Page 33 of Coming Up Roses

“Oh, I’m sure you’d love to handle him,” I tell her with an impish grin.

“Don’t you start, Myla. I swear to high heavens.” She rolls her eyes as she tosses her cupcake wrapper into the trash.

“Not startin’ a thing, Az. I’m just saying.”

“Yeah? Well, don’t.” She’s smiling though, so I know she isn’t really mad at me. “Call me tonight, and we can talk about everything for your shower, okay?”

“You know I will,” I tell her as we head out to the main area of the salon.

Seraphine is finishing up a call when we hit the reception area. “I’ll talk to the girls, ‘kay, Mags? I’ll let you know in a day or two, I promise,” she says before replacing the phone in its cradle.

I shoot Azalea a quizzical look, which she mirrors right back at me. “Well, ladies, I might have some good news,” Seraphine tells us, and we both wait for her to elaborate. “That was my cousin, and she’s moving to Dogwood soon. Like real soon. Anyway, she was a hairstylist back in South Carolina, and I think she’d be a perfect fit here.” She rips a piece of paper from the notepad in front of her and hands it to Azalea. “I wrote down her info for y’all to look over.”

“Myla, we have to call her!” she exclaims.

“Have to? Why?” I question, her excitement surprising me.

“Magnolia. Her name is Magnolia.” And that’s all she needs to say. I don’t even have to meet her to know she belongs here with us. Nodding my head, I tell Azalea to set up an interview with her before heading out. It’s just past lunch time, and the only thing I’ve eaten today is a cupcake. The bean and I need real food, and some chicken salad from Dream Beans sounds like perfection.

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