Trips to the Salon [10]

Date (Part 2)


‘Why on earth is Rod and Lillian here?!’ Their faces were hidden behind their menus, but the tops of their heads were still visible. It was easy to recognize them just by looking at their hair; it was something he picked up as a stylist.

“Your orders will be out in just bit,” Felicity smiled at the two and left to hand Clement their orders. Rachel noticed Allen’s gaze that went past her and turned her head to look, but Allen hastily spoke up to stop her.

“Hey Rachel, can I ask you something?” He said on instinct. Rachel immediately turned back to him; Allen quickly tried to think up of what to say. He tried to pick something that would get her talking for a bit. “How’s Luna?”

“Huh…” Allen took note of the surprised look that Rachel had shown him before it melted away back into her regular smile. “Oh Luna’s completely healthy. Thanks to Neil her scratches have disappeared.”

“Why did you seem so surprised when I asked about Luna?” With his elbow propped up on the table top, his chin rested in the palm of his hand as he kept his gaze on Rachel steady. She hesitated before answering.

“Well…” She started but was cut off when she heard a chuckle come from the handsome man that sat in the seat across from her.

“Let me guess, it’s because I’m a stylist that I wouldn’t care about a farmer’s animal?” When her eyes casted downward it told him that he was right. He knew that Rachel would react normally to this question if it was asked by either Neil or Rod. While she looked down, he took a moment to observe the table across from him. For only a split second he locked eyes with his little sister before she immediately turned away, hiding her face from him. ‘Lillian probably thinks that I haven’t noticed her yet,’ Allen thinks.

“Don’t think that just because of my job means that I don’t care about the animal that my client nearly risked their life to protect.” He adds, putting his gaze back onto her. By the way the edges of her lips curled up slightly, he could tell that she was happy with his statement.

“Thank you, Allen.” Allen mentally patted himself on the back for managing to make Rachel completely forget about looking at the table behind her. After another minute or two, Felicity came over with two plates in her hands. She placed a bowl of Genovese Pasta in front of Allen and then placed a plate of Curry Rice in front of Rachel.

“I hope you enjoy your meal! I’ll be back with a refill for your tea.” The waitress gave a cheerful smile before heading back to the counter where Clement was working his magic.

The duo remained silent as they ate. Allen secretly took glances at the table across from him when Rachel wasn’t paying attention. He continued doing so until out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a white cloth being placed onto the table and came back in contact with Rachel standing from her seat.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She says before walking towards the bathroom in the back. Allen was about to go back to eating when he saw his little sister also get up and head to same destination. Immediately he panicked on the inside. He was tempted to get up and follow her but even if he did his sister had already disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Taking his attention from the bathroom door was the sound of a chair’s legs creaking as it slid across the floor. When he turned his head he sighed in an irritated manner.

“Could you please tell me why you’re here, Rod?”

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Rachel washed her hands in the sink. She didn’t pay mind to the woman who turned the knob of the sink next to her.

“Are you Rachel?” A soft voice came from the petite woman beside of her. Rachel’s eyes widened, she did not know how the woman knew her name.

“ Yes…” She replied hesitantly. Turning off the water she than dried off her hands with a towel.

“It’s nice to finally meet you!” Rachel nearly jumped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders. She was being hugged by the petite woman at her side. “Hearing so much about you from Allen’s letters got me too excited that I couldn’t wait any longer for him to formally introduce us. I just had to take action myself!” The girl’s voice was full of merry as she kept a tight hold around Rachel’s shoulders.

“Wait, you know Allen?” Rachel asked bewildered. The girl’s arms unwrapped themselves from around the blonde’s shoulders. The brunette flashed Rachel a wide and bright smile before clearing her obvious confusion.

“I’m Allen’s little sister, Lillian!” Rachel’s eyes widened and Lillian giggled at her reaction. “You’re just as dense as Allen said you were in his letters.”

“What do you mean I’m dense?” She asked, she felt somewhat offended by Lillian’s words.

“Well first of all,” Lillian stated with one finger pointed up. “You probably don’t believe that you’re actually on a date with my brother.”

“This isn’t a date…!” Rachel retorted, a light pink hue beginning to appear on her cheeks. “Allen and I are just having lunch together.” Lillian rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Yeah… right…” A small smirk was forming on Lillian’s lips. Rachel guessed that the smirk both Lillian and Allen have ran in the family. “Second, you’re oblivious of the fact my brother is crazy in love with you!” Lillian’s words made Rachel’s body freeze up. She tried to open her mouth to say something but she couldn’t put any words together.

“What…?” That was all the farmer could muster.

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“So let me get this straight,” Allen had his hands covering his face, it was easy to tell that he was frustrated with the situation at hand which made Rod sink into his seat. “Lillian devised a plan for you to get me and Rachel to have a date here at this restaurant just so she could meet her.” When he removed his hands from cradling his face, he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, she made me come pick her up late last night. She was already halfway here so I couldn’t just say no.” Rod scratched the back of his head.

“I knew that idea of yours was too good to be true.” The red-head groaned.

“Hey! That’s mean of you say, Allen.” Rod said jokingly and lightly punched Allen’s arm which caused a slight smirk from him.

“I’m ready to go, Rod.” A voice spoke up which made the two males turn to find Lillian. She had a satisfied smile as she stood by them. Rod stood from his seat and got ready to leave with Lillian.

“Lillian, what did you say to Rachel?” Allen asked sternly to his little sister, his eyes narrowing behind his black-framed glasses. But Lillian just kept her smile as she waved goodbye to her brother.

“Nothing!” The bell above the entrance to the restaurant rang and Rod and Lillian were out the door and gone from Allen’s sight. Not for one moment did Allen believe that Lillian said nothing to Rachel. Minutes passed and Allen went back to eating what remained of his lunch.

“Sorry I took so long.” His eyes immediately fell back on Rachel who took her seat again. She began eating and remained silent. Something was off about her.

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The sun was already setting and the sky had turned a lovely shade of orange. Allen was escorting Rachel back home to her farm. Ever since she returned from the bathroom back in the restaurant she had been acting strangely and it bothered him. This only proved that what happened between her and Lillian was not ‘nothing.’ They stopped at the doorstep of her house. Rachel reached for the door knob but stopped suddenly and turned back to Allen.

“Allen, do you…” She began but her lips froze. Whatever she wanted to say, she had lost strength so say it.

“Yes?” He had hoped that his one-worded reply would encourage her to say what she was going to say. He believed that what she was going to say involved what happened behind the closed door of the bathroom in the restaurant. Whatever Lillian had said must have been what was causing her strange behavior. Her lips moved slightly and hesitated before tightly closing shut. Allen mentally cursed.

“Never mind, good night Allen.” She disappeared behind the door, leaving Allen hanging on the doorstep.