Three
Prologue
“Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of five thousand dollars.” The striking of the gavel backed up the judge’s ruling. “Next time, madam, don’t choose a man who lies even when truth hits him in the face. And, sir, you are lucky you’re not in jail for the stunt you pulled.”
“Yay, Ginna!” The cheers echoed in the room.
Ginna Walker strolled to the center of the hair salon and dropped into a deep curtsy. No easy feat, considering her narrow short skirt.
Now her voice echoed out of the speakers. “Naturally I am very happy with the judge’s decision. The judge could tell he was lying about the money being his. The account was in my name only. He lied to bank personnel and cost that teller her job as a result. I just wish he’d been punished, too.”
A man’s surly voice was next. “I can’t believe the judge believed that bleep! lies. That money was supposed to be in a joint account. The only reason that bleep! did this was because I have a new life and she’s jealous.”
Ginna laughed out loud.
“The man never stops. A so-called joint account that only carried my name on it. I still can’t figure out how Denny duped that teller into letting him clean it out,” she told her friends and co-workers. “Could anyone remind me why I married such an idiot?”
“Because he had a cute smile and he reminded you of a puppy,” Cheryl, one of the nail techs, said.
“Because you said he actually listened to you,” Nora, one of the other hairdressers, put in.
“Because he sent you three dozen red roses on Valentine’s Day,” was added.
“Yes, but he used my credit card to pay for them,” Ginna said ruefully.
“That was your first clue he was a total jerk,” Sonia, one of the masseurs, piped up.
“I should have divorced him right there and then.” Ginna picked up the television remote control and switched it off. “It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”
Her friends kept pity from their gazes as they looked at her. They all knew exactly why there had been a divorce, but those sorrowful facts were neatly tucked away. It had taken a while before her smiles were spontaneous again.
CeCe, the elegant owner of the Steppin’ Out Salon and Day Spa, rose from her chair and walked over to Ginna. She rested her hands on the younger woman’s shoulders.
“Do not worry, my little Ginna. You will find a man who will see you as the treasure you are,” she told her.
Ginna looked at her boss, who everyone considered ageless. She could be thirty. She could be sixty. The woman’s beauty, Ginna thought, was the type that began from within. Anyone who worked for CeCe was considered a part of her family.
“Then if you say so, it will come true,” she said lightly. “But you don’t mind if I wait awhile before the perfect man comes my way?”
CeCe’s laughter was light and musical to the ear. “My dear, love doesn’t come at your beck and call. You answer its call.” She hugged her and stepped back. “Ladies, we have all this lovely champagne to finish,” she announced.
Ginna walked over to the table laden with rich pastries, bottles of champagne and a lazy Susan holding various fresh vegetables with a dip nearby. She picked up a custard-filled éclair and bit into it.
The lounge for the Steppin’ Out spa clients was a restful area with love seats and chairs that were designed for comfort, as well as looks. Exquisite paintings of European pastoral scenes hung on the walls. Many a woman enjoyed the plush feel of the mint-green carpet underfoot. The wide-screen television in one corner was encased in elegant walnut, used to play specially created videos showing the spa’s amenities.
Since the spa was closed this evening, the employees took over the room to watch Ginna’s television debut on one of the popular courtroom programs.
“Yes, but then you wouldn’t have had your twenty minutes of fame on television,” Phoebe, one of the spa’s estheticians said, and busied herself with a nail file. Cheryl clucked her tongue, muttering about proper shaping as she took the file out of Phoebe’s hand and finished the job herself. “Or gotten more than he owed you.”
“If he hadn’t out and out lied in court, she probably would only have awarded me the money he took,” Ginna admitted. She dropped into one of the chairs in the salon and spun around. “He did it to himself.”
“And what are we doing with the money?” Nora asked in a singsong voice.
Ginna grinned broadly.
“I am taking the vacation of my dreams.”
“THIS IS A JOKE, right?” Zach Stone looked at the sheets of paper his sister had unceremoniously thrust into his hand.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” She tapped the top paper. “Happy birthday, big brother.”
“Lucie, my birthday’s seven months away,” he said dryly.
She shrugged off his statement. “Then think of it as two weeks in heaven. Sun, sand and surf. Maybe you’ll even go wild and have a hot island romance. It wouldn’t hurt you, you know.”
“Romance?” He started laughing. “Lucie, I have two kids who will be starting kindergarten next year. My life consists of Big Bird
