“No, Chris. Not that. Well, OK. Yes, that. But I feel awful for poor Kimberly. She was so lovely, and I just completely freaked.”
“It’s completely understandable.”
“Yeah, to us! But she didn’t do anything wrong, and I made it out like she was the one that upset me.”
“Maybe that’s part of the issue? I mean, you haven’t really dealt with it. You haven’t talked about it. I’m not an expert, but maybe that’s the reason you broke down?”
“I don’t know what there is to say,” Ava replied, taking a sip of tea. “It happened. It’s not nearly as bad as what happens to other girls. I mean, it’s not a competition, but I dealt with it. It’s over.”
“No, sweetheart. It happened but it’s not over. Not while you still let that bastard control you. You’ll always carry it with you, but it doesn’t have to control you. You make that choice. It doesn’t mean you have to wear a placard wherever you go, but it’s important to open up to the right people. You trusted us, and we’ll always be here for you. But you haven’t dealt with it. Training and fighting aren’t enough. They’re great to keep you focused, but you can’t replace what that experience took with fighting. You fill that void with people. Relationships. Love and laughter.”
“So, you’re saying I should go talk to her? I mean, I met her only today for less than an hour.”
“I’m not saying you have to bend her over the desk. I’m saying it might be good for you to explain what happened, or at least that it wasn’t her fault.”
Ava nodded. “Yeah, I think that would make me feel better. Get it off my chest. Apologise at least. I don’t know why it bothers me so much but it does.”
“Well, we know her. From around. And she’s lovely. It’s not that hard to see you don’t want her to think badly of you. You can’t keep all this stuff bottled up inside, babes. It does you no good. If you don’t want to talk to a professional, maybe it’s a good idea to talk to her. Explain, at least. Remember, be true to yourself. You don’t fight fire with fire. You fight fire with water. Don’t give in to hate.”
Kimberly Reynolds washed and soaped her hands, trying to get every last strand of back hair off her fingers. Mr Rodgers was nice enough but when he talked about getting his back hair treated because his mistress loved running her hands through it... Yeah she could deal with not having pictured that.
Walking back through the dark corridor to the brightness of the mani-pedi area, she placed her customer job sheet in the plastic basket under the counter, spotting an enormous bunch of flowers.
“Ooo pretty,” she said to herself, taking a whiff. “Who’s the lucky one?”
“Read the card,” her supervisor, Jan, said.
Kimberly reached in and flipped the card over.Sorry.“I don’t get it...”
“They’re from me.”
Kimberly turned and saw Ava, wearing tights and a loose pink jumper, standing up from a waiting chair.
“Hey! How are you? You feeling better?”
“Yeah,” Ava said, forcing a smile that Kimberly could see through. “I just wanted to apologise for yesterday, and I wanted to...” She gestured towards the arrangement on the desk.
“For me? Oh, you didn’t have to do that. Thank you. They’re beautiful but you really didn’t have to.”
“I really did,” Ava replied. “Look, when you can, could we maybe... talk?”
Kimberly checked her watch again. “Sure, I’m off now, actually. Did you wanna have coffee outside?”
Ava gave a small smile and nod before following her outside to a small selection of tables and chairs. This area served as both a makeshift outdoor café and as a waiting room when inside was packed.
“First, I need to let you know yesterday was totally not your fault. It was all me and my drama. Stuff that I haven’t worked through yet.”
“I hope so. I’d be mortified if I said or did anything to make you uncomfortable. Would it help to talk about it?” Kimberly asked.
Ava gave a small huff like laugh. “That’s the question. I thought it was best just to push it aside. Bury it. Suck it up and move on. I know,” she said, holding up a quick hand before lowering it, “not the smartest of ideas. But I have a hard time opening up to people. Still to this day, I haven’t said the words “I’m gay” to my parents. I was never able to talk to them about it, so I kept it hidden. They know now, but we don’t talk anymore, so I don’t think I’ll ever actually say it. Something happened to me, something bad, but I’ve been fine. Well, I thought I was. It’s actually why my parents and I don’t speak. I’ve been dealing with it. Training. Just trying to live and be happy. I hadn’t thought about it in so long, but then the... what you said yesterday. It was the exact... It just brought it all back. I freaked. The worst thing is I was having the best time until then. You are great at your job and put me completely at ease.”
Kimberly wiggled her fingers and whispered, “Magic.”
Ava smiled out of the corner of her mouth. They ordered their coffees and the conversation eased as they sipped their orders and even laughed when the subject of what a vagina tasted like came up.
“I didn’t know you were gay. I’ve kissed my friends at clubs and stuff,” Kimberly admitted. “It’s fun but means nothing. Girls lips are nice, but I just love the... I dunno, the passion of a guy. My favourite position is doggy for that reason. Hair pulling, arse slapping stuff. Do you have a girlfriend? Someone special?”
“No girlfriend. No one special. Well, I did have someone. Someone not just special. Amazing.”