan program with a forgiveness option? If grantees attend the personal finance class, their loans will be forgiven. If they don't, they have to repay them or do some in-kind service around the church.”

“That sounds good,” Daniel said, “but there is no way for
us to make folks actually pay if they don't want to. I don't see myself taking anybody to court for nonpayment.”

“Well, they don't have to know that.”

He grinned at her again. “Now that's tricky. I like the way you think.”

“I told you. These programs are going to make Gloria proud.”

“Thank you,” he said, appreciating her sensitivity.

After what seemed to be a respectful moment of silence for Gloria, Destiny said, “I figured we'd ask Natalie and Gavin, the deacons, and the Sunday school teachers to let us know of people who need financial help. We'd approach them quietly about the program, without making a big deal of it. I'm thinking something like Oprah's Angel Network but done discreetly. No big announcements. Only the recipients will know.”

“You're good at this,” he said. “I can tell you've thought a lot about it and I appreciate it. Your management and planning skills are shining through. You must be very good at your job. The next time I'm in the market for cosmetics, I'm coming to your counter.” When her eyes widened in surprise, he added, “Of course I remembered what you do for a living. You remember what I do, don't you?”

She smiled. “I didn't have to remember. I see you in your work. You've only heard about mine, and only once. You've never seen me in action.”

“Is that an invitation to visit you at work?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. “If it is, I'll definitely take you up on it.”

“Then consider yourself invited.”

He grinned. “Do I need an appointment?”

They were flirting again, she thought, and she liked it. “Only if you want a makeover.”

“Do you think I need one?”

“Are you fishing for compliments?”

He laughed. “You can't fault a brother for trying, can you? You know, we have yet to go on an official date. What's up with that?”

She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. “I've been wondering the same thing. I may not date much but, if memory serves me well, typically the man asks the woman out for a specified event at a specified time. I don't recall you doing that.”

Enjoying their teasing banter, he said, “Okay, you got me. It's on me. Let's wrap up this business first and then plan our first date. On second thought, since you're the better planner, maybe you should plan it. You really are good at it.”

“I'm just glad I'm earning my pay, here and at my day job. You should know that this job really came in handy for me. It's not lost on me that I'm a recipient of your largesse. I know the other recipients will appreciate it as much as I do. I especially appreciate being able to work for the money rather just being given a handout.”

Daniel understood then that one reason she'd been so good at planning the programs was because she'd put herself in the place of those he wanted to help. It mattered how gifts were given; it wasn't sufficient to just give them. “You're doing a great job.”

She smiled. “It's early.”

He didn't return her smile. “I can already see one area where you have to improve.”

“Where?” she asked.

“You've got to learn to take a compliment. The next time I say something nice about you, just say thank you.”

She smiled. “Yes, sir, boss.”

He laughed, glad she was comfortable teasing him. “What's next?” he asked.

“Let's see. I'm pretty clear on what I need to do before we meet again.” She listed the tasks they'd agreed needed to be done.

“That's a long list. When do you think you'll have all of that completed?”

“I like the idea of meeting at least once a week,” she said. “Even if all I can give you is an update.”

“Works for me,” he said. “So we'll meet here at the same time next week.”

“I'll put it on my calendar.”

“Good,” he said. “Now that work is out of the way, let's talk about our first official date. Have you had a chance to speak to your friend Bertice?”

She chuckled. “Sure did. She had no idea Phil was interested in her. She just thought he was a big flirt, but I got her to thinking a little differently.”

“So, Ms. Expert Planner, when are the four of us getting together and what are we going to do?”

She rested her index finger on her chin. “You haven't spoken to Phil recently, have you?”

He shook his head. “It's been a couple of days.”

“Well, Bertice decided to call him. They've already made plans to go out. She couldn't make church on Sunday anyway.”

“Oh,” he said, wondering why Phil hadn't called to update him. “I didn't know. I'd still like to take you out for lunch after church on Sunday, if you'd like to go.”

She nodded. “I'd like to go.”

He smiled. “Good. I still don't know that much about the best places to eat in Atlanta, so if you have a place you'd like to go, tell me. I don't even want to ask Gavin and Natalie.”

She laughed. “I'm with you on Gavin and Natalie. Let's keep this between us for a while. And I'll think about a good place to eat between now and Sunday.”

“Good,” he said. “Now I have something to look forward to all week.” He wanted to spend time with Destiny. Not only because of her involvement with HR Solutions but also because he enjoyed her company. He had liked her when he first met her at the cookout. Learning about her involvement with HR Solutions had sent up some caution flags, but his subsequent interactions with her had eliminated much of his apprehension. She was easy to talk to and he sensed they shared similar, if not the same, losses in their lives. Yes, Sunday was going to be a good day for him.