Lost (11 page)

Bee and I made small talk as I drove to
the shopping center. Bee was right. It
was
pretty quiet.

“Church hasn’t
let out yet,” I guessed.

“Yep. So let’s
get our hair on, and then Amy’s gonna meet us at Hot Cross Buns.”

“Oh, no! I’m
going to have to do an extra mile at the gym tomorrow,” I complained, but I was
already anticipating a fresh cinnamon bun and some hot coffee.

“Yeah, but it’s
so worth it!” Bee put her arm through mine, and we laughed as we headed up to
the salon.

“Ladies!” We
heard as we opened the door to Fusion Salon and Spa.

“Romeo!” Bee
left me to give the man that called to us a kiss on the cheek.

Romeo, which,
in my mind, couldn’t be his real name, was a tall, thin man with jet black
hair. It was stylishly cut and hung in his eyes—on purpose of course. He was
dressed in loud colors—green, skin tight jeans and a bright pink button-up. And
yet, it all worked on him. He was good at what he did, and his loyal clients
sung his praises. Bee loved him. Me? I wasn’t picky.

“Okay, who’s
first, and what are we doing?” Romeo inspected me with a critical eye.

I wanted to
hide behind Bee.

“Oh, Julie.
Don’t hide. Let me see what I’m working with here.”

I walked over
to him, feeling like a child being chastised.

“Woman, what
did you do to your hair?” He clucked at me. “I
know
this isn’t what I
did the last time you dragged yourself in.”

“I know!” I was
sure I was about to be grounded. “I just needed a trim—”

“And? Where did
you go? The mall?” He scoffed, and then saw my face. “You did!”

He hustled me
over to his chair and sat me down. “Sit. We need to fix these ends, and then
how about some color? Ombre?”

I gaped at Bee.
“Really?”

“He’s a
magician... and possibly psychic. What can you do? Told you not to go to that
chop shop in the mall.” Bee teased.

“Stop ganging
up on me.” I was pouting, but didn’t care.

“Okay,
gorgeous. What are we doing today?” Romeo asked Bee. “Not that you need
anything done.”

For a second, I
preened, thinking he was talking to me. The
gorgeous
should have been my
first clue.

“Just a protein
treatment,” Bee responded. “I have an appointment later this month.”

“See,” Romeo
jostled me. “
This
is how you take care of your hair. You need to pay
attention.”

“Yes, sir.” I
wasn’t joking. Romeo took his work seriously. I guess that’s why he could
afford to charge a hundred dollars for a haircut and upwards of $175 for color.
But it was time to do something serious with my mop, and if I was going to get
it done, I wanted it done right.

“Beezu. BEEZU!”

I wasn’t sure
whom Romeo was calling, but a tiny girl ran out from the back, out of breath.

“Yes, sir?”

Is she
serious?

“I need you to
wash Julie’s hair here. Pay special attention to her scalp. Give her a
thoroughly relaxing scalp massage. Use the special conditioner. When you’re
done, I want her to be crying tears of joy, and I want her hair ready.
Understand?”

Beezu nodded and
took me gently back to the sinks. I heard Romeo clucking to Bee about being a
better friend and NOT letting me go to some cheap place that’s going to ruin my
hair.

“Okay, Mrs.
Julie. Have a seat, and just let me know if the water’s too warm.” Beezu told
me.

What is with
the names in this shop?

“Just call me
Julie, Beezu. And thank you.”

She got to
work, and 15 minutes later, I was about to cry tears of joy. Whatever Beezu did
to my head, I was feeling no pain. I felt relaxed, almost high.

As I slipped her
a ten, I told her, “It was worth more, Beezu.”

She winked at
me and situated me in one of Romeo’s chairs. In a few minutes, another
impossibly tiny young woman came to ask me if I wanted something to drink. I
said I was good, and she walked away.

“Okay, so...
your cut? Just a trim, right?” Romeo asked me, as he held up the ends of my
hair for inspection.

“Yeah, I don’t
think I want to get rid of the length. I like being able to pull it back.”

