Pitifully Ugly

Epilogue

“Hailey, if you have any more stuff, we have to burn it.” I

flopped down onto the floor next to her, feeling like every muscle

in my body was on fire.

“That’s the last of it,” Hailey said with a groan. “Did we bring

Fuzzy?”

“She’s in the backyard chasing squirrels. When we put in a

garden, we won’t have any problems with those guys.”

The Healys weren’t particularly thrilled that we wanted to

break the lease on Hailey’s apartment. Mine had long expired

since I lived there for what felt like forever. Mrs. Healy did give

us a break when we offered a replacement tenant—Marvin, who

was recently promoted to manager of the Rampart salon.

Hailey and I bought a house two blocks away from Kalen and

Toad’s and spent the last two weeks painting our new place and

moving. Everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. The

catalyst for all the change occurred one hot night when Hailey

burned our dinner and I ruined one of her shirts while doing the

laundry. It was our first fight…

“Why?” Hailey exclaimed as she held what was left of her

favorite silk shirt in her shaking hands. “Why on earth would you

wash something like this with the towels?”

“Because you put it in the hamper with the towels.” I slammed

the lid down on top of the pan of fettuccini Alfredo to stifle the

smell of it as it fried. “I asked you to watch this. If you hadn’t

been so busy bitching at me, then we’d have something to eat

besides molten lava.”

“Did you use an entire gallon of bleach on that load of towels?”

Hailey tossed her spotted shirt at the trash can. “If I weren’t so in

love with you, I’d choke the shit out of you right now.”

We both froze and stared at each other. “Do you mean that?”

21

Robin Alexander

“Yes, I want to choke you.” A sliver of a smile tugged at

Hailey’s lips.

“I love you, too, Hailey, with all my heart.”

We started house hunting the next day.

“I just want to shower and go to bed.” Hailey sat up and

looked at me. “Or we could skip bathing and sleep right here on

the floor.”

The sound of tires screeching and a horn blowing had us on

our feet in an instant. I know we both had the same thought—

Fuzzy escaped the backyard and had gotten into the street. Hailey

threw the front door open with me on her heels and stopped short.

I nearly ended up on her back. Mom’s head was hanging out the

back window of Kalen’s car. “The baby’s coming.”

Toad burned rubber backing out of our driveway, leaving us

to stand bewildered in a cloud of exhaust fumes.

“He’s going the wrong way,” Hailey said as she followed me

back into the house.

“Lived here all his life, too.” I found my car keys and pulled

on my shoes. “Guess sleeping is going to be delayed a while.”

Hailey was moving ninety miles an hour around the house as

she brought in Fuzzy and set up the DVD player. We were on the

road in less than ten minutes, which in hindsight was stupid. We

could’ve taken ten showers and slept until three in the morning

because that’s when Brianna Page Cavanagh made her arrival

into this world.

While Mom and Dad argued over holding the baby and Toad

and Hailey slept despite sitting straight up, I sat on Kalen’s bed

holding her hand. “She is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,”

I said as I wiped my eyes.

Kalen smiled up at me wearily. “She is. Has all ten fingers and

toes.” Kalen looked past me to Dad, who had won the argument

and was sitting in a chair holding his granddaughter. “He’s crying.

He never cries.”

I sat for a long time watching Kalen drift in and out of sleep.

She’d open her eyes, look for the baby, and smile, then drift off.

Her hair was a mess, makeup smeared from crying, and I thought

21

Pitifully Ugly

she looked lovelier then than she ever had. My big sister was a

mom.

In the wee hours of that morning when Hailey and I drove to

our new home, we decided to start a family of our own. The next

day, we made a visit to the hospital, then went straight to the place

where the babies were kept.

Hailey and I separated as we walked along the rows of them

crying out for adoption. I wanted to take them all and fill our

house and yard with them, but we’d made a promise before we

came—only one. I stopped at one kennel that didn’t have a dog

scratching at the wire mesh. A sign said “male, two months.” I

bent and looked inside, and there he sat against the back wall, the

ugliest thing I’d ever seen. He crouched against the back wall as

if he knew no child would want him when there were so many

adorable younger and fluffier competitors.

