Pitifully Ugly

Chapter 8

The return of the Jedi sister.

Days went by, and I didn’t see Hailey at all. I went by her

place and knocked a few times, but she never answered, nor did

she answer my calls. I wondered if something was up with her

ex. I was standing in front of my window looking out at a clear

winter’s day when I saw a familiar head of curls coming down the

block. I hightailed it downstairs and met her as she came into the

courtyard. “Hey, how’re you doing?”

She didn’t smile, and her eyes were hidden behind her dark

glasses. “Hey, I’m fine. How about you?” She wasn’t rude, but her

tone was cool.

“I was worried about you. I haven’t seen you around.”

“There was a problem at the office. My vacation was cut

short. Been working a lot of long hours.”

I looked at the dark gray suit she was wearing and the briefcase

that she had slung over her shoulder and felt a little silly.

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans that were

hanging loosely on my hips. “You want to go hit a few balls

tonight? Maybe work off some stress?”

She frowned then and shifted her briefcase to her other

shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have a lot of new job stuff.” Her

face flushed, and she started moving quickly toward the door.

“I’ll see you later,” she called over her shoulder.

She didn’t appear happy to see me at all, and I stood there

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Pitifully Ugly

wondering what I’d done. Everything was fine when I last saw

her. Dejected, I went back up to my apartment, and instead of

going back to work, I sat on the sofa, my head still swimming

from our encounter. I went back over every word… new job stuff.

In retrospect, I should’ve figured it out then, but I guess my

emotion clouded my judgment.

“Who the hell are you?” Kalen asked as she walked into my

apartment. She reached up and fingered my hair, then lifted up

my shirt and patted my shrunken belly. “Not that you looked bad

before, but, Shannon, you look amazing.” She hugged me tight,

then held me at arm’s length again. “I feel a shopping trip coming

on. We have to outfit this new body of yours.”

“You look great, too. Your hair is full of highlights.” I looked

closer at Kalen. Maybe it was the lighter hair framing her face

that gave her face a radiant glow. “I think you might’ve gained a

pound or two, and on you, it looks spectacular.”

Kalen sashayed around. “That’s because I stayed by the pool

the entire time we were aboard the ship and ate like a complete

pig while Todd played in the casino.”

“You need a loan now? Did he blow the savings?” I asked

with a grin.

“Nah, he works his ass off, he deserved his playtime.” Kalen

circled me and looked me over from head to toe. “What got into

you, girl…or who?”

I shrugged. “It was time for a change, and since I wasn’t going

to lunch and eating in reckless abandon every day, the weight just

dropped off.” I left out the part that I didn’t have much of an

appetite for the last week. The distance between Hailey and I had

gnawed at me.

Kalen grabbed me by the wrists. “Let’s go have a light lunch,

then go shopping.”

I picked around my salad and ate half a cup of soup as I listened

to the details of the trip. Kalen showed me countless pictures on

her digital camera. Most were of men lounging poolside. She was

faithful to Todd, but she did a hell of a lot of window shopping.

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Robin Alexander

“You haven’t eaten a lot,” I said, pointing to her salad.

Kalen rubbed her stomach. “I’ve been queasy a lot lately. I

might’ve picked up a bug or something on the ship. Then again,

maybe I’m getting used to being on solid ground again. It’s nothing

that a shopping trip won’t cure,” she said around a yawn.

Kalen dragged me through endless stores at the mall. I did

buy a few pairs of jeans and a couple of sweaters, but my heart

wasn’t in the hunt. Kalen was pulling shirts off the rack and

holding them in front of me when she looked at me oddly.

“Something is bothering you.” She narrowed her eyes.

I’d done my best to laugh and look like I was enjoying myself,

but Kalen had that ability to see right through whatever veneer I

tried to hide behind.

She replaced the shirt she was holding on the rack, and with

a twinkle in her eye, said, “It’s time for dessert.”

La Madeleine’s pastries were a weakness of mine, but I could

only manage a few bites of a tart. Kalen was watching every move

like a hawk. “Tell me what it is, sis.” She took my hand. She had

inhaled her Danish and was looking at my plate with sugar lust.

