Keeping busy while Jack was in school was a lot easier than I had thought. Feeling the need for a change, I stopped off at the salon on a whim, cutting my extra-long locks to just below my shoulders. When the stylist turned my chair around for the big reveal, I couldn’t hold back my smile. In addition to loving my hair, I actually liked the girl I saw staring back at me in the mirror.
“Don’t you just love it?” Carlos, my stylist, asked.
“I-I really do.” My voice cracked with emotion.
“Oh, honey, don’t cry.”
“They’re happy tears.” I shook my head from side to side, watching my blond tresses move along with me. “It’s just so perfect.”
“I hope you have something special planned tonight, because, sweetheart, you look gorgeous.” Carlos stood behind me, talking to my reflection as he ran his fingers through my hair, admiring his work.
“You have no idea how much I love it. I cannot thank you enough.”
He shook his head and smiled. “You’re my masterpiece of the day—maybe even the entire month! Now go out and grab some lunch with a special guy…maybe?”
I looked down at my watch, seeing that it was nearing two o’clock. “Actually, that special guy just happens to be five years old and needs to be picked up from school in about twenty minutes.”
“Then let’s get you out of here.” Carlos removed my cape and wiped any excess hair from my back.
I stood up and stretched my legs, unable to resist glancing in the mirror one last time before going up to the counter to pay. I walked out of the salon and into the bright sunlight, feeling fresh and new, having reinvented myself both emotionally and now physically.
I waited outside the school, finally spotting Jack looking as adorable as ever when he approached me with a mile-wide grin on his face. “How was school today?” I asked, taking his backpack from him and flinging it over my shoulder.
“Good.” He squinted up at me, still sporting a cute little smile.
I had been wondering if he’d notice my hair. If he did, he didn’t say so, but I didn’t expect a five-year-old to be astute to that type of thing.
“So, we just have to run to the store and grab some things for dinner, and then we’ll head home.”
“Okay.” He reached for my hand, and we walked in silence until reaching the corner market right up the street from Simon’s house. “Do you know how to cook?” Jack asked as we stepped inside.
“Sure,” I fibbed. I knew how to do the basics, but after finding a recipe online that would allow me to disguise some vegetables from Jack inside a pasta dish, I’d decided to give it a try.
We scoured the tiny aisles until I found everything I needed. Jack’s eyes lit up at the sight of the giant dinosaur cookies at the register. I grabbed one and threw it on the counter with the rest of my items.
“Is that for me?” He smiled, and I nodded. “But Daddy always told Mrs. Webb that I was only allowed to have healthy snacks after school.”
“Who’s Mrs. Webb?” I asked.
“She used to take care of me after school, but she moved someplace far away so now she can’t watch me anymore.”
“Well, your daddy never told me anything about healthy snacks, so it’ll be okay.” I was fairly certain Simon assumed that I was going to steer Jack away from junk food, but it wasn’t in my manual so therefore it was okay to let him enjoy a cookie—if only for today.
Jack insisted on carrying the bags the short way back to the house. I offered to lighten his load when I saw him struggling, but he refused. He was breathing heavily by the time we got inside. I knew some of it was a little exaggeration on his part, but I played along.
“Wow you’re very strong to be able to manage all those bags on your own.” I turned around and giggled.
He climbed up to the breakfast bar, still feigning breathlessness.
“You think that cookie would help you get some of your energy back?”
He smiled and nodded eagerly.
I took out the carton of milk from the fridge and opened each cabinet until I found the one containing the glasses. “Here you go,” I said, placing the glass of milk and cookie in front of him. I got so much enjoyment over watching him eat it.
After we took Macy out for a short walk to do her business, Jack sat at the breakfast bar for the rest of the afternoon, watching cartoons and drawing, redirecting me every now and then as I tried to familiarize myself with where things were in the kitchen as I prepared dinner.
I was quite pleased with the outcome of my dinner, and if I had to guess, I’d say Jack was too, after cleaning his plate and then going back for seconds, never knowing there were broccoli and carrots hiding under the surface.
“That was yummy!” He patted his belly and let out a loud burp, causing us both to spew with laughter.
After cleaning up from dinner, I followed Jack’s lead with his bedtime ritual. I drew him a bath and washed his hair, allowing him to play in the bubbles with his army men for a while. “Are you ready to get out?” I asked, looking at his shriveled-up fingers.
He nodded and I rinsed him off, wrapping him up in a fluffy, oversized towel. He dressed into his warm footie pajamas and we headed back downstairs to watch some television. We were just settling into a Disney movie when Macy began to bark.
“Hey,” Simon said, standing in the living room door, looking thoroughly exhausted.
“Daddy!” Jack jumped off the couch and into Simon’s arms. After a few dozen kisses and hugs, Simon placed him down and focused his attention on me.
“Your hair. You cut it.”