“Bangs though,
right? I think that will make you look younger—sexier. Though let’s be real,
with that skin of yours...” He trailed off, and I beamed under the praise.

“You know what?
Do whatever you want!” I said bravely. “I’m ready.”

“Yeah?” He
smiled at me, a twinkle in his eye. “You are going to look stunning. Trust me.
BEEZU!”

Beezu came
running up with a large piece of cardboard. She covered the mirror and walked
away with a smile.

I didn’t see
Bee, but her purse was on the counter, so I knew she was around somewhere.
Romeo got to work.

“You look good, Julie,” he told me—his
voice had lost the edge of sarcasm it usually held.

“Thanks. I’m
starting to feel good too.”

He stopped what
he was doing and looked at me. “You’re holding it together. When Jake died, I
couldn’t get out of bed for almost a month. People kept telling me it was a
blessing that he had passed. I wanted to punch them in the throat.”

I remember Bee
telling me that Romeo’s partner Jake died a few years ago. He had cancer,
though she didn’t go into many details.

“Exactly!” I
nodded in agreement. “It got to the point that if one more person told me he
was in a better place, I thought I was going to hit them.”

“Yep. In the
end, I think I knew that Jake’s dying
was
a blessing. He was so sick,
but I wanted him with me, you know? Maybe that makes me selfish.”

I shook my
head. “Don’t give me that bullshit!” I said, perhaps more vehemently than I
meant to. “If that makes you selfish, so what. Jake was your husband, your
partner. You deserve to have him with you.”

Romeo wiped
away a tear. “Lady, you get it.”

He kissed me on
the cheek and got back to work. He talked about Jake, and I talked about Brian
for a bit more. I reminded him that he cut Brian’s hair for Sam’s high school
graduation.

“Oh my god!
You’re right!” He laughed. “Your husband was one sexy man, Julie. He kept
telling me to cut it like his wife wanted it. I thought he was going to cry
when I told him I didn’t know what that meant.”

I laughed.
“Yep, that was him! He didn’t understand why I told him to come here instead of
the barbershop near our house.”

“I hope you
told him to shut his mouth. Barbershops? Horrible places!” Romeo laughed with
me. “Your husband had great hair.”

That sobered me
up. “He did, didn’t he? All the kids have hair like his.”

“But you know
what? Brian would love seeing you like this. Smiling, laughing, beautiful. I
could see how much he loved you when he talked about you. He told me that he
wouldn’t do this for anyone else—not anyone else in the world. And he would
hate to see you unhappy.”

Coming from
anyone else, that would have upset me. Well, maybe Bee and Amy could get away
with it, but Romeo had been there. I looked at the counter in front of me, and
I saw a picture of a younger Romeo. Next to him was a handsome man with a shock
of red hair. They were at Disney World, and both men had mouse ears on. My gaze
gravitated toward Jake’s eyes in the photo. Romeo was looking at the camera.
But Jake was looking right at Romeo, and you could see the love in his eyes. I
had pictures of Brian and I like that. He hated having his picture taken, and
he told me over and over again that if he was going to look halfway decent, all
he had to do was look at me.

I took Romeo’s
hand, and he stood back for a second, looking down at me. “I promise, not to
ever let anyone else touch my hair again. I swear.”

He looked at me
and winked. We understood each other. We had both lost the love of our lives.
It was a shitty club to be in. “You better not, or next time I’ll hurt you.”

We laughed, and
I settled back. After that, the talk turned to more fun topics. Movies, music,
who was better looking. Chris Hemsworth—as Thor of course? Or maybe Joe
Manganiello from
True Blood
?

“Really? Is it
even a contest?” Romeo asked me.

“Umm... of
course it is! You’re just wrong!”

“Umm, no. Thor
is a god for crying out loud. Bee, weigh in on this.”

She walked
over—her long, black hair was glossy and shiny.
Bitch.

“What am I
weighing in on?” She asked.

“Thor or
Alcide?” I asked her.

“Idris Elba.”
She answered.

