Pitifully Ugly

Chapter 9

Revelations…the truth is a bitch.

“Have a good time?” Hailey asked as I entered the

courtyard.

I jumped, surprised to find her sitting in the dark. The

chimenea had burned down to embers, and Fuzzy was nowhere

in sight.

“What are you doing out here in the dark alone?” I took a seat

next to her.

“I was waiting for you. I wanted to see how your date went.”

She wasn’t her perky self and didn’t look at me when she

spoke.

“It went fine. She’s a nice girl. We’re gonna go out again

Friday.”

Hailey stared off into the darkness. “That’s great,” she said,

but she didn’t sound like she meant it.

“What’s going on? Please don’t tell me it’s just work.”

Hailey blew out a breath as she crossed her arms. “It’s not

you. I’m angry at myself.”

“For what?”

“Have you ever been taken by someone you’ve only just met?”

She leaned her head against the bench and stared up at the sky.

“Yes, unfortunately, I have.”

Hailey turned and looked at me. “Was it the girl you met

tonight?”

“No, she’s sweet and attractive, and I actually enjoyed her

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company.” I shook my head as I thought about Marci and the kiss.

“Even still, we just didn’t have that click I was hoping for.”

“Then why are you going out with her again?” Hailey asked

with a tone that put me on the defensive. If she was angry with

herself, she was sure directing it at me.

“Because I’ve only seen her once. Maybe I’ll feel that

connection, that spark when we get to know each other better.

Did the guy you’re interested in lead you on or something?”

Hailey didn’t reply. She swallowed hard and looked back up

at the night sky.

“I’m not an expert on conversing, but I think in order to do it,

we both have to talk.”

“I just think I’ve read too much into the conversations we’ve

been having. My interest is obviously one-sided.” Hailey stood.

“I’m sorry that I’ve dropped all of this on you. It’s probably the

last thing you wanted to hear after a pleasant evening.”

I stood and followed behind her as she walked toward the

door with her shoulders slumped. “Hey.” I tugged on her arm.

“I’m not full of dating advice, but I’m a pretty good listener.”

Hailey turned and looked at me. The pain in her eyes was

obvious even in the dim light. “I appreciate that, but right now, a

good night’s sleep is what I need.”

“Whomever this chowder head is, he’s missing out on a good

thing,” I said with a smile.

She shrugged. “I think I may be the one who’s missed out.”

We walked up the steps and into the building. “Good night,”

Hailey called over her shoulder as she bypassed the elevator and

took the stairs.

I awoke early the next morning to the patter of rain against

my window. It was one of those days that made me thankful that

I worked from home. After I made myself a cup of coffee, I stood

in front of my huge living room window and watched as a sea of

umbrellas moved up and down the sidewalks. One moved around

the courtyard behind a fluffy yellow dog in search of the perfect

spot to do her business.

I thought back on my conversation with Kalen, mainly the

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part when she asked me if I had a crush on Hailey. I did. There

was no sense in denying it to myself. When Hailey asked me if

I’d ever been taken by someone I just met, I understood too well

what that felt like. It bothered me to think that she felt the same

way about someone else.

And then I thought about Marci. She was everything I was

looking for, but she wasn’t the one I wanted. Was I leading her on

by going out on a second date? My inner thoughts were interrupted

by the ringing of my phone. I answered as I watched Hailey and

Fuzzy wander the courtyard.

“I’m not going in to work today.” Kalen sounded miserable.

“Still queasy?” I asked.

“Downright nauseated.”

“Want me to take you to the doctor?” I wrinkled my nose.

Just walking into one of those places made me feel like flypaper

for germs.

“No, it’s probably just a virus that will pass in a few days. Are

you feeling okay? You sound kind of down or distracted.”

“I’m fine. Matter of fact, I went out on a date last night.”

“No shit?” Kalen said, sounding perkier. “With who?”

“Her name is Marci, and it went okay.”

“Where did you meet her?”

I should’ve known that question was coming, but I was too

busy bragging that I hadn’t considered having to explain the

Rainbow Room. “We…umm…met online.”

“Oh, my God, you did it anyway. Didn’t you listen when

I warned you about those things? What if she’s some sort of

psychopath or something? Those are the only kind of people that

join those things.”

“Thanks,” I said with a frown.

“Well, I didn’t mean you.”

“If I’m decent, doesn’t it stand to reason that there might just

be someone like me out there, too? And while we’re talking about

psychopaths, remember Jackie, Candace’s crazy cousin that you

set me up with?”

“Touché, touché, damn it.” Kalen took a deep breath and let it

out slowly. “You met her in a public place, I presume.”

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“No, I invited her over. She’s loading up my computer and

DVD player right now,” I said as I watched Hailey and Fuzzy

climb the steps to the back door.

“You’re really a pistol this early in the morning,” Kalen said

just as sarcastically. “Truce. Now tell me about this woman.”

I plopped down on the sofa. “She’s cute, sweet, and seems

like a really nice person.”

“But?”

“I dunno, maybe I’m judging her too quickly, but there’s no

spark. I might as well have been out with you.”

“Did you find her attractive?”

“I said she was cute.”

“I think Tom Cruise is cute, but I’m not attracted to him.”

“I thought all straight women melted over him.”

“Not this one. He’s a bit too wacky for my tastes. So no

butterflies, nothing?”

“No flutter in the least, but she’s a sweetie, and I agreed

to go out with her again on Friday. Do you think I’m judging

prematurely?”

“Let me ask you this. If you passed her on the street without

having met her, would you want to follow after her and ask her

out?”“We both know I wouldn’t do that even if I thought she was

hot,” I said, avoiding the answer.

