Chapter Two, Episode Ninety- four - Hiding in Plain Sight - Situationally Theirs

Hiding in Plain Sight 

Calming music, soft voices of Spa employees and clients, and an aura of peace surrounded Dez. The gentle tinkle of the bell at the door gripped her. The pert young thing who had oriented her to the telephones, the importance of new client forms and general office management had gone off to Mexico for a destination wedding that they all had talked about in the staff room. She was on her own. With a new modern hairstyle, manicured and painted nails, her new wardrobe ~ she felt uncomfortable. Pretending to file something and make notes about something, she had not seen who came in. It was probably just the mail but, annoyingly, she was nervous. She’d been a waitress in more that one diner, slung beer with the best of them, cleaned restaurant kitchens, worked in a dry cleaning store, managed an apple orchard and set up beehives. How was she to greet clients? Her mouth had gone dry. 

“Excuse me, please. I have an appointment with Sarah.” Swinging her computer screen to face her, she asked “Your name please?” Her fingers were poised to pull up Sarah’s appointments, when Sarah approached. 

“Mrs. Beaufort, it is so good to see you after all this time.” Before Dez could say anything, Sarah and Emelina walked down the hall to Room 2. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister glanced back once, but Sarah ushered her into the Aesthetic Room. “Is she a new employee? What is her name?” 

“I’m not sure what her name is, but yes she is a new employee. Now, here. I have your foot bath for you. Slip your sandals off and I’ll set them aside. There’s a hook for your purse. Have you decided on a colour for your nails - both toenails and fingernails? Same colours or something different.We have some new ones here.” Scarcely taking a breath, Sarah knew Emelina from a previous location and had recently joined this Spa.

“I have really missed our regular appointments, Sarah. I’m pretty good doing my own pedicures, but I’m not so good at the manicures. I’ve had to have my sister help me with that when I can.” Sarah looked up at her from massaging her feet and legs.

“I don’t recall you talking about a sister before.” She lifted one foot out of the warm water, wrapped it in a towel and set it on a pad beside the foot bath. “Well, we were lost to each other for many years. We left on not very good terms.” She took a breath. “That’s why I asked about your receptionist. She looked so very familiar but the hair. The make-up. They were all wrong. Even her voice was different.”

~~~~~

It seemed like there were new clients waiting outside the door to come in and keep Dez busy for the next hour. Actually there were only three, but Dez had been so rattled when Emelina almost recognized her, that if felt like there had been twenty-three. When the clients were all being massaged, or manicured, or were relaxing to some other Spa treatment, Dez took a big drink of water, leaned back in her chair and looked for a way out before her sister could see her. Sure, in the mirror she looked good, but she just didn’t look or feel like herself. Maybe if she told her boss she was really sick she could just leave. She had always envied Em for being so very ‘put together’  ~ that’s what their mom would say, anyway. Now she just wanted to be in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair all unruly, little make-up if any and definitely no long painted finger nails. She loved the foot soak and leg rub but the rest of it she could really do without. Oh, she’d tried before, and each time felt almost as uncomfortable as she did now. Now, if she wanted to stay in this job ~ the only one available to her right now ~ she’d have to put up with it. Maybe she could tone it down some how, but probably not today. She saw the door to the Aesthetics room open.

She shoved her chair back and escaped to the bathroom just in time. Sarah would have to take care of payment and rescheduling. Dez needed time to think. Think about when and how she would contact her sister about why she didn’t acknowledge her. Maybe she’d just go out to the Estate? Contact Martha to see when her sister would be there? 

Dez slammed the flat of one hand on the sink counter. “I am almost forty years old and acting like a scared teenager! What the ^&*() is wrong with me? 

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.”

~ Mark Twain