Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

“Any siblings?” Kalen asked. “Like a pain-in-the-ass younger

sister?”

Hailey blotted her mouth with her napkin and smiled. “I wish,

but no, it was just me.”

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“You’re lucky then.” Kalen made a face at me. “I had the

world at my tiny fingertips until Shannon showed up and ruined

it all.”

“Don’t let these two fool you,” Mom said. “They’ve been

close since the day Shannon was born. They slept in the same bed

together, even though they had their own. Bathed together and

ate off the same plate until Kalen started kindergarten. It nearly

killed Shannon when we dropped Kalen off each morning.”

“Yes, my loving sister that couldn’t stand to see me go went

home and painted all my dolls green.” Kalen shot me a look.

“And you always left the lids off my Play Doh and dried it

out,” I said.

“Such sweet memories,” Kalen said with a wistful sigh. “I

think my favorite was when we were in college and Shannon—”

“Shut it, Kalen.” I waved my fork at her. “I’ve got a few stories

I could share.”

“Touché. Damn it.” Kalen looked over at Hailey. “How about

you? Are there any humiliating college stories that you’d like to

share?”

Hailey chuckled. “No, you’d find me incredibly boring. I

went to Georgetown on an academic scholarship with dreams of

medicine, and quickly found out that I didn’t have what it took.

The closest I got was pharmacology.”

“I can’t picture you as a pharmacist,” Kalen said.

“I couldn’t either after a year of it. Much to the chagrin of my

parents, I went into sales for a pharmaceutical company. Being

tied to a pill counter was not for me.”

As Mom and Kalen talked to Hailey, I sat back listening and

learning about the woman I had shared most intimate secrets with

the night before. I realized then that there was so much about her

that I didn’t know before jumping into bed and dreaming of a

future together. Nothing that I learned detracted from the way

I felt about her, but I did sort of feel like I was giving my heart

away to someone I only knew half of.

Hailey insisted on cleaning up after dinner, and I was more

than happy to help. The quicker we got out of there, the quicker

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Pitifully Ugly

we’d end up in Hailey’s bed or mine. I didn’t care which as long

as we were naked. Kalen put my intentions on hold when she

slapped the kitchen table and practically yelled.

“Oh, my God! I forgot to tell you what Zoe Martinez sent

me.”I pretended not to hear her exclamation, and Mom had to ask,

“What?”

“She videoed Shannon’s speech. Y’all can’t leave until we

watch it.”

“Oh, yes, we can.” I dropped the dish towel on the counter. “I

lived through that once. I don’t want to experience it again.”

“Kalen told me about how wonderful you did, and Angela

raved,” Mom argued. “Stay, I want to see it.”

“I’m tired. Hailey aren’t you tired?” I asked, looking to her

for help.

“I’d like to see it, too,” she said, looking at me and Mom.

I learned another thing about Hailey. She was not good at

picking up on my subtle clues for escape. That was something

we’d have to work on if she still wanted to see me after watching

the video.

“Wow,” Mom and Kalen said in unison as the camera zoomed

in on me at the podium. Kalen looked over at me with a satisfied

grin. “Sis, I think you’re beautiful, but Marvin made you look

like a supermodel.”

I thanked her for the compliment as I cringed, not knowing

what to expect. My memory was still vague about that night, and

I was afraid that I was about to look like a super-ass. The camera

zoomed in closer. My eyes looked like two saucers, and I was

sporting a crooked grin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s an honor…”

Zoe and someone else were speaking in hushed tones off

camera, but their voices came in clearly over mine. Kalen paused

the video and caught me in mid-blink. My mouth was hanging

open, making me look like I was about to pass out. “I’m going to

choke her. She’s gossiping right over Shannon’s speech.” Kalen

hit the play button.

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Robin Alexander

“…four successful salons in New Orleans.”

Whomever Zoe was speaking to said, “So that’s the other

Brycen sister.”

“Yeah,” Zoe whispered.

Between Zoe’s conversations, we could only hear bits and

pieces of the speech, but with the camera in my face, there was

no denying that I was half out of my mind. “…specialized service

provided by Angela Kennedy—”

Kalen hit the pause again. “Were you drunk? What’s with the

giggling and pointing?”

“I was nervous,” I shot back.

Hailey came to my rescue. “It’s not so bad, especially for

someone who has never done public speaking.” Mom agreed, and

Kalen pressed that damn play button again.

I could tell that Zoe and her compadre had moved away from

the camera, but the mike still picked up their voices over mine,

which sounded like a blur in the background. Apparently, Zoe

had not watched the video before she sent it to Kalen because of

what she said next.

“I’ve always wondered if there was something going on

between Kalen and Angela, even though they claim to be

straight, but I was wrong about which of the Brycens Angela

was servicing. They were into it hot and heavy the other night in

that bar bathroom. If I hadn’t have walked in when I did, Angela

would’ve been giving Shannon the works.”

The TV screen went black. I looked over at Kalen, who looked

mournfully sad for me. I looked at Mom next, who sat with her

mouth hanging open, then last at Hailey, who had no expression

at all.

“That’s not what happened.” I hoped that Hailey would

believe me.

“No, it wasn’t,” Kalen agreed. “Zoe was pissed because

Shannon rejected her, and she didn’t want to look like a loser.”

I could only imagine how Hailey felt. She smiled weakly.

“We weren’t really even dating then, so I have no right to be upset

even if it were true.”

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Pitifully Ugly

“Well, it’s not,” Kalen said. “That asshole. Wait till I get a

hold of her.”

And that concluded our peaceful evening.

In retrospect, I suppose Zoe’s comment was a good thing

because it opened up a very candid conversation between Hailey

and me on the way home. I told her about kissing Angela and why.

Hailey got a kick out of it, but she wanted to know who Angela

was.“She’s a straight sales rep for Natural Beauty and a friend of

Kalen’s. I’m not interested in her, and I can assure you she has no

interest in me.”

Hailey squeezed my hand. “Good because I don’t want to see

other people, and I don’t want you to, either. Does that bother

you?”

“It’s official, we’re a couple,” I said with a smile.

“But I’m not looking for anything serious,” Hailey said,

returning my smile.

“The hell you aren’t.” Hailey’s laugh thrilled me.

“I should tell you something that I told Kalen tonight. I

probably should’ve told you first, but I got so caught up in the baby

talk that it all just came out.” Her tone turned serious, somber. I

waited silently for her to continue. “I had a miscarriage, well,