Red Lily

escape.
    “I’ve gotta say: Wow. You look like you’ve been on one of those makeover shows. You know, like What Not to Wear . And oh boy, what just came out of my mouth was really rude.”
    “No, it’s okay.” Her smile spread even as her blush deepened. “I guess I feel made over. Jolene—you know Jolene, Stella’s stepmother?”
    “Yeah, she’s terrific.”
    “She helped me get the job at the gallery, and the day before I started, she came to my new apartment. She just . . . highjacked me. She said she was my fairygodmother for the day. Before I knew it, I was getting my hair cut, and they were putting aluminum foil in what was left of it. I was too terrified to say no.”
    “Bet you’re glad you didn’t.”
    “I was in a daze. She dragged me out of there to the mall, and said she was going to start me off with three outfits, top to toe. After that, she expected me to fill out the rest of my wardrobe in a like manner.”
    Her smile wreathed from ear to ear even as her eyes went damp. “It was the most wonderful day of my life.”
    “That’s the sweetest story.” Hayley teared up as Jane did. “You deserved a fairy godmother after being kicked around by that wicked witch. You know, historically fairy tales were women’s stories, passed orally in a time when women didn’t have many rights.”
    “Um. Oh?”
    “Sorry, trivia head. It’s just that this is all such a girl thing, I guess. I’ve got to get Stella.”
    “I didn’t want to interrupt anything. I just hoped to see Cousin Rosalind, and thank her.”
    “We’ll get her, too.” Hayley hurried over to Stella’s office door. “But Stella’s really going to want to see this.” She poked her head in without knocking. “You’ve got to come out here a minute.”
    “Is there a problem?”
    “No, just take my word and come out here.”
    “Hayley, I’ve still got half a dozen calls to make before I . . .” She trailed off, automatically putting on her greeting-the-public face when she spotted Jane. “Sorry. Is there something—Oh my God. It’s Jane.”
    “New and improved,” Hayley said, then winced. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. That’s just how I feel.”
    “Jolene said she’d given you the Jo Special.” Delighted,Stella walked a circle around Jane. “Boy, didn’t she just. I love your hair.”
    “So do I. Your stepmother, she’s been so good to me.”
    “She’s enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve had reports, but I have to say, a picture’s worth a thousand. I hope you’re doing as well as you look.”
    “I love my job. I love my apartment. I really love feeling pretty.”
    “Oh.” Stella’s eyes filled.
    “Same thing happened to me,” Hayley said as she got a two-way from behind the counter. “Roz,” she said into it, “we need you at checkout.”
    She clicked it off on Roz’s staticky complaint about being busy.
    “I don’t want to drag her away from her work.”
    “She’ll want to see you. And I want to see her see you. God, this is fun!”
    “Tell us what else you’ve been up to,” Stella said.
    “Work’s number one. I really love it, and I’m learning so much. I’ve made a couple of friends there.”
    “Male types?” Hayley wondered.
    “I’m not ready for that yet. But there is this man in my building. He’s very nice.”
    “Is he cute? Shoot, customer,” Hayley grumbled as one came in through the back with a loaded cart. “Don’t talk about anything sexy while I’m busy.”
    “I thought I’d be embarrassed to see the two of you again.” Jane turned to Stella as Hayley waited on the customer.
    “Why?”
    “That time, when I met you, I was so whiny and horrible.”
    “You were not, you were scared and upset. For good reason. You were taking a big step, letting us in so Roz could get those journals.”

    “They belonged to her. Clarissa didn’t have the right to take them from Harper House.”
    “No, she didn’t. But it was still a big step for you, to let Roz get them back, to move out, start a new job, a new life. I know how scary that is. So does Hayley.”
    Jane glanced over her shoulder to where Hayley rang up sales and chatted with her customer. “She doesn’t look like she’d be scared of anything. That’s what I thought when I met her, and you. That the two of you would never be afraid to stand up for yourselves, never let yourselves get pushed around like I did.”
    “We all get scared, and we don’t always do something so radical and positive about