“It’s nothing, really. I’ve become friends with a new tenant in

the building, and I think I may’ve done something to offend her.”

“Have you asked her about it?”

“No. I…haven’t seen her lately. The last time I caught up with

her, she said she was really busy at work. I didn’t want to bug

her.”“Is there a romantic interest between the two of you?” Kalen

asked. Her eyes were like laser beams.

“She’s straight and divorced, so no.” I told her about our

tennis game and how Hailey’s dog was a movie buff. Also, I told

her about the last day we hung out together and how everything

went great, then seemed to turn sour.

“Think you might have a crush on her?” Kalen asked.

“I said no. We’re just friends…or were.”

Kalen rested her chin in her hand and stared at me. “You had

a glow about you when you were talking about her, that’s why I

asked.”

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Pitifully Ugly

“I know I can’t have her, so I don’t let myself go there. I

just…wish I could meet someone like her. She makes me feel

comfortable.”

“You have to look at the positive, love. Before recently, you

didn’t feel ‘comfortable’ around anyone but me. Maybe this

friendship is a precursor to meeting that someone special.”

With those words banging around in my head that evening at

home, I returned to the Rainbow Room. I weeded out the freak

nasty messages and looked hard at one that had potential.

Hello, Pitifully Ugly,

You’re not going to believe this, but this real y is my first go-

round at the online thing. I’ve been a member for a month now,

and I’ve visited your page a dozen times before I worked up the

courage to write you. Even though what you wrote about yourself

was funny, you didn’t answer any of the profile questions. So to

be honest, I was hesitant to make contact. But I have chatted with

a few women on here I thought were decent, and that turned out

not to be the case. So I’m taking a chance.

I’ve lived in New Orleans for a few years. My last relationship

ended amicably six months ago, and I’m ready to meet someone

nice. So if you’re a good person, and you would like to talk, I’d

like to hear from you.

Marci

P.S. Avoid “Charity” like the plague. She’s seriously

twisted.

If Marci thought Charity was twisted, she might just be worth

a try.

Hi, Marci,

My profile is odd, I admit that. I couldn’t think of anything

that I thought was eye-catching, so what you’ve read was what

I came up with. Maybe I’ll update it when I’m not having a few

glasses of wine.

I hear what you’re saying about the people on here. It’s hard

Robin Alexander

to judge character when you’re looking at a computer screen.

For all you know, I could be a six hundred-pound man with back

hair, but I’m not. I’m just your average girl who’s on the shy side,

hoping to meet someone nice, too.

Instead of asking the usual sil y questions, let me ask you

something off the wal . If you could change anything about

yourself, what would it be?

P.U.

I turned up the volume on my computer and put my new

clothes in the wash. I heard the ding of a new message when I

walked back into the living room.

Hey, P.U.,

As they say, we are all our harshest critics. If I had to pick

one thing from my long list, it would be to let my hair down more

often and jump into new things with both feet. I have a terrible

habit of second-guessing myself and being too afraid of just

getting out there, ya know?

Marci

Yes, I did know. I silently prayed that I wasn’t talking to a six

hundred-pound furry freak man and replied.

Hi, Marci,

I know exactly what you’re saying. I also know that we can

hide behind these computers for months being afraid to take

the next step. So with that said, would you like to have coffee

sometime? We could meet in a public place, and if it doesn’t work

out, we’ll know right off the bat.

I realized that I kind of sounded as blunt as Charity, so I had

to add a disclaimer.

I see that you too have encountered Charity, and I assure you

that I’m nothing like her.

P.U.

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Pitifully Ugly

We talked for another two hours, and I had a date for drinks

the next evening.

It’s funny how new clothes that fit well instill confidence.

I was nervous, sure, but I was pleased with my reflection in the

mirror. I kept telling myself that this was no big deal, just a couple

of drinks, and if things didn’t work out, I’d never see Marci again.

It was a lot better than being fixed up by someone you knew and

that person would know all the gory date details. If I made a fool

of myself, only one other person would have to know.

