The Matrons of Regal Bay
Chapter 42
Lisa's Tales -- Part 4
Lisa Hayworth had the afternoon off, with the middle of July, mid-week being some of the slowest afternoons in the salon. Usually, she would walk along the boardwalk with the crowds, stopping occasionally at the seasonal stalls or in the more permanent shops that fronted the bay. At times, she would kill the hours before heading home to make dinner for her children lounging on the beach in one of the public chairs, beneath an umbrella, reading her latest paperback. This afternoon, she instead headed out to the mall.
Lisa had no real destination in mind. She just had the itch to do a little shopping, browsing through a few of her favorite shops if only to see if anything caught her eye. One of her regular stops was FYE, the popular entertainment outlet. Often, it was her first stop in Majestic Mall.
"Hello, Lisa!" called the manager from behind the counter as she walked through the wide store front. She responded with a wave.
"HI, Wanda. How have you been?" She walked on over to the counter, where a teenager stood looking across at the wide variety of piercing studs available, hung in small packages on the wall behind the counter.
Wanda Vaughn, a regular at Paisley Park Beauty Salon and one of Lisa's usual clients, was a woman seemingly out of place running a modern pop-culture shop. Wanda was in her mid-forties and somewhat plump, though Lisa had noticed that her friend had been slimming down over the last few months.
"Busy!" she replied. "I've got two employees on vacation this week, and none of my usual part-timers from the university are back in town. So, I've had to pull full shifts the last couple of days. Nine to nine, open to close."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Lisa said. "It must be wearing you out. Don't you have any help at all?"
"Oh, I've got two girls this week working," Wanda said. "I've had to keep on them when their hours overlap. They want to hang out in the store room, chit-chatting or texting. And then, when they're running the counter, I constantly have to remind them to pay attention to the customers and not their phones. I tell you, Lisa, I can't get good help with this generation of kids."
"Maybe I'll have Alyssa pay you a visit," Lisa smiled. "I know she'd like a summer job, other than the one she's got now out at McDonald's. She knows the stuff in here pretty good, since she pretty much hands you her paycheck every week," Lisa laughed.
"That would be great," Wanda smiled, and then she added, "and if your son is looking, I could use him in here as well." Wanda knew Randy Hayworth in passing, but also knew that he and her son Luke used to run around some in high school.
Lisa hesitated in responding. She knew what her son had going during the summer, and although she didn't actually approve, she knew that she wouldn't change his mind. Working with Dr. Price, if that was what they were doing, was earning him additional credits leading into his sophomore year at RBU. Lisa doubted if her son would want to cut into that time with an actual job that paid real money.
"He's pretty busy already this summer," she finally replied. "But I'll talk to Alyssa and have her come in. Will you be here tomorrow?"
"All day," Wanda sighed. The teen seemed to be waiting to make a selection from the wall behind, so Lisa went on her way. She wandered on through until she came to the music CD sections and after about fifteen minutes of browsing, she had selected two new CD's and a used one. All were modern blues, her favored music these days.
Wanda had slipped into the back for a moment by the time Lisa returned to the counter. As advertised, she had to interrupt the young lady behind the counter, who was paying more attention to a game on her phone that to her work. Lisa paid for the music with her card, and then headed on through the mall, stopping only on occasion to look in a shop here and there, yet spending no more money, other than for an Orange Julius as she headed for the front doors.
Lisa arrived at her home just before six. Her son's yellow Chevy Monte Carlo wasn't parked out front, so she knew he wasn't home. Once inside, she found that her daughter wasn't at home, either. And of course, neither had left a message as to what or where they were. Lisa typed in a quick text, simply "Where are you?" and sent in to both of her children's phones. Maintaining three cell phones was costing her all her tips and cut into the checks her ex-husband had finally begun to send. Chad had been a bastard for so many years, but out of the blue, Lisa began to receive back child support from him. He must have gotten in trouble with the law, she imagined.
Accepting that she had the house to herself, Lisa put off fixing herself anything to eat, and instead decided on taking a soothing bubble bath. Her phone finally chimed, but she put off checking her messages until after she'd dried off, nearly half an hour later. Randy had been first to reply, letting her know that he'd gone out with friends that afternoon and was hanging out at one of their homes watching movies. Alyssa's reply was very similar to her brother's, in that she also was out for the evening with friends. Neither expected to be back for dinner, so Lisa had eaten a quiet meal, warmed up in the microwave, alone.
By eight o'clock, Lisa had settled into the living room to watch television. After ten minutes of channel surfing and finding nothing of interest on, she curled up in the glide rocker her father had bought for her when she was pregnant with Alyssa, and opened her latest book, a Kimberly Cates romance set in medieval Ireland. The only sound in the house was coming from the stereo, where Lisa had her newest Joe Bonamassa CD paying.
Lisa had lost track of time, lost in the arms of an Irish Rogue, when Randy banged through the front door, announcing his return.
"What's for dinner, Mom?" he called out. He stuck his head in from the entryway. He looked drunk, and was probably stoned as well.
