Free Love Gently Falling by Melody Carlson Page A

“Yeah…?”
    â€œYeah.” Rita nodded eagerly. “Please, let me do this, Mom. I’ve never been so excited about a project before. I think it’ll be fun and exciting. Is it okay?”
    Donna just looked at Rita now, as if trying to decide. “Yeah…” she finally said. “Gooo…”
    Rita bent down to kiss her mom’s cheek. “Great. You won’t be sorry. And don’t worry about a thing. I’ve already started putting together a plan.”
    Donna looked like she wanted to say something more. Probably to give some advice or some warning or ask a question. But finally she just let out a deep breath and gave Rita her funny little half smile.
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    Rita went to the salon again on Saturday morning. It was slightly busier than the previous day, but that wasn’t saying much. And it was never so busy that anyone asked her to take an appointment. But that was fine with her. She spent most of the morning just measuring things, making notes, and doing research on the Internet. Then about an hour before she was supposed to meet Marley for lunch, she went down to Cabot’s Upholstery Shop at the far end of the mall. Using her phone to show the proprietor the boxy-shaped waiting room chairs, she asked him how much it would cost to have them recovered.
    â€œDepends on what you want them covered with.” Mr. Cabot adjusted his glasses to peer more closely at the photos. “These chairs look pretty straightforward. How many are there?”
    â€œFive. Not that we usually need them, but you never know.” She quickly explained the Hair and Now situation, including her financial and timeline limitations.
    â€œI heard about Donna’s stroke.” He shook his head. “Such a sweet woman. Too bad about that.”
    â€œI want her to be completely wowed by this makeover.” Now she told him about the lime green chairs she planned to recycle. “So I want something that goes with that. It could be a solid in a similar shade, or maybe even a print.” He excused himself to get some samples then returned with an interesting book of retro prints, including several with lime green. “I really love this one.” She pointed to a bold green and white print that was reasonably priced.
    He nodded, removing the piece from the ring so Rita could take it with her to help her make other decorating choices. “You need these when?”
    â€œAs soon as you can get them done.”
    He scratched his chin with a thoughtful expression. “Lucky for you it’s a slow time of year. By the time the fabric gets here—you say five chairs?”
    â€œThat’s right. But I’d settle for three.”
    â€œI could maybe get all five done by mid February.”
    She frowned.
    â€œThat’s all five though. You could have the others as soon as they’re finished. Maybe two or three in ten days.”
    She brightened and they shook on it. Mr. Cabot promised that someone would be down to pick them up in a few days. “Not all at once,” he said as he wrote something down. “That way your folks will have something to sit on.”
    â€œYes. That’s a good idea.”
    With that settled, she went out to meet Marley for lunch at Noah’s Ark.
    â€œThis is so fun,” she told Marley as they settled into a booth. “Just like old times.”
    â€œI’m so glad we’ve buried the hatchet.” Marley smiled.
    â€œWe should’ve done it a long time ago.”
    â€œYeah, but we’ve both been busy with jobs…and life.” Marley’s eyes lit up. “Which reminds me, I forgot to ask you about your love life yesterday. I can’t believe you’re still single. What’s up with that?”
    Rita gave her a condensed report, explaining how her career took a lot of her time during the first few years and finally confessing how her skill at picking guys was challenged at best.