I pressed my hand against the wire and he approached timidly.

He sniffed at my hand and licked it. When his eyes met mine, I

knew.

“Is he snarling?” Hailey came to stand beside me.

“No, he’s scared.” I pointed to the smaller sign at the bottom

of the door that explained that he’d been hit by a car and lost a

portion of his top lip. “And he’s perfect.”

“Can we take a closer look at this one?” Hailey asked an

attendant.

The woman gave us a knowing smile as she opened the cage

and lifted him out. His brown paws that gave way to black legs

weren’t that big. I watched his big brown eyes as they regarded

Hailey when she presented her hand for him to sniff. His tail

thumped the keys hanging at the attendant’s waist as he licked

the back of Hailey’s hand.

“He’s smaller than he should be,” the attendant said. “He was

severely malnourished when he was brought in.”

I looked up to find Hailey looking at me. She nodded. “We’ll

take him,” I said.

“What will we name him?” Hailey asked as our new baby

rode in the backseat with her.

“Pitifully Ugly, P.U. for short.”

21

About the Author

Robin Alexander is the author of the Goldie Award-winning

Gloria’s Secret and five other novels for Intaglio Publications—

Gloria’s Inn, Gift of Time, Murky Waters, The Taking of Eden,

and Love’s Someday. Her short story “Crossing the Line” can be

found in the anthology Romance for Life.

Robin spends her days working with the staff of Intaglio and

her nights with her own writings. She still manages to find time

to spend with her partner, Becky, and their three dogs and three

cats. You can reach her at robinalex@yahoo.com. You can also

visit her Web site at www.robinalexanderbooks.com.

You may also be interested in:

Gloria’s Inn

by Robin Alexander

ISBN: 1-933113-01-4

Hayden Tate suddenly found herself in a world unlike any other,

when she inherited half of an inn nestled away on Cat Island

in the Bahamas. Expecting something like the resorts found in

Nassau, Hayden was shocked and a little disappointed to find

herself on a beautiful tropical island undiscovered by tourism.

Hayden reluctantly begins to adapt to a simpler way of life found

on the island, and her conversion is often comical.

Not only did Hayden’s aunt leave her an inn, but the company of

her former business partner as well. Strange as she is beautiful,

Adrienne turns Hayden’s world upside down in many ways.

Hayden quickly learns that being with Adrienne will always be

an adventure.

The tranquility of the island is shattered with the disappearance of

a mysterious guest. Hayden and Adrienne soon find themselves at

the center of a murder investigation, fearing for their own safety

and the lives of their guests. Eager to rid themselves and the island

of a ruthless killer, Adrienne and Hayden decide to conduct their

own investigation. The eclectic mixture of guests and staff make

their efforts both interesting and humorous.

Gloria’s Secret

Robin Alexander

ISBN: 978-1-933113-93-7

2008 Golden Crown Award Winner - Mystery

Hayden Tate had hoped that life on Cat Island would be peaceful

with her former trouble causing handyman Hank out of the picture.

But when strange occurrences and noises begin to happen around

the inn she operates with her partner Adrienne once again the top

suspect is Hank the only problem is – Hank is dead.

In this long awaited sequel to Gloria’s Inn, Hayden and Adrienne

join their zany guests for another madcap adventure.

Love’s Someday

by Robin Alexander

ISBN: 978-1-935216-08-7

Ashleigh Prather committed the sin of omission when she failed to

reveal secrets of her past to her lover of five years. Her relationship

becomes the casualty when the past and present collide. Erica

Barrett’s world is turned upside down when she is forced to watch

Ashleigh confront old demons and become someone she doesn’t

recognize.

Is love worth fighting for when you realize that you never truly

knew the person you’ve shared five years of your life with?

Published by

Intaglio Publications

Walker, La.

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www.bellabooks.com or at

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