The Covenant - Chapter One

“It will only take a few minutes, you’ll be fine!” encourages Alice Hammer wrapping Jennings arm around her own and tapping her on the hand as if a young child is about to enter the doctor’s office once again for their immunizations.

“I don’t know why I let you talk me into things like this! I’m perfectly fine on my own, doing it my own way” defends Jennings staring down at her feet where mangled nail red polish dashes through the edges of her toes.  “My husband was so sweet to me and polished my toe nails every Sunday evening for me, I didn’t realized how much it meant to me over the years” with a little sigh of sorrow and disappointment at her much less than perfect result “But since he has been gone, the effect has not quite been the same”.

“Well, it’s time to try something new.  This is my special treat for Liz and Darcy’s wedding next Saturday” smiles Alice Hammer entering the salon while at the same time with some effort pulling her reluctant companion dragging her feet through the doorway.

Across the room a friendly voice yells “Good morning Alice Hammer!  So good to see you again!  Have you come to have your nails done?  Will you be having your favorite chartreuse nail polish again?” asks the owner with a friendly greeting and warm hug for her regular customer and friend.

“Not today Ms. Kim, but I brought my friend, Jennings, with me today.  She’s never had a pedicure before but we are going to a wedding and she bought some beautiful sandals that I think a pedicure is just the final touch that she needs” explains Alice Hammer raising her eyebrows as high as possible and grinning a Cheshire smile while agreeably nodding in hopes that Ms. Kim will pick up the hint that her friend needs encouragement or else she will be walking back straight out the door.

In response Ms. Kim acknowledges all the words that are not being spoken, “Ahhh yes … Jennings, today is a special day for you.  Just relax and everything will be fine.”

Jumping in Alice Hammer excitedly states “Today you will be treated like a princess!”

Reflectively Jennings stares Alice Hammer down for suggesting such a possibility and frowns at the prospect that someone might try to place a crown on her head during her transformative Pygmalion project. “No crown is necessary, I’m feeling rather royal on my own” jokingly lifting a hand and waiving as many famous pageant winners might in a parade to the other customers in the salon.

Raising her head and setting her jaw in resolute defiance, Alice Hammer narrows her eyes and smiles through her teeth, “Come on Jennings, this will be such a wonderful thing to do!  You’ll feel so much better afterwards that it will be worth every moment will you wait for the end result.”

As they head towards the oversized massage chairs with small square tubs resting in front of them, Jennings takes in her foreign surroundings and adjusts her strategy of defense.  A large selection of a variety of shades and tones of polish is showcased in the built in shelves of the spa.   Columns decorated in intertwining ivy with floral accents define the separation of rooms between the work stations and the rather gigantic leather recliners. The other customers appear drifting between sleep and relaxation or gossiping politely with the other women in the room.  An eclectic selection of magazines is placed strategically between each pair of massaging chairs for the customers to peruse and enjoy during their individual pampering.

Taking it all in, Jennings gently brushes her nose as the heavy sent of solvents and disinfectants invade her senses.  She widens her eyes and crinkles her nose in hopes of deflecting some of the heavy scents.  Nearing her destination, Jennings takes a deep breath as she heads towards the chair that has been fatefully assigned to her.

Next to her, Alice Hammer comfortably settles into her chair and adjusts the remote to the side of the arm rest. She leans back and smiles to the lonesome ceiling.

Puzzled, Jennings also looks up to the ceiling to what might be attracting Alice Hammer’s particular attention expecting mirrors or perhaps a movie screen but comes up empty.  She shakes her head rolling her eyes at Alice Hammer’s unfamiliar bliss.

Reaching out her arm to help Jennings into the chair, Ms Kim explains “Just sit back and enjoy a massage.  The settings are available on the remote.”

As Jennings contemplates how to maneuver herself into the elevated chair while jumping over the tub, missing the mark Jennings collapses perpendicular into the chair while her foot catches the nozzle of the tub and twists turning itself on Alice Hammer resting comfortably in her chair.  As it haphazardly soaks her, Alice Hammer giggles “Jennings, grab the knob!  You’re getting everybody wet!”