I nodded, unsure if the bewildered look on his face meant that he liked it or hated it.
“It looks—wow! You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I whispered.
Jack hopped back on the couch and touched my hair, taking me off guard when he threw his arms around me and hugged me. I awkwardly hugged him back, but it didn’t take too long before I found comfort in his embrace.
“Daddy, I had two platefuls of dinner,” Jack boasted.
“You did?” Simon responded.
“Yes, he did,” I added. “And I saved you a plate as well.”
He flashed a hesitant grin.
“What? It was really good. And no, it wasn’t hot dogs!” I teased.
“I suppose I’m up for an adventure.”
“Wow, I’m offended,” I joked.
“I’m kidding, Bree. I’d love to taste your cooking,” he responded as he loosened his tie.
“It was really good, Dad!” Jack chimed in.
We went into the kitchen and Simon grabbed the plate.
“Sit, I got it.” I took it from his hand and heated it up.
“So how did today go?” Simon asked, raking his hand through his hair and yawning.
“It was awesome.” I smiled
“And Bree let me have a giant cookie after school,” Jack blurted out.
“What?”
I shrugged when Simon shook his head at me. “It wasn’t in the manual to not allow him a cookie as an after-school snack.”
We both succumbed to our laughter at the same time. Turning around, I took Simon’s plate from the beeping microwave and placed it in front of him.
“Oh, I gotta go—Spacemaster is on!” Jack hopped off the stool and ran into the living room.
“So, how is it?” I asked, taking a seat next to Simon.
“It’s actually quite good.”
“Ha! Told ya! And it’s got broccoli and carrots hidden in there, which Jack ate with no problem at all.”
“Aren’t you creative?”
“I am.” I smirked.
“Sorry I didn’t get a chance to call all day to see how things were going. It was just nonstop. Besides, I figured if you had a question about something that wasn’t in your manual, you’d call.”
I rolled my eyes, trying not to smile over his sarcasm.
“I did get your text with your new number, though. What was that all about?”
I looked down and began to nervously fold the napkin on the breakfast bar. “I got a phone call from my old boss today.”
He took a sip of water and his eyes widened.
“I didn’t answer it. But then it dawned on me that she still holds so many pieces of information of my life: my phone number, my address—she knows everything there is to know about my family. So I guess changing my phone number was my way of taking another step to closing out that chapter of my life for good.”
He nodded in agreement. “Is that where the new hair came from? Starting a new chapter in your life?”
“Maybe.” I expelled a deep breath and told him all about my encounter with Keith that day, as well as my almost call to the detective. “I know I sound crazy, but it was like he was sent there just for me. His words were so true about dwelling on the past.”
“Bree, I think it’s great that you want to put your past behind you, and I really do love your hair.” He smiled. “But—”
“Of course there’s a but.”
He put his hand up to stop me. “Just hear me out, please?” he coaxed.
“Fine,” I huffed.
“I don’t think reporting what that dirtbag did to you is dwelling on your past—it’s about dealing with your present, and making sure that he never does anything like that again to anyone in the future. You need to stop thinking that he had a right to do that to you just because…”
“Because he paid me to have sex with him? You can say it, Simon.”
“You didn’t deserve it. Nobody does, and he shouldn’t get away with it.”
I hated hearing the truth, especially when I had been so at peace with my decision from earlier.
“Did you want some more water?” I asked, wanting to get off the subject.
He gave me a sympathetic gaze and nodded, not pressing the issue any further.
Jack was sound asleep on the couch when we walked back into the living room.
“Well, I hope I got it right today,” I said, reaching for my coat.
“I think you got this job mastered,” Simon chuckled as we headed toward the door.
“Simon?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for not calling or texting all day to check up on me.”
“Bree, I told you I was sorry about that. I just didn’t have a free—”
“No, no, no. I really mean it—thank you. It proved to me that you really trusted me, and that means so much to me.”
“In that case, you’re welcome.”
An awkward silence passed between us as I reached for the doorknob.
He cleared his throat and spoke. “I’ll see you tomorrow, eight o’clock?”
“With bells on.” I knew it was wrong, but I wanted him to kiss me. I missed the touch of his lips against mine. The whole thing was so strange: we had gone from having sex right away to being friends after—the reverse of how most relationships form. But I was the one who had told him I wanted to forget our history and start fresh, and he was just abiding by my wishes. It was definitely for the best. I’d rather have him as a permanent relationship in my life as a friend than take a chance of losing him forever as a lover. Still, I couldn’t resist giving him a gentle peck on the cheek. “Goodnight, boss man,” I joked, trying to lighten the moment and prove to him as well as myself that my kiss was nothing more than innocent.
“Sweet dreams,” he replied.
I focused on those double dimples, knowing if I kept that beautiful smile imbedded deep inside my mind, I’d definitely be in store for some very sweet dreams.