“What do you need your hair done for?” I ask her. “Are you finally going to tell Fletcher how you feel about him?”
Dhara doesn’t have a witty comeback and when my make-up gal steps away, I turn and look at her. She’s brooding and acting like she’s engrossed in the magazine that she’s flipping through… likely one she’s already read.
“Fletcher loves you, Dhara. And I have a feeling you feel the same way. I think it’s about time you both take a step forward before it’s too late.”
“Late for what?”
“He’s leaving, D. He was offered a job in Raleigh and plans to take it. He wants you to go with him.”
“And what? Be his roommate?”
I laugh. Leave it to her to play clueless. “To move with him. Don’t play dumb with me right now, I’m sitting in this chair and don’t have a single idea of what I look like.”
“You’re beautiful,” she tells me.
“And you’re biased and avoiding the elephant in the room. Fletcher loves you and you love him.”
“As a friend.”
I shake my head slightly. “I don’t buy it one bit. He’s your guy. He’s your go to, the one you call for everything. He stays at your house almost every night, sleeping on the couch because he wants to be close to you when he has a perfectly great apartment of his own. You have dinner with him five out of seven nights. Meet for lunch, breakfast, and go shopping. You’re in a relationship without being in a relationship.”
“What we have is perfect.”
“What you have is nice. It’s far from perfect. It’ll be perfect when you tell that boy how you feel, but first admit to yourself that you’re in love with him.”
“So, what if I am?” she asks defiantly. “If he’s moving, what difference does it make?”
“It matters because he wants to build a life with you, and if he were to leave, you’d be devastated.”
“How do you figure?”
“You’re all done,” my stylist says. I’m tempted to ask for a mirror but am sure I’d be told no. I stand and go over to Dhara.
“I know because you haven’t said anything about Evelyn and I moving. You haven’t cried, complained, or told me to stay. You’ve helped me pack and each night gone back to Fletcher. If he leaves…”
I study her for a minute, looking for any sign in her eyes that my words are getting through. She closes the magazine and gives me a soft smile. “If I tell you that I love him will you drop this?”
Shaking my head. “Nope. I want you to tell him.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you’ll finally understand the heartache that I went through when Ajay left, and believe me, Dhara, you don’t want to experience that.”
She doesn’t say anything, except “thank you” to the staff. When we get outside, there’s a limo parked in front of the salon with the driver standing by the door. “Let me guess.”
Dhara links arms with mine and says, “It’s best that you just play along.”
Left with no choice, I climb into the back and settle in. I am somewhat familiar with Wilmington and figure I’ll know where we’re going after we start driving, but as luck would have it, the windows are covered.
“Let me guess, it’s a secret?”
“Of course,” she says. “Your boy is pulling out all the stops for a nice romantic dinner.”
I want to be upset, but I can’t. If he’s putting in an effort like this, I’m going to enjoy it, even if I’d rather be at home waiting for him. We’re not in the car for long when it’s put into park and the back door is open.
“Close your eyes and don’t peek,” she says, taking my hand and pulling me from the car. I do as she says, trying to be good for Ajay, but it’s damn near killing me not to open them. She tells me when to step, when to turn and finally when to open my eyes.
We’re in a room with no windows, but there’s a mirror and a dress side-by-side. “Dhara,” my voice breaks as I say her name. “What’s going on?”