Anxious, Jennings rather clueless grabs the nozzle and tensely pulls on the hose also soaking Ms. Kim as she attempts to place it back into its resting place. Seeing that Ms. Kim is now covered in water spots, Jennings exclaims “Oh I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!  Alice talked me into coming and I don’t know what I’m doing here!” 

Taking a baby blue terry cloth towel wiping off the front of her apron, Ms Kim warmly smiles through her giggles, “Not to worry, it’s only water and it will dry quickly.  Go ahead and Just sit back, we will take care of you.”

Embarrassed at her awkwardness, Jennings deeply sighs and glances over to the magazines resting beside her.  She finds a “Faces” magazine with a front cover of the royal family and feels content for the moment.

“OOOO… this feels so good!  Jennings, you need to try a massage. You’ll feel wonderful!” encourages Alice Hammer wiggling her toes in sheer delight. Raising complimentary jazz hands to enhance her ecstatic opinion, “It’s the best thing ever!”

Skeptically, Jennings picks up the remote and stares at the series of buttons with pictures in front of her.  She peers around at the other women relaxing comfortably in their private lost worlds around her.  “Mmm… this looks interesting.  My back could definitely use a little TLC”.  She presses a 15 not realizing that it is not a gage for style but for pressure and presses ‘enter’.

Warming up, the chair wheels begin to rotate against her back as Ms. Kim concentrates on patiently removing the polish mischievously missing its target on the nail of each toe. As the rollers place pressure against the vertebrae her in back, Jennings frowns and opens her eyes looking up to the ceiling again. Jennings licks her lips and shifts in her seat to find some comfort.

Ms Kim looks up and smiles, “Is it okay for you?”

“Oh yes, everything is fine” not wanting to appear more awkward than she already feels, stretching her arms above her head for emphasis “I’m really relaxing!”

As the knobs pelt her back, Jennings grimaces with each punch as it descends down her back. When the larger rollers press their force against her spine, Jennings leans forward in useless resistance raising her chest in syncopation into the air.  Trying to still appear “relaxed”, she determines to lay her head back down on the pillow giving the appearance of attempting to do a rather complicated backbend in a chair.

Pleasantly amused Alice Hammer quietly observes her friend’s antics for a few moments before offering any advice to ease her pain and discomfort.

Shifting again, Jennings grasps the arm rests as another round of pounding effects takes place.  Her whole body shakes in rhythm to the pulsating kneading and suddenly jolts forward as the heaviest rolfing begins. Jennings moans in response.

“Do you need some help? Has the chair got the best of you?” jokes Alice Hammer sitting next her enjoying the momentary entertainment.

As another pound breaks through the reverie of physical manipulation, Jennings sheepishly admits “I guess so.  I seem to have fixed this thing on a rather high setting. I still can’t figure out my own cable remote, how am I supposed to figure out how this peculiar chair works? It has a mind of its own!”

“You might try pressing the 3 and then enter. I think it will be much better for you” offers Alice Hammer wondering if it really was a good idea exposing her friend to the unfamiliar dangers of a salon.

After settling back into a more satisfactory position, Jennings looks over at the entrance and notices two women walking through the door.  Focusing more closing through her water marked glasses, they appear to be someone that she might know.

The long haired blond snidely loudly whispers to her older sister, “I guess you’ll have to do. I didn’t want to come by myself and have no one to talk to.  Just don’t embarrass me.   Ariel couldn’t come today because she had to help her father at his legal firm. At least this afternoon you didn’t have to babysit our sister’s brats.  They are so wild and unruly. I don’t know how she stands it!”

The women about 30 following behind her, slowly brushes her hair back behind her ear while looking anxiously around the room glancing down to the side of her with rather large eyes.  The blond adjusts her top, shuffles, flips her hair behind her shoulder, and throws her chest out as she walks straight towards a very busy Ms Kim passing the other workers in the salon who move to offer assistance but are quickly dismissed with a wave flick of the hand.

Interrupting Ms Kim concentrating on the last stroke of red nail polish to apply to Jennings toes, the Blond rudely insists “My sister and I have an emergency and need to be taken care of right away!”

Ms. Kim patiently professionally smiles but flatly states quite use to hearing of the young woman’s mundane ‘emergencies’, “It’s nice to see you. I’ll be with you in just one moment.”

Maneuvering her body from the chair to find the heated lamps to dry the polish, Jennings directly looks the young woman in the eyes, “Beth Elliot is that you?”