“Then your answer is no,” Kalen said succinctly. “I don’t

know, sweetie. It’s a tough call if you’re not physically attracted

to her. Maybe you should go out with her Friday, and if she’s not

ringing your bells, then you need to let her down gently.”

“Dating really blows,” I said dejectedly. “It’d be nice to meet

someone like Hailey.”

“I’ve been waiting to hear you say that,” Kalen said with a

sound of triumph in her voice. “You’re smitten with her. I could

tell by the way you looked the other day. I told you that then.”

“That blows, too.”

“That I’m right?” Kalen said with a laugh.

“That you’re a jackass for rubbing it in my face and that she’s

straight and interested in someone else.”

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“Bet you feel all tingly when you look at her, though,” Kalen

said seriously. “There’s nothing wrong with having a crush on

someone. It happens. But that might be getting in the way of you

meeting the right woman for you. I know she’s your friend, but if

you back away for a while, those butterflies will fly off.”

“That’s kind of hard to do with her living one floor below

me.”“You’ll find a way. You’re brilliant at avoiding me when you

want to. Give yourself some space. Look, I hate to cut this short,

but the crackers I ate for breakfast are on their way up.”

“Love you, bye,” I said, but Kalen had already disconnected.

I listened to the rain that was pounding on my window. The

sound made me want to crawl back into bed and sleep the day

away. Thunder rolled over the top of the building as lightning

flashed, then it was dark. I tossed the phone onto my coffee table

and stretched out on the couch. When I opened my eyes again, my

watch showed that it was after noon.

The power was still off when I rolled off the couch. Work

wasn’t an option. I wanted to call and check on Kalen, but my

cordless phone wasn’t working due to the outage. I rummaged

around, looking for my cell and realized that it was probably

in my car. When I went down to the garage, I heard music. As

I rounded the corner, I saw Fluffy intercept a ball that Hailey

bounced against the cement wall.

“Are you going somewhere?” Hailey asked when she turned.

“No, I was just going to get my phone out of the car, why?”

“Some of the streets are under water. My boss called and

asked me not to try to come in.” Hailey turned and hurled the ball

at the wall. “We’ve gotten a couple inches of rain this morning.

I’ve been listening to the weather on the radio. We’re supposed to

get more.” Hailey leaned against a shiny silver SUV when Fuzzy

took the ball and lay down.

“Is that your car?” I asked, moving closer. I’d noticed it in the

garage but hadn’t realized it was hers.

Hailey nodded.

I looked down at the license plate. “It’s not a rental?”

Hailey looked at me oddly as she shook her head. “No, why?”

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“Because it has Georgia plates.” I watched as a flush moved

over Hailey’s face. “How long have you lived in New Orleans?”

My stomach knotted when Hailey’s lips twitched before she

replied. “A little less than two months.”

“I thought you said you moved from Tchoupitoulas Street.”

“I did.” Her voice was low. “I stayed in the company apartment

until I found a place to live.” Hailey didn’t move, though Fuzzy

had gotten her second wind and was bumping her ball against her

leg. “Where in Georgia are you from?” I thought I knew the

answer, but I wanted to make her say it.

Her shoulders sagged when she looked away from me.

“Atlanta.”

“You knew about the Rainbow Room before I mentioned it,

didn’t you?” Hailey nodded but didn’t look my way. “Why didn’t

you tell me?”

‘“Keep up the lie and hope she never finds out. That’s how

the game is played.’ Wasn’t that your advice?” Hailey turned to

face me.

I felt shocked, confused, and downright pissed off. “How did

you know it was me you were talking to?”

“You mentioned that you got a haircut. I wasn’t completely

sure then, but the coincidence was too uncanny to ignore. And

then you talked about the Rainbow Room, and that sealed it.”

“Why didn’t you come out and tell me then? And weren’t you

married to a man that you loved?” A ton of questions whirled

through my brain.

Hailey’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “I was incapable

of loving him like I should’ve. He deserved to be with someone

who could give him what I couldn’t.”

I scrubbed at my face as the truth settled in. I tried to retrace

all the conversations we’d had, but my mind was a complete

jumble.

“You told me about the Rainbow Room after I told you about

him. I wasn’t completely sure that you were P.U. until that moment.

Then I was afraid to come clean after I’d just told you about my

infidelity. I was afraid of what you’d think of me.” Hailey took

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the ball that Fuzzy was rubbing on her leg and threw it. “The

other day when I invited you to dinner, I was going to tell you

everything, but I was nervous, so I e-mailed you to see what you’d

say, test the waters. Your response really surprised me.”

“I was hurt. I asked if you wanted to meet and you blew me

off, then you started talking about someone—” I thought back

to the part of Hailey’s e-mail that had hurt the most. I think she’s

someone I real y want to get to know. “Why did you choose the

Rainbow Room? I thought you were straight.”

“The affair was with another woman. I realized rather late in

life the real reason I wasn’t happy.”

Part of me wanted to be elated with the revelation. The other

part was appalled. “We’ll, it’s been nice talking to you, Newbie,”

I said as I turned and stalked toward the door.

“Shannon, please—” I could hear Hailey coming after me.

“Wait!” I turned and held my hands up. Hailey and Fuzzy

skidded to a halt. “I don’t want to hear anything else right now. I

need some time.”

Hailey opened her mouth, then closed it, deflated. Fuzzy

watched the exchange between us and leaned heavily against

Hailey’s leg with a whimper. I turned and went into the building,

hoping they wouldn’t follow.

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Pitifully Ugly