I was going to tell her that Hale was coming tomorrow but something stopped me. I didn’t think she’d be okay with that. She would read more into it than there actually was.
“Well, alright then. It’s good to hear your voice. Hazel wants to talk at you. Give me that number I can reach you at before I cut you loose.”
I found the paper where I’d written it down and slowly repeated the digits.
“Love you, girl,” momma said, before handing the phone to Hazel.
“Love you too momma,” I replied.
“Sammy Jo! What’s it like there? Have you seen movie stars?” Hazel asked almost immediately.
Laughing I leaned back on the sofa. She fired one question after another and I tried to answer them all. Leaving her in bed had been hard. I’d wanted to wake her and tell her goodbye and that I loved her then and forever. Hearing her voice now was just what I needed to soothe me.
“I talk to Sammy Jo,” Henry kept demanding in the background. I could see them sitting around in the kitchen while momma made dinner for the bunch. Everyone was talking and working. Milly wouldn’t be home yet. They’d eat dinner then clean up together while momma gave Henry his bath, before putting him to bed with a story. After they all had their baths they’d sit on their beds and talk about the day, Milly’s date, who she saw at the salon, and who was dating or not.
As if Hazel could read my mind she said, “Jamie called today for your mailing address. They’re sending out wedding invitations. She said she knew you couldn’t make it back, but she wanted you to have an invitation.”
“Thank you. I’ll call Jamie and chat with her tonight.”
“Can’t believe she’s getting married so young. I’m not doing that. I’m gonna travel the world like you.”
Of all my sisters I believed Hazel would. The others would stay in Moulton, their entire lives lived there. But Hazel, she’d escape. Because she wanted to leave so badly.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Although I slept well enough through the night with the noise outside, my eyes opened early. I was nervous about Hale’s arrival. I didn’t want to mess anything up. He hadn’t called or texted and neither had Felicity to give me any new details. I showered and dressed then walked around looking for things to clean.
Walking in from the balcony there was a click at the door. I could hear more than one man’s voice and I realized Hale wasn’t alone. Did I hide if he was with someone or do I offer them drinks? Dang it, Felicity hadn’t told me what to do in this situation.
The door swung open and Hale entered followed by Ezra. Great. Just the man I wanted to see again. No. Not. Ever.
“Come in and have some lunch. We can discuss your issues with the deal over a glass of wine. I need a break after that early morning flight. I don’t want to deal with this as soon as I arrive.” Hale spoke to Ezra as if they were old friends. His gaze then swung to me as he surveyed how I was dressed. His look of displeasure told me I had done something wrong.
“Hello, Samantha. You’ve already met Ezra. He’ll be joining me for lunch.”
Two things about that: he called me Samantha knowing my name was Sammy Jo. Then he spoke to me as if I knew what they were having for lunch. There was something on the list from Felicity about this. I needed to run to the kitchen and check that.
“Okay. Do you need anything at the moment? Or do you want me to go get lunch ready?”
He motioned for Ezra to go out to the balcony. “Bring us both a glass of the Sassicaia. Then you can start on lunch,” he informed me.
I recognized the name and knew he was speaking about the wine. The problem was I’d never opened a bottle before. I wasn’t sure how. These weren’t screw top bottles.
“I need to check something Ezra. I’ll meet you outside,” he said, turning and heading for the kitchen.
I quickly followed, glad that we were going to be out of earshot from Ezra. I didn’t need him to hear that I couldn’t open a wine bottle.
Hale walked over to the wine rack and withdrew a bottle of the wine he had mentioned. “From the look on your face you have no idea how to open a bottle of wine. I’m going to show you and I want you to watch carefully. You’ll need to be able to do this.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
He opened a drawer and pulled out a large black and metal contraption. I watched as he aligned the pointy tip of the screw over the cork then turned the top to twist it in. Lastly, he pushed the two sides down that had risen like wings and the cork came out with an easy pop.
I wanted to sigh in relief. I thought it was going to be much harder than that. “Okay, I can do that,” I assured him.
He sat the contraption down then looked at me. “You should’ve shopped for clothing yesterday. Your clothes are not going to be acceptable.”
I hadn’t known about clothing. Was that why he paid me early? To buy new clothes?
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware I was supposed to use the money left for clothing.”
Hale frowned. “Felicity didn’t explain that?”
I liked Felicity. She was very good at her job so telling him “no, she hadn’t,” felt like ratting her out. “I’m, uh, sure she did and I missed it somewhere.”
“Use the card. I’ll leave a list of stores for you to shop at to buy a new wardrobe. The clothing you brought doesn’t need to leave your suitcase. My world expects different. Understand?”
I nodded because I was beginning to understand. He had changed my name and now he was changing my clothing. But then, I thought, I am his employee and I need to look a certain way. I should accept that and not get so annoyed.