“Oohh... good
one.” I had to give her that. “He’s a god too. I think.”

“No, we can
take that up at a later time. If you had to pick.” Romeo pushed.

“If I had to
pick... Alcide.”

That’s my
girl.

“Ha! I told
you...” I did a little wiggle in the chair, and Romeo gave us dirty looks.

“What are you
two smoking?” He deadpanned. “You are both obviously high.”

I gave Bee a
high five. “You are a bitch, you know that?”

Bee raised a
perfectly arched eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You were
beautiful before we got here, and I don’t even know what you had done. Probably
nothing. And you are like glowing. It’s unnatural.”

“Julie. If you
only knew how beautiful
you
are. If you only knew.” She sat down in the
chair next to me and opened a magazine.

I sat for
another 30 minutes as Romeo fussed around me. Finally, he was done.

“Okay, are you
ready?” He asked.

“I’m ready.” I
was starting to get antsy.

“Now listen.
One thing. If you don’t like it... if it won’t work for you, say something. It
won’t hurt my feelings. I won’t get upset. Just tell me so I can fix it for
you. Okay?”

“Deal.”

“I mean it. I
want you to promise.” He urged.

“I promise. I
promise! Show me!” I was getting excited.

“Okay.” He
moved the cardboard covering the mirror, and I wasn’t sure who was looking back
at me.

My hand went to
my mouth. “Oh my. Oh wow.”

Romeo had cut
thick bangs and layered the pieces around my face. My hair was straight, but
full... and the color. I had okay hair to begin with. It was a nice brown—Brian
used to call it chocolate. But now? It was shiny, and when I moved my head, I
could see the lights bouncing off of it. Romeo had done the ombre coloring
effect, so my hair went from a rich brown to a dark blonde.

“I look so
pretty.” I breathed, and I think I actually felt tears. “I look so pretty,
Bee!”

She laughed “So
you like it?”

“I love it.” I
looked at Romeo like he had just performed a miracle, and I got up and hugged
him. “Thank you so much. I needed this.”

He hugged me
back and whispered in my ear. “If you let anyone else touch your hair, I’ll
kill them... and probably you.”

I promised
again and turned to stare at myself some more. I hadn’t felt like that since
before Brian died. I felt pretty. I felt like a woman again—not just a mom.

“You look
amazing,” Bee marveled. “I have seriously never seen you look this good. I told
you he’s a magician.”

“I know. I
can’t believe how much I love this haircut. Whatever this costs me, it’s worth
every penny!”

“Oh, no
charge,” Beezu said to me as I got to the desk.

“Wait... what?
That can’t be right.” I said. Romeo had just spent the better part of two hours
working magic.

He came up
behind me and gave my shoulders a quick squeeze. “Nope. No charge. You needed
this, Julie. You’re ready to hold your head up again, to smile and laugh. I
remember the first time I realized that without feeling guilty. If I can do
anything to make someone else feel that, it’s worth it.”

I hugged him
tightly. I loved my friends dearly. The kids too. But this man gave me
something no one else had. He got it, and he told me that it was okay to laugh
again.

“Thank you.
Now, come out to lunch with us.” I requested.

“You’re on.”

“But... you
have an appointment in 45 minutes.” Poor Beezu. She looked confused. “It’s Mrs.
Halcourt.”

“Call her and
push it back. Better yet, reschedule it,” Romeo said as he gathered up his
things.

“But it’s Mrs.
Halcourt,” Beezu whispered.

“Beez, call her
up and tell her there was an emergency. Tell her I can’t get her in today, and
she can either have someone else cut her hair, or give her the first available
appointment. Okay?”

“Okay,” she
said quietly. “She’s gonna be mad.”

Romeo just
shook his head and opened the door motioning us out. “That girl is a whiz with
hair. Dare I say it, she
might
be as good as me one day, but her
confidence is in the shitter.”

Bee laughed.
“Well, I can’t imagine working for you is good for one’s self esteem.”

“Woman, shut
your mouth. You know I take care of mine.”