Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

alone.

To make things worse, Hailey called me. She sounded upset.

“Hey, Shannon, I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to cancel our dinner

plans. Something has come up, and I’m gonna have to step out for

a while. I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just bad timing, I guess.”

“You want me to keep Fuzzy while you’re out?”

“No, I appreciate the offer, but she’ll be fine. I’ll talk to you

later.”

She disconnected before I could reply.

Robin Alexander

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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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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“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