I met up with Hailey in the courtyard as she came home

from work. She looked tired, and I didn’t try to keep her. I hoped

that it was just what she said—busy with work. The gnawing

in my stomach and the tiny voice in the back of my mind said

otherwise.

“Long day?” I asked as she approached.

“Very.” Hailey swiped a strand of hair from her eyes. “You

look nice.”

“Thank you. I…I’m meeting someone for drinks.”

Her face held no expression. “I hope it goes better for you

than last time,” she said wearily.

“I appreciate that.” An awkward silence settled between us.

“Well, I better get going. I hope things get better for you at the

office.”

She shot me a halfhearted smile and walked away.

“Hailey,” I called out, causing her to stop and look back at

me. “If I did something to offend you, I hope you’ll tell me.”

She looked as though she were going to say something, then

shook her head. “Stop worrying, everything’s okay. Maybe we

can play tennis again next week.”

“Okay,” I said as I watched her go.

Marci, to my delight, was neither a man nor anything like

Charity. She was a cutie with a vivacious personality to boot. She

did most of the talking, which made things easier on me. She had

a raspy voice that I found sexy, and I could’ve listened to it for

hours. In fact, I did.

Robin Alexander

The only drawback was that she had blond hair, and for a few

seconds, I was reminded of Hailey. I tamped that thought down.

We were roughly the same height, but her build was slightly larger

than mine. I liked that about her. Her eyes were brown, unlike

Hailey’s green. I found myself once again surprised and irritated

that I was thinking about Hailey, a straight woman who was only

offering friendship.

“Do you think you’d be interested in having dinner with me

Friday night?” Marci asked out of the blue.

“I’d love to, and I applaud you for jumping out there and

asking me because I was sitting here trying to muster the courage

to do the same.”

“Well, you accepted, so you jumped out there, too.” She

clinked her glass with mine.

“Do you like seafood?” Marci asked.

“Love it.”

“I know a great place that I think you’ll enjoy then. Do you

want to meet somewhere or are you comfortable with me picking

you up?”

I answered by swiping a pen from the bar and jotting my

address on a napkin along with my phone number.

“I wanna ask you something,” Marci said as she stuffed the

napkin into her purse. “Why did you pick the name Pitifully

Ugly? I think you’re really cute.”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “This is going to sound

pathetic,” I began as I wiped the moisture from my glass. “I felt

pitifully ugly the night I made my profile. I’d just come home

from a nightmare date that my sister set me up on, and I knew if

I didn’t put something out then, I’d never do it.”

“I’m glad you did,” Marci said with a shy smile. “You’re the

nicest person I’ve met in the Rainbow Room.”

“Have you been on many dates since joining?”

Marci held up three fingers as she took a sip of her drink.

“The last was with Charity, and I almost gave up.”

I nodded and laughed. “I met her for coffee, and I almost

threw in the towel myself.”

Marci held up her glass in toast again. “Here’s to not giving up.”

Pitifully Ugly

I clinked my glass with hers and made a toast of my own.

“And to Charity, may she find someone just like her…or worse.”

Marci met my glass with hers and laughed. “We’re gonna

have to quit toasting, or I may have to take a cab home.”

“Ah, I see you’re as wimpy as I am when it comes to alcohol.” I

wasn’t tipsy, but I was pretty sure my next drink would be water.

“We could ask for a table and get something to eat and absorb

all that we’ve been drinking if you’d like,” Marci offered.

We ended up having a late dinner and joked that Friday night

would have to be considered a second date since we’d shared

a meal. After we ate, Marci gave me a ride to my car that was

parked a block away. “I had a great time, and I’m really looking

forward to Friday,” I told her as she pulled up to the curb. And

since it was a night for jumping out there, I leaned over and gave

her a quick kiss, which she returned.

On the way home, I thought about that kiss. It was sweet, and

her lips were soft and willing, but there was no spark. I chastised

myself, thinking we’d only just met. It was silly to expect

fireworks, but I wanted them.

Robin Alexander