Page 14 of His Forever

Chapter Six

Friday dawned bright and clear and as she got ready for the day, she felt excitement course through her body at the thought of the date with Zeus later. They had talked some since Tuesday, and decided that they would each go home and get ready rather than leave from the salon. Somehow, that made it even more special, although she didn’t care one way or another. He was making a point to show her she was important, and for that alone, she would agree with what he wanted in this situation.

As she applied a light make-up and braided her hair, Harry wound his way through her legs. “What’s going on, little man?” she asked. He meowed several times before jumping up onto the bathroom sink. She leaned down and kissed his head and asked, “Are you guys out of food?”How silly I am, talking to them as if they can understand.He jumped down and went to the bathroom door and looked back at her as if to say “come on” before he went through the door and into the bedroom. Finishing up, she made sure everything was off and then grabbing her shoes, she made her way into the kitchen to find that indeed, they had eaten all but a few crumbs. “You guys are going to get fat,” she admonished as she filled up their food dish and gave them fresh water. Grabbing a yogurt and bottle of water, she made sure she had her calendar and phone and then headed out the door.

***

Once at the salon, she got ready for her first client of the day. It was going to be a mixed bag, with both massages and facial customers, but she enjoyed making others feel good and knew the healing power of touch. With a small break between her first and second clients, she got the room ready and then went into the breakroom to grab some caffeine. Looking at her phone, she saw a text from Zeus.

Zeus: Mi siempre hermosa, cannot wait for tonight. Have a great day, see you at four.

Marleigh: I can’t wait either. I’ll see you at four.

Grinning to herself, she didn’t see Chandra come into the room with a bouquet of flowers. “Hey girl, these just came for you,” the other woman said, setting the vase on the table. “They’re gorgeous!”

She reached for the card and smiled when she saw they were from Zeus.“I didn’t know what kind of flowers you preferred, mi siempre hermosa, so I got a mixed bouquet. Z”the note said.

“Who’re they from?” Chandra asked.

“Zeus.”

“Really? Wow. I don’t think he’s ever sent anyone flowers before,” the other woman remarked as she fixed herself another coffee and grabbed a donut before sitting down. “He must have it bad for you.”

“Well, I don’t know about ‘bad’ but we’re becoming friends and we are going out tonight on a date.”

Chandra’s eyebrows raised before she smiled. “I’m glad. He’s a good guy and well-respected.”

“I like him. He’s been nothing but nice to me since he picked me up last week on the side of the road.”

“Hard to believe you’ve only been here a week, huh?”

“Yeah, I know. Sometimes it feels like I stepped into an alternate universe or something.”

María-Luisa, coming into the breakroom, spied the flowers and said, “Pretty flowers for a beautiful lady, Mija.”

She glanced at the older woman and smiled shyly, saying, “They’re from Zeus.”

“Ah, my son has excellent taste! And I understand he is taking you out this evening, si?”

Shaking her head at how fast gossip seemed to spread, especially in the close environment of the salon, she nodded. “Yes he is, but he’s picking me up from home first. Said something to the effect of making it seem more real.”

María-Luisa and Chandra shared a look. They knew, without words, what Zeus was doing, even if Marleigh had no clue. He was wooing her and picking her up at her home instead of leaving from work showed them how much importance he put on the date.

Glancing at her phone, she saw her next client was due. “Do you guys want to order Chinese or something else for lunch?”

“Si, Chinese would be good. The menu is in the drawer and we can call the order in shortly,” María-Luisa said. “We have tamales all the time and I’m in the mood for something different.”

She wrote down what she wanted and headed back into work.

***

Well, Suri was a chatterbox and fountain of knowledge about the town. She appeared to take it in stride when she saw the flowers and who they were from. Marleigh said little other than when she asked about her general skincare regime. The woman did have decent skin and it was obvious that she spent a great deal of money to keep her image up. Once done, she rebooked with Marleigh, saying, “I want you to know I won’t hold it against you once Zeus and I get back together.”

“Why would you hold that against me? From what I understand, y’all haven’t been together for quite a few years.”

“True, true, but that first love is one you never really forget, you know?”

No, she didn’t know but she’d be damned if Suri knew it too. “Well, I’ll put it out there then, if it becomes awkward, then I won’t hold it against you if you find someone else to do your facials.”

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