want me to leave the salon–– on a Friday? What happened to always being here? “Okay.”
“So I need to get the girls out the door, but they are in the opposite direction of Brianna’s school. Would you be able to swing out here and grab Brianna’s snacks and take them to the school? I don’t want her to get in trouble for not having them. Or have the other kids give her trouble. Kids are so angry these days.”
Dani and Kevin’s house was a good twenty minutes away from Blissful. Twenty minutes there and back, plus picking up the supplies, driving to Brianna’s school, finding the classroom, making small talk with the teachers...I was looking at being gone for over an hour from the salon. And right when I was in the middle of a brainstorm. But how could I say no? This was Dani, my boss and my pseudo friend. I had to do it. “Okay, sure. How do I get into your house?”
“The code on the garage is 17456. Just type that in and the door will open. The door to get into the house is unlocked. Just be sure to close the garage door when you leave.”
“And where is Brianna’s school?” I stood up and shrugged my coat back on while listening to Dani spout directions.
“Thank you so much, Alex! I owe you one. And of course I’ll pay you gas money for all your troubles. Just leave a note for Allie and let her know one of us will be there shortly.”
We hung up and I scribbled a note for Allie, letting her know I had to help Dani but one of us would be back at the salon near opening time. I left my notebooks and briefcase on the desk, grabbing only my purse as I rushed out, making sure the salon doors were locked behind me.
The early morning traffic didn’t help me get to Dani’s any faster. I jumped out of my car, leaving the engine running, and scrambled to the garage. Punching in the numbers that I scribbled on the piece of paper, I ducked under the door and tromped up the three wooden steps leading into the house. Luckily, the plate of cookies and box of juice boxes were on the table like Dani said, so I scooped them up and rushed back out of the house. With my hands full, I had to first drop the boxes off in my car, then run back to close the garage.
Speeding to get to Brianna’s school and trying to carefully read my directions, I heard my cell phone ringing from the depths of my purse. The ringtone alerted me that it was coming from my Blissful phone. Dani and Kevin had given me my own cell phone my first week on the job and paid for the phone bill. They told me I could get rid of my regular cell phone but I hadn’t had the time to cancel my service yet. It was on my to-do list....somewhere.
I missed the phone call and pushed harder on the gas pedal. My car clock read 9:45. Blissful opened in fifteen minutes. Damn it. It was going to be closer to eleven when I finally got back.
After successfully delivering the cookies to the classroom, waving at Brianna who gave me an eyebrow raise back (really? A seven-year old can do the one eyebrow raise?) and jumping back in the car, I finally dug out my company phone and listened to my voicemails.
9:28. “Hey, Alex, it’s Allie. Just wondering if you’re coming in today. I figured you would already be here by now. Let me know!”
9:34. “Me again. I checked the schedule and it said you would be here at nine. Everything okay? Are you sleeping? Wake up, silly!”
9:46. “I just called Dani and she said you were running a favor for her. Glad to hear everything is okay. See you when you get here!”
All three messages from Allie. I must have not heard my phone ringing when she called the first two times. But didn’t she go into the office and see my note? Allie always left her belongings in the office as well; she should have seen the note taped to the computer. I shook my head and continued driving.
Pulling into Blissful at 10:48, I parked over the line but didn’t care. I would fix it later. I jumped out and hightailed it into the salon, throwing open the front door and hearing the bells chime.