Page 49 of Terms Of Un-Endearment
“Under whose orders?”
“Britta’s.”
I push my glasses higher on my nose and eye him closely. “Why would she order you to take me to Frothed?”
He’s got something bad planned. Maybe it’s the beanie, or possibly the bleached hair, but his face looks more orange than the super dark tan I expected a couple of days from now. He has to suspect I did something to his face wash. That or he needs to get his eyes checked.
Archie sighs and adjusts his beanie. “She technically ordered me to tell you to come into Frothed for free coffee this morning, because I happened to mention you were drinking Dunkin’ Donuts coffee from the Seven-Eleven. But, since you don’t have a car, I’m offering to drive you there, then take you to work.”
I cross my arms. We both know why I’ve been drinking Dunkin’ instead of the special roast he’s hidden somewhere. I wonder if he admitted that to Britta. If he did, she’s being nice to offer me free coffee when I’m not entitled to Archie’s in the first place. And if she’s seen what I did to his hair, then she’s beyond nice. She’s a saint.
That or she’s in on his revenge plan. I’ve never met Britta, so it’s impossible to guess.
“Come on. According to Britta, I owe you, and I’m going to be in deep if you don’t show up this morning.” He holds up his keys. “Do you really want to start your day with a cup of Dunkin’ coffee and an hour-long bus ride?”
The obvious answer is no. Especially when, if things continue the way they have every other day this week, I’m going to have a long day of mostly mindless tasks. On the bus ride home last night, my sewing friend Julia told me all about her thoughts about how her work area at Valente could be improved. That’s the downside of accepting Archie’s offer. I won’t get to see her this morning. But good, free coffee is too strong a temptation to resist.
“You promise you’re not trying to lure me into your van so you can drop me in the middle of the desert?”
Archie laughs. “Yeah, nah. I wish I would have thought of that. You’re the only evil genius this early in the morning.”
“I only heard the genius part of that.” I follow him to the garage, where he backs out the van before opening the passenger side door for me.
After a few minutes of awkwardness, I have to break the silence. “Sooo, you’re blond now?”
He huffs a laugh. “It was that or shave it off.”
“I told you it would wash out,” I say meekly.
He glances at me with a lifted eyebrow. “In two to four weeks for average hair, which, apparently, my hair was not.”
My eyes snag on his orange beanie and the bit of blond peeking from under the rim. “How long will this last?” I’m almost afraid to ask. Now that it’s gone, I realize how much I like his red hair.
He puffs out a breath. “Too long. Apparently, bleach likes my hair as much as cheap purple dye does. Juan will try to tone it down in a couple of weeks.Ifall my hair doesn’t fall out before then, thanks to the numerous color changes.”
“Annnnd…I’m officially guilt ridden now.”
“Good,” Archie says.
Which makes me feel even more guilty but also question why I got in this van with him because I am definitely on my way to be dumped on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
Which is too bad, because I kind of missed having him around last night. The sky lit up in a spectrum of bright oranges and pinks, with shades of lavender that took my breath away. But sunsets are always more beautiful when they’re shared.
The few moments Archie and I have had where we weren’t fighting have been…nice. Honestly, I’m craving more of them. I just can’t do anything that will jeopardize Mom not getting this house.
We’re quiet for another few minutes before Archie speaks. “At the risk of making you feel better, everyone I’ve told about my hair says I deserve it for being so mean to you when we were kids.”
“Who is everyone?”
“Frankie, Dex, Britta, even though she has no first-hand knowledge.”
I laugh. “I do feel slightly vindicated, but I was totally annoying, Archie. I probably deserved it.”
Archie slows to a stop at a light, then looks at me. “Don’t say that. No one ever deserves unkindness.”
Something surprising cracks inside me. There’s a part of me that thought Archie was right. I was too much. Too loud. Too outspoken. Too…everything.
Hearing other people–even people who weren’t witness to Archie’s behavior—recognize he was the problem opens a well of emotions I didn’t realize I’d buried. Anger, relief, regret over the years I’ve lost trying not to be “annoying.”
