Truly Madly Yours

Now all she really wanted for Nick was for him to settle down with a nice Catholic girl, marry in the church, and be happy. She didnt think it was too much for a mother to ask. If he married, the loose women would quit chasing him—especially Delaney Shaw. “You probably wouldnt tell your mother if something did happen with that girl anyway, she said. “What am I to believe?

Nick raised his mug and took a drink. “Ill tell you what. If something did happen, it wont happen again.

“Promise me.

He gave her an easy smile meant to appease her. “Of course, Ama .

Benita wasnt appeased. Now that girl was back and the rumors were starting again.

Chapter Eleven

Delaney took her telephone off the hook. She kept it off the hook until she left her apartment for work the next morning. She hoped that somehow the impossible had happened and Mrs. Vaughn hadnt been able to see into the shop. Maybe shed been lucky.

But when she unlocked the front door of her salon, Wa

Delaney was a little afraid to ask the obvious, but she was too curious not to know. “What happened? she asked and took the older womans coat. She hung it on a tree in the small reception area.

Wa

A lump formed in Delaneys throat. “What?

“Hanky-panky, whispered the older woman.

The lump fell to her stomach as she felt her brows rise to her hairline. “Hanky-panky?

“Whoopie.

“Whoopie? Delaney pointed to the counter. “Right here?

“Thats what Laverne told everyone last night at the bingo game over there at that church on Seventh, Jesus the Divine Savior.

Delaney walked to a salon chair and sank into it. Her face grew hot and her ears began to ring. Shed known there would be gossip, but shed had no idea how bad. “Bingo? Jesus the Divine Savior? Her voice raised and got squeaky. “Oh, my God! She should have known. Anything involving Nick had always been bad and she wished she could blame him completely. But she couldnt. He hadnt unbuttoned his own shirt. Shed done that.

Wa

“No!

“Oh. Wa

Delaney put a palm to her forehead and took a deep breath. “Hes evil. Evil. Evil. Evil. You stay away from him, Wa

“Most mornings Im just glad to wake up. And at my age, I dont think Id find those rumors too horrible, she said as she moved toward the back of the salon. “Can you squeeze me in today?

“What? You want your hair done?

“Of course. I didnt go to all the trouble of getting myself down here just to talk.

Delaney rose and followed Mrs. Van Damme to the shampoo sink. She helped her into the chair then set her walker aside. “How many people were at the bingo game? she asked fearing the answer.

“Oh, maybe sixty or so.

Sixty . Then those sixty would tell sixty more and it would spread like a brushfire. “Maybe I should just kill myself, she muttered. Death might be preferable to her mothers reaction.

“Are you going to use that shampoo that smells so nice?

“Yes. Delaney draped Wa

She wet Wa

“Yep. I stick to what works.

“I remember. As Delaney combed out the tangles, Nicks parting words still echoed in her head. Theyd been echoing in her head since hed said them. To see if I could . Hed kissed her and touched her breasts, just to see if he could. Hed made her breasts tingle and her thighs burn just to see if he could. And shed let him. Just like shed let him ten years ago.

What was it about her? What personality defect did she possess that allowed Nick to slide past her defenses? During the long hours shed spent contemplating that question, shed come up with only one explanation other than loneliness. Her biological clock was ticking. It had to be. She couldnt hear it ticking, but she was twenty-nine, not married, with no prospects in the immediate future. Maybe her body was a hormonal time bomb and she didnt even know it.

“Leroy liked when I wore silky drawers, Wa

Delaney snapped on a pair of latex gloves. She didnt want to envision Wa

“You should buy you some silky drawers.

“You mean the kind that come up past your navel? The kind that look like car seatcovers ?

“Yep.

“Why?

“Cause men like em. Men like women to wear pretty things. If you get yourself some silky drawers, you can get yourself a husband.

“No, thank you, she said as she reached for the waving solution and snipped the top off. Even if she were interested in finding a husband in Truly, which was of course ludicrous, she was only going to be in town until June. “I dont want a husband. She thought of Nick and all the problems hed caused since shed been back. “And to tell you the truth, she added, “I dont think men are worth all the problems they cause. They are highly overrated.

Wa

And the moon is made of green cheese, Delaney thought. If only she were a lesbian, she wouldnt have found herself kissing Nick and her hands tearing at his shirt. She wouldnt have found herself fascinated by his hairy chest. She met Wa

Mrs. Van Dammes finger waves took Delaney just under an hour. When she was finished, she watched the older woman write out a check, then she helped her with her coat.

“Thanks for coming in, she said as she walked her to the door.

“Silky drawers, Wa

Ten minutes after Mrs. Van Damme left, a woman came in with her three-year-old son. Delaney hadnt given a child a cut since beauty school, but she hadnt forgotten how. After the first snip, she wished she had. The little boy pulled at the small plastic cape shed found in the storage room as if she were choking him. He writhed and fussed and continually yelled NO! at her. Cutting his hair turned into a wrestling match. She was sure if she could just tie him up and sit on him, she could get the job done in a hurry.

“Brandons such a good boy, his mother cooed from the neighboring chair. “Mommys so proud.

Incredulous, Delaney stared at the woman whod decked herself out in Eddie Bauer and REI. The woman looked to be in her early to mid-forties, and reminded Delaney of a magazine article shed read in the dentist office questioning the wisdom of older women producing children from old eggs.