Wrong Way Renee (34 page)

“Now that you all know about my past, I have an announcement about my future.
”
She took a deep breath before continuing.
“I'm getting married.”

Zoey jumped up and down.
“That's fantastic, Becky!
”

Antoine started humming
‘
Here Comes the Bride.
’
“When's the big day?
Are we all invited?”

“We're thinking May and yes, I'd be
honored if you all could come.”

“Congratulations.
”
Susan returned to her station.

Renee just stood there, stunned.

Becky eyed
her
.
“Well?
”

“I'm so happy for you
.
”
She studied the floor
, emotions warring inside her
.
“That hit
me from out of left field, Beck
. When did you
and Charles get to this point?”
And
why hadn’t she told Renee before the others?

Becky put her arm around her shoulder
and led
her to a quiet corner of the salon.
“
Honey
, you've been dealing with lots of relationship problems lately. Was I supposed to tell you how well things were going with Charles and me while you were crying over Joe? What kind
of friend would that make me?”

“Have I been that absorbed in my own problem
s?” She wiped away a tear.

“Frankly, yes.
”

“God, I'm sorry.
”
She shook her head.

“I'm sorry too. Let's always try to stay more in tune with each other. It's as much my fault. Renee, I'd like you to be my maid of honor.
”

“I'd love to.
”
They hugged for a long moment.
“I'll try to be more aware of what's going on
in your life, Beck. I promise.”

“It's okay.”

Her gut clenched. She should be more honest with Becky. She had to tell her how tight their finances were. But with Susan and Antoine both paying rent now, there was at least a light at the end of the tunnel.
They each headed to their stations.

Pam had arrived while Renee was speaking to Becky. She
sat at Renee’s station
and
dru
mmed her fingers on the table.
“Are you ready for me now?
”

“
Sorry about that
.
”
Sh
e sat down and sprayed sanitizer on her client's hands.
“I've been wondering how things went for you with
Pablo
. You're k
eeping me on pins and needles.”

Pam scowled.
“Let's say it didn't go well.”

“Oh, no.
I'm so sorry.”

“Y
ou and everyone else told me so, didn't you?
”
Her
voice held an almost accusatory edge
.

“Are you mad at me?”

She hung her head.
“No. I'm angry at
myself for being such a fool.”

“What did he say?”

“
That
he's changed his mind. That he didn't want me to have the baby. He
asked me to have an abortion.
”

“I’m sorry. Did he say anything else?”

“Like what?
”
She
challenged
Renee with her stare.

Her heart picked up its pace.
“I
-I
don't know. Did he b
reak up with you or something?”

“We had a fight about it, that's all. Do you know something about him you're not telling me?
”

Her cheeks flamed
. She concentrated on filing Pam's nails.
“What would I know about
Pablo
?”

“A while ago you asked me his last name. Remember? You told me you'd met someone named
Pablo
? Why did you think that might be
my
Pablo
? Where did you meet him?”

She coughed
.
“I don't remember. It's been too long. Maybe a party or something. He was a cop or a fireman, I really don't remember.
”
C
ould
Pam hear her heart beating?

Pam
dropped
her shoulders.
“I'm grasping at straws. Something's up wi
th him. I'd like to know what.”

“Have
you had any morning sickness?” She breathed a sigh of relief. She was off the hook, for now.

“I have all day sickness. I feel like shit most of the time.
But I'm going to have this baby
with
or without him. I have my folks here, you know. My
mom will help.”

“Have you thought about what you'll do with
the baby when you're at work?”

“I have six weeks off after it's born. Then I can change my schedule at the hospital to work third shift if I need to. My parents can keep the baby at night. I mean it would be sleeping most of that time anyway, so I don't think it
would be a big deal for them.”

“You're lucky they'll do that.
”
Sh
e tried to smile.

“
Yeah
.
”

Sh
e wanted to tell
her
about Melissa and her husband. How they were so prepared to be parents and
try
ing to adopt a newborn. But Pam seemed too on edge, too willing to make Renee the object of her displeasure.

After she finished with Pam, Renee ate salad for lunch. Zoey stormed into the kitchenette, hands
planted
on her hips
.

Renee looked around.
“What? What did I do?”

“It's not what you did.
It's Susan. You have to talk to her before she chases my clientele right out the door. And I'll leave before I watch that happen.
”
One pink Converse hi-t
op sneaker tapped incessantly.

Oh no. “C
alm d
own and tell me what happened?”

“
You know my friend, Brianne? The punky chi
ck with the spiky blonde hair?”

