won’t be too long. Come on, I’ll sweep up and then rinse you.”
She swept hair around the chair I’d sat in. Surely not all mine. Too much gray.
I looked out of her window and took momentary pleasure in the rolling landscape. I wanted to ask about the dead man but wasn’t sure what to say, especially since nothing was in the newspaper yet. A teenager pumped his bike up the road. A small car slowed. The woman driving it glanced at the shop and sped on. She’d probably read the sign We take walk-ins . Did anyone besides me walk in? I’d been inside a while and no one else had called or come. I feared the worst when my hair was done.
And I couldn’t think of any way to ask a tactful question so sank right in. “Do y’all have many accountants around here?”
“I guess as many as in other places. You need one?”
“Possibly. Do you know any good ones?”
“Not right off.” She waved her hand to indicate I should follow to the sink. I did, and she rinsed my hair. “One of my customers is marrying a guy who does accounting. She says he’s real good. Of course, I wouldn’t know if she means with taxes and stuff, if you know what I mean.”
“I know. Would you know the man’s name?”
“Sure, Kelly’s going to marry Pierce Trottier. She talks about it all the time. You can sit up now.”
“Trottier,” I said like I’d never heard the name, but my neck muscles tightened. “Would his firm be in the phone book?”
“I guess. But if you want, I can call Kelly. She’s not teaching today so she might be home.”
“That’s okay. I can look it up when I’m ready.” Anxiety spiked up my scalp. What if Audrey Ray called his fiancée now? The woman would probably be bawling and telling the whole story of what had happened. And that I’d tripped over him? Would his fiancée know my name?
I imagined she would. The police might even tell her more than they’d tell us. I groaned. I surely didn’t want Audrey Ray telling her I was sitting here, asking questions about him. I couldn’t imagine how that might hurt the woman who loved him.
My hairdresser snapped the black cape off me. I resumed my place on the chair in front of the lights. She draped a towel on my shoulders. With her blow dryer, she blasted hot air across my head. “They’re getting married next month.”
“They were?”
She flicked off her blow dryer. “What do you mean were? Did you hear that they broke up?”
“I mean… are, were —they’re both just verbs, about the same, right?”
She stared at my reflection. Couldn’t possibly know I owned a copyediting agency, and we proofread for grammar errors.
“You had me worried. Kelly’s been a customer for years. She’s the sweetest person and adores Pierce. I’d sure hate to see them break up right before the wedding.”
Heat blasted my head as she blew my hair up, out, and over. I wondered about the man who died. Why had he? And what about the poor woman he was ready to marry?
I gazed at the gold-flecked counter, imagining Kelly’s horror yesterday when she’d learned her fiancé had perished. I imagined his parents, if they were still alive, hearing that their son wasn’t. My heart couldn’t take in such pain.
“There.” Audrey Ray’s dryer went silent. “How’s that?”
I wiped my blurred, damp eyes and looked in the mirror.
Big hair. Much bigger than usual. But not too bad.
“You gave it a nice shape,” I said, the second thing I noticed. Kind of puffy, yet somewhat inspired. Little flips here and there, drawing the eye away from my wrinkles. And even those wrinkles showed less. Or maybe my eye had grown accustomed to my bright image. And strawberry? Yep, it sure was. Nature’s Strawberry Highlights turned my hair into the color of a ripe strawberry. It resembled a large one.
“You want to try some lipstick?” she asked.
I didn’t. I paid Audrey Ray, adding a nice tip, and left her shop.
I didn’t look forward to finding Stevie locked inside
She swept hair around the chair I’d sat in. Surely not all mine. Too much gray.
I looked out of her window and took momentary pleasure in the rolling landscape. I wanted to ask about the dead man but wasn’t sure what to say, especially since nothing was in the newspaper yet. A teenager pumped his bike up the road. A small car slowed. The woman driving it glanced at the shop and sped on. She’d probably read the sign We take walk-ins . Did anyone besides me walk in? I’d been inside a while and no one else had called or come. I feared the worst when my hair was done.
And I couldn’t think of any way to ask a tactful question so sank right in. “Do y’all have many accountants around here?”
“I guess as many as in other places. You need one?”
“Possibly. Do you know any good ones?”
“Not right off.” She waved her hand to indicate I should follow to the sink. I did, and she rinsed my hair. “One of my customers is marrying a guy who does accounting. She says he’s real good. Of course, I wouldn’t know if she means with taxes and stuff, if you know what I mean.”
“I know. Would you know the man’s name?”
“Sure, Kelly’s going to marry Pierce Trottier. She talks about it all the time. You can sit up now.”
“Trottier,” I said like I’d never heard the name, but my neck muscles tightened. “Would his firm be in the phone book?”
“I guess. But if you want, I can call Kelly. She’s not teaching today so she might be home.”
“That’s okay. I can look it up when I’m ready.” Anxiety spiked up my scalp. What if Audrey Ray called his fiancée now? The woman would probably be bawling and telling the whole story of what had happened. And that I’d tripped over him? Would his fiancée know my name?
I imagined she would. The police might even tell her more than they’d tell us. I groaned. I surely didn’t want Audrey Ray telling her I was sitting here, asking questions about him. I couldn’t imagine how that might hurt the woman who loved him.
My hairdresser snapped the black cape off me. I resumed my place on the chair in front of the lights. She draped a towel on my shoulders. With her blow dryer, she blasted hot air across my head. “They’re getting married next month.”
“They were?”
She flicked off her blow dryer. “What do you mean were? Did you hear that they broke up?”
“I mean… are, were —they’re both just verbs, about the same, right?”
She stared at my reflection. Couldn’t possibly know I owned a copyediting agency, and we proofread for grammar errors.
“You had me worried. Kelly’s been a customer for years. She’s the sweetest person and adores Pierce. I’d sure hate to see them break up right before the wedding.”
Heat blasted my head as she blew my hair up, out, and over. I wondered about the man who died. Why had he? And what about the poor woman he was ready to marry?
I gazed at the gold-flecked counter, imagining Kelly’s horror yesterday when she’d learned her fiancé had perished. I imagined his parents, if they were still alive, hearing that their son wasn’t. My heart couldn’t take in such pain.
“There.” Audrey Ray’s dryer went silent. “How’s that?”
I wiped my blurred, damp eyes and looked in the mirror.
Big hair. Much bigger than usual. But not too bad.
“You gave it a nice shape,” I said, the second thing I noticed. Kind of puffy, yet somewhat inspired. Little flips here and there, drawing the eye away from my wrinkles. And even those wrinkles showed less. Or maybe my eye had grown accustomed to my bright image. And strawberry? Yep, it sure was. Nature’s Strawberry Highlights turned my hair into the color of a ripe strawberry. It resembled a large one.
“You want to try some lipstick?” she asked.
I didn’t. I paid Audrey Ray, adding a nice tip, and left her shop.
I didn’t look forward to finding Stevie locked inside
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