Beth critically glares at Jennings covering her head to toe before memory shadows her observation, “Oh Jennings!  I didn’t recognize you!  What are you doing here?”

“Alice Hammer talked me into a torture massage and some color on my toes!” frankly replies Jennings in reality quite pleased with the result but not wanting to declare the victory of her friend.

Leaning around Alice Hammer glances over behind Beth, “Annie!  It’s good to see you again.  We missed you at youth band rehearsal last month!  We’re you feeling okay?  I certainly hope everything is all right at home.”

Smiling at her former corps cadet teacher, Annie warmly responds “I had to babysit my nephews for the day.  Their parents went out of town to a divisional marriage enrichment weekend.”

“Well you missed all the exciting drama, a new single man joined us for practice.  He’s a quite a good player.  His aunt and uncle are moving into the area within the next month.  Oh what was his name?  I’m terrible with names.  Was his name Ted? Cyd? It was something that I would have known, but I can’t remember what it was.  Maybe Ned? No, no that’s not right ...”

Shaking her head, Jennings kindly intercedes in Alice Hammer’s painful conflict with herself, “His name was Fred, just like your late husband!”

“Oh yes, that’s right.  That’s why I would have remembered his name!” satisfied with the answer Alice Hammer adds “I’m sure all the girls were gossiping about him on the way home.  He was quite handsome.  If I were younger, I might give him a run for his money.”

Promptly Jennings sarcastically snaps “You would first have to learn how to run and that might be asking a little too much.”

 

“Yes, I suppose your right.  I need a man that is a little more my speed – slow and smooth with a twist of charm” offers Alice Hammer lost reflectively for a moment in her own day dreams.

Annie smiles in concurring agreement having been aware of her own heart and the memories of its desires.

Suddenly interested in the idea of a new romantic conquest, Beth asks “Do you remember his last name?  Is he connected to anyone else in the Army?  Would I know him?”

“Let me see, his name reminded me of ‘value’ or something to do with a trip.  Maybe his last name had something to do with a vacation?” suggests Alice Hammer furrowing her brow and attempting to get her memory to line up with her metaphoric images that she creates when meeting people to remember names. “I think it started with a W or maybe a U, or possibly a V -- I’m not quite sure.”

In sympathetic response, Jennings looks at her friend in utter unbelief, “I don’t know how you can manage to remember the visual connections but not the names? You’ve always been like that.  The visitor’s name was Wentworth.”

As the sound of the name reaches her ears, Annie gasps but quickly covers her mouth with her hand.  She pretends to cough instead.  Her heart pounds as if it will be forcibly removed from her chest because of its intensity.  Her ears begin to ring, feeling slightly faint she holds on to the arm rest of the chair beside her. Her thoughts race and she whispers “He officially goes by Fred short for Fredrick, but his closest friends called him Rick.”

“Are you all right?” kindly asks Jennings noticing Annie doesn’t seem quite herself.

“I don’t think that I’m feeling too good.  Did he say how long he would be in town?” barely above a whisper quietly asks Annie tenderly rubbing her hand to calm her nerves.

“From what I hear, his Aunt and Uncle are renting a home in the area and he is going to stay with them for the summer.  He has been on missionary duty and has the next three months off for furlough until his next assignment” explains Jennings having always desired to do missionary work but never given the opportunity to serve overseas as Captain Wentworth has been able to do during his lifetime.

“Do you know him?” curiously asks Alice Hammer.

“Yes, years ago, but he probably wouldn’t even remember me because it has been such a long time ago” disappointed at her own summery of possibility states Annie as she feels hope fall within her.

“Maybe the two of you will have a chance of becoming reacquainted once he arrives” romantically suggests Alice Hammer contemplating the role of a matchmaker “If not you, there are plenty of girls in the area that will likely be interested in him”.

Not wanting to dismiss a challenge, Beth adds “You never know, I might decide to be interested in him if he meets my standards.  I’m sure that I would have no problem catching him.”

On hearing this challenge, Annie is relieved that her sister does not remember him but anxious that Beth might actually compete for his attentions at the same time if he should come back to the corps. 

As Annie leans back into the chair for her pedicure memories flood her thoughts and she remembers how deeply he once touched her heart.