it. This is my gift. And like I said, there’s the family issue, but I’d rather not go into that.”
“It’s a nice thought, Simon, but my friends are here, for one thing. My Spa Girls are fabulous, and they’re not in Hawaii. I don’t just up and make friends. I like the old ones. If you think I keep my clothes a long time, you should really hear about my friends.”
“Your friends are in San Francisco, an hour away, and they’re all getting married. Your father’s leaving town and leaving you with a house to be fixed up. Poppy, you don’t have as much keeping you here as you think.”
“Do you listen to everything that goes on here?”
“Well, it’s not exactly private here.”
Mary looks up from the massage table. “It’s really not, Poppy.”
Simon ignores her. “So you don’t even like the spa.” He looks down at me as he stands up, and I swallow hard at the accusation.
“How do you know that?” I ask him. I notice Brian asking me with his eyes if he can finish. He’s battering poor Mary and she’s looking wan. I hold up a finger. One more minute , I plead with my eyes.
“Because you can’t sit still. You complain about Lilly being like a hummingbird, but I know the truth. I know that the entire time you’re getting smeared with facial creams, you’re thinking about the run you should be on, or how many laps in the pool you could have done. I bet your leg jiggles like a nervous rabbit.”
My mouth is agape. Simon is truly a mystery. Part businessman, part engineer, and a huge part observer. Like a lion waiting for its prey, I feel as though I’ve been ambushed by him, that he’s seen way more of me than makes me comfortable. All those years, I let my guard down because he diverted me by the simple act of asking me out each week. I cross my arms across my chest and look at him with new eyes. I am completely exposed: the good, the bad, and the anal.
“You’re quiet,” he says to me, and just as he says it Brian turns off the massager beside us. The silence is deafening. “To be continued later then?”
“You have my answer, Simon.” I feel the sudden urge to escape and run, but Mary has been pummeled with the massager until she looks unable to stand.
Simon shakes his head, ignoring Mary and Brian’s weary looks. “I don’t think I do have your answer. I have the answer you should give me. The one that good-girl Poppy will always render first. Go home and obsess a bit like you do, and come back to me. I can wait.”
I step back. “I should have known better than to call my girlfriends with you in the room. You’ve been spying on the Spa Girls for years, haven’t you?”
He raises his eyebrows and offers a sideways grin. “ Spying is a strong word, Poppy. You overestimate my fascination with the Spa Girls.”
“You’re just nosy is the fact of the matter.”
He’s laughing now. “When can we discuss this further?”
“I think you already know enough about my friends and me.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” He raises his eyebrow in that oh-so-charming way he has, and I purse my lips before speaking.
“Simon, please don’t do this to me.” I whisper at him. “These are my patients. I can’t have them thinking there’s even the possibility I will walk out on them. Alternative medicine in Silicon Valley is finally happening. I do maybe 50 percent chiropractic and the rest is my allergy-clearing treatment. I’m hardly going to walk now.”
He gives me one last puppy-dog look. “Please think about it.”
I’m not made of stone. It’s a ridiculous notion I’d never consider, but Simon’s smile forces a nod to indicate I will think about it. Realistically, I’ll think about Simon, and that’s not good. Simon couldn’t commit to playing golf on the same course two days a week, much less a woman. What kind of man makes a woman an offer like her own clinic anyway? I think he’s been watching too much reality television.
Mary, my other
“It’s a nice thought, Simon, but my friends are here, for one thing. My Spa Girls are fabulous, and they’re not in Hawaii. I don’t just up and make friends. I like the old ones. If you think I keep my clothes a long time, you should really hear about my friends.”
“Your friends are in San Francisco, an hour away, and they’re all getting married. Your father’s leaving town and leaving you with a house to be fixed up. Poppy, you don’t have as much keeping you here as you think.”
“Do you listen to everything that goes on here?”
“Well, it’s not exactly private here.”
Mary looks up from the massage table. “It’s really not, Poppy.”
Simon ignores her. “So you don’t even like the spa.” He looks down at me as he stands up, and I swallow hard at the accusation.
“How do you know that?” I ask him. I notice Brian asking me with his eyes if he can finish. He’s battering poor Mary and she’s looking wan. I hold up a finger. One more minute , I plead with my eyes.
“Because you can’t sit still. You complain about Lilly being like a hummingbird, but I know the truth. I know that the entire time you’re getting smeared with facial creams, you’re thinking about the run you should be on, or how many laps in the pool you could have done. I bet your leg jiggles like a nervous rabbit.”
My mouth is agape. Simon is truly a mystery. Part businessman, part engineer, and a huge part observer. Like a lion waiting for its prey, I feel as though I’ve been ambushed by him, that he’s seen way more of me than makes me comfortable. All those years, I let my guard down because he diverted me by the simple act of asking me out each week. I cross my arms across my chest and look at him with new eyes. I am completely exposed: the good, the bad, and the anal.
“You’re quiet,” he says to me, and just as he says it Brian turns off the massager beside us. The silence is deafening. “To be continued later then?”
“You have my answer, Simon.” I feel the sudden urge to escape and run, but Mary has been pummeled with the massager until she looks unable to stand.
Simon shakes his head, ignoring Mary and Brian’s weary looks. “I don’t think I do have your answer. I have the answer you should give me. The one that good-girl Poppy will always render first. Go home and obsess a bit like you do, and come back to me. I can wait.”
I step back. “I should have known better than to call my girlfriends with you in the room. You’ve been spying on the Spa Girls for years, haven’t you?”
He raises his eyebrows and offers a sideways grin. “ Spying is a strong word, Poppy. You overestimate my fascination with the Spa Girls.”
“You’re just nosy is the fact of the matter.”
He’s laughing now. “When can we discuss this further?”
“I think you already know enough about my friends and me.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” He raises his eyebrow in that oh-so-charming way he has, and I purse my lips before speaking.
“Simon, please don’t do this to me.” I whisper at him. “These are my patients. I can’t have them thinking there’s even the possibility I will walk out on them. Alternative medicine in Silicon Valley is finally happening. I do maybe 50 percent chiropractic and the rest is my allergy-clearing treatment. I’m hardly going to walk now.”
He gives me one last puppy-dog look. “Please think about it.”
I’m not made of stone. It’s a ridiculous notion I’d never consider, but Simon’s smile forces a nod to indicate I will think about it. Realistically, I’ll think about Simon, and that’s not good. Simon couldn’t commit to playing golf on the same course two days a week, much less a woman. What kind of man makes a woman an offer like her own clinic anyway? I think he’s been watching too much reality television.
Mary, my other
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