Page 19 of Jagged Edges

“Relax. Relax. It’s time for your wax,” the woman positioning me explained.

Nodding, I rested my head on the small pillow beneath me, again.Brace yourself, I warned, feeling the hot wax on my skin. Melonie had taken me to the spa with her once for waxing and I was in no hurry to return. It was an extremely painful process, but the results were phenomenal.

The napI’d taken during my hour-long massage had me well-rested. I walked into the bedroom after letting the women out and it wasn’t until then that I remembered to call Melonie. As I accessed the contacts, I patted my face, unable to stop raving about its softness. Though I’d slept through it, the facial had set me right. My skin had never felt so supple and smooth.

Melonie answered on the third ring, halfway out of breath. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what she’d gotten into for the night. I chuckled at the thought, deciding I’d simply thank her for everything and call her in the morning.

“Yeah?” She grunted.

“I see you’re a bit occupied, so I will call you in the morning. I just wanted to thank you for everything. The gifts, massage, and wax although you know I hate them. Oh, and the bomb facial, friend!” I exclaimed.

“Brisk,” Melonie moaned in my ear, making me cringe, “I don’t know what you’re talking about babe. I… We didn’t arrangeany of that.” She informed me as I walked into the bathroom, where the stint of my reality slapped me across the face.

There it was. That scent. That cologne that I was unable to shake for the last two weeks. It was here, in the bathroom.

“Melonie, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, babe. I was only joking,” I lied.Ugh, another one.

“Ummm. hmmmm.”

I opened every cabinet in sight until I stumbled across the one that housed a small collection of fragrances. I uncapped each one of them, finally settling on the last one as the method to the madness I’d faced for the last few weeks. As I inhaled, everything began to make sense for me.

The loft.

The richness of the space.

The gifts.

The services.

And, the text message. I thought, immediately running back to the bedroom with my cell in my hand. On the bed, I brought my legs to my chest in contemplation. Gratitude wouldn’t allow me to lay down without giving thanks, and that thought alone had me gnawing at my bottom lip.

Before I overworked my brain for the subject, I went to the messaging app on my cell and dialed the number of the last person who’d text me. At the first ring, I considered hanging up. By the second ring, I thought I’d puke. On the third ring, I was convinced that ending the call was in my best interest.

“Happy birthday,” sexiness oozed through the line as he spoke.

I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I didn’t.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say much, but I do need a favor from you. I need you to head to the closet. It’s monstrous and hard for you to miss.”

I stood in search of the closet. Once I found it, I stood in front of it.

“Open it,” he instructed, sensing my location, “And you will find something special inside.”

I did. I found so many things, all numbered and neatly lined in the massive closet.

“It’s twenty of them,” he read my thoughts, “Each to celebrate a year of life for you. For every year you deemed your birthday unworthy, I’d like to change your mind. Because it is, in fact, a big fucking deal.”

“Why are you doing this for me?”

“Because you deserve it and because I wanted to,” he responded.

“I thought you weren’t interested,” I disclosed.

“You shouldn’t think like that.”

Silence fell between us.

“Did you enjoy your massage?”

---