Sh
e nodded.

“Susan comes over to her in the reception area and asks her why she has the mark of the beast tattooed on her ankle. She's got a pentagram there. So Brianne tells her she's into Wicca. One of the symbols of that is the pentagram. So Susan break
s out into spontaneous prayer, asking God to save her from evil.”

“She what?
” A headache started between her eyes.

“I'm telling you
, she's a nutcase. She
said
'Cast thee out, Satan.' Brianne stormed out the door and called me from her cell phone. She said to get the crazy bitch out of the waiting area. So, I set her up an appointment for tomorrow. You gotta get rid of
her, Renee.”

Sh
e buried her face in her hands.
Becky was at a doctor’s appointment so she’d have to handle this on her own.
“I'll talk to her
. I can't just kick her out. What
if she apologizes to Brianne?”

Zoey shook her head.
“She can't pull
this crap with my clients
. She sneers at them all the time. Antoine's too
. She's out of control.”

Renee
tossed
the rest of her salad
into the trashcan
. Her stomach was too upset to eat.
If they lost Susan, they’d be right back in the financial hole they’d just climbed out of.

She found Susan sitting in her service chair reading a magazine.
“Susan, I need to speak with you. Now, please.
”
She headed into the pedicure room. After Susan was inside, she closed the door. “Okay. I can respect that you're a religious person. And that's fine. But we have a diverse clientele here. Zoey is very upset that you've chased one o
f her clients off.”

“She had a satanic tattoo.
”
S
he scroll down the slowdown
looked like she was about to cry.

“It was a Wiccan tattoo. They're not devil worshipers. But you know what? Even if she was a devil worshiper, you have no right to upset one of Zoey's or Antoine's or anybody else's client. T
hat's money out of her pocket.”

Susan wrung her hands as she
star
ed at the floor.
“I understand.”

Thank goodness Susan hadn’t argued about the situation. Instead, she
left the room without saying another word. When had the salon become so difficult to manage? It seemed there was always something going wrong lately. And it usually fell squarely on Renee's lap.

What next?

* * * * *

“You've gained a
few since last year, Ms. Wright.
”
The nurse at her gynecologist office told her to step off the scale.

“T
hanks for the four-one-one.”
As if her annual check-up wasn’t bad enough already.

The nurse took her
blood pressure and handed
her a pink gown to change into. “I
t opens to the front,
”
she
said as she left.

Renee changed and sat on the table, trying not to dwell on the
icky exam
she was about to bear.
Too bad there was no other way to get her birth control pills.

Dr.
Nielsen
entered, chart in hand.
“Gained a fe
w pounds since last year, Renee.
”
The doctor’s glasses rested
halfway down her nose.

Renee rolled her eyes.
“I've been trying to
diet, but it's hard, you know?” Of course she didn’t know, she was thin as a lamppost.

“Would you like a copy of a low
Cal
diet?
”

“No thanks. I know what I should be eating.”

“Any problems lately?”

“Nope. Nothing medical, anyway
.”

Dr.
Nielsen
glanced
at
her
for the first time since entering the room.
Her
dark hair was pulled i
nto a twist on top of her head and a few lines fanned out from the corners of her eyes.
“Everything okay otherwise?
”

“My love life is a mes
s. But it'll be okay, I guess.”

“Hmm. Okay, you know the drill. Scoot to the end of the table and
put your feet in the stirrups.”

Renee did as the doctor said. She stared at the poster taped to the ceiling, wondering why they always put the stupidest sayings on those things. Why not have an interesting poster of a maze or something that would keep you looking at it for more than twenty seconds?

The doctor finished the pelvic exam and walked around the table to do a brea
st exam.
“How long has this been here?
”
S
he pushed on the side of Renee's left breast.

“What?
”

“This lump. Feel it.
”
The doctor guided Renee's hand to the spot.

Her heart suddenly raced as she felt the
tiny lump
.
“I
…
I don't know.”

“Have you been doing your monthly self exam?
”

She gulped
.
“Not for a few months.
”

The doctor picked up
her chart
.
“You've ne
ver had a mammogram, have you?”

“I'm too young for that.
”
Her eyes welled
with tears.

“Now don't get
yourself all freaked out
. These things are usually nothing. But let's get you scheduled for the mammo and make
an appointment with a surgeon.”

Her mouth felt stuffed with cotton.
“A surgeon?
Why a surgeon?”

She
patted Renee's shoulder.
“We have to see what it is. Dorothy will set up the appointments for you. Any question
s?”