Page 2 of Nolan (The Doherty Mafia)
Then I ran through the cold night, through the darkness until I found a cop car.
Even though they sent me to a different home, at least I was able to escape that man.
That was what my childhood was like. Always at the mercy of someone else. Always looking over my shoulder. Sleeping with one eye open, and usually not sleeping at night if I could help it.
Mrs. Bailey didn’t know what was coming when she decided to walk into the salon today.
She’d complained and criticized the whole time she sat in the chair in front of me.
She had tried to give me detailed instructions on how she wanted her hair cut. Most of which didn’t make sense.
I should’ve just given her what she wanted, but I always took pride in my work. It was only hair. Not rocket science. I knew I wasn’t changing the world at my day job, but I didn’t believe in doing something badly.
Mrs. Bailey yelped and hissed as I chopped off parts of her hair she hadn’t instructed me to.
“What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” she squealed as I continued with my work.
When she met my eyes in the mirror, I glared at her, holding the sharp scissors straight over her head.
“I’m going to make sure you lose your job over this,” she hissed in a low threatening voice. I narrowed my eyes at her, pulling a clump of her hair in my hand. She yelped in pain and I brought the scissors down on her.
There wasn’t anybody else in the salon. Ruby had joined Eliza and Marcie outside. They waited it out until I was done with Mrs. Bailey. None of them wanted to face her.
“I’m not losing my job because of you.”
“Haven’t you heard, the customer is always right?” she snapped.
By now she was too distracted to notice the work I was doing, so I focused on her hair.
I’d assisted other hairdressers for five years, but now I was on my own. Hair was the only thing I’d known. It was my whole life. It was the one thing I knew I was good at, and this woman wasn’t going to make me doubt it.
“I’m going to make a formal complaint against you,” she continued to threaten.
I stepped back to check out the back of her hair. It looked good.
The new cut was dramatically different from the one she’d asked for, but I knew the shape would suit her face and age.
“Sure, feel free to complain as loudly and to whomever you want,” I replied.
Mrs. Bailey’s face had turned a dark red, her nostrils were flared with anger, but she finally caught herself in the mirror. Her jaw nearly dropped open in surprise. She wasn’t expecting it to turn out this way.
“Oh…” she murmured under her breath and I knew she was at a loss for words.
I removed my gear, putting the instruments away. I was done. I was going on my break whether Ruby approved it or not. I wasn’t even going to wait to see Mrs Bailey out.
I saw her admiring her new look in the mirror. By now, she’d forgotten about my existence.
As I stepped outside, I caught her scowling at me in the mirror. She didn’t want to admit it. She was wrong. She didn’t know better than me.
“You’re welcome, and I’ll see you again the next time you need a haircut,” I said with a smile.
I knew this wasn’t the last time I’d see her. Even someone as angry and egotistical as her would have to admit I was damn good at my job.
Ruby went inside to attend to Mrs. Bailey, who I suspected would complain to her even though I’d made her fabulous. That was just the kind of person she was.
“Sorry for bailing on you. Get it?” Eliza said as she smoked her cigarette with a smile. I shrugged in response.
I was far better equipped at handling that woman than the other two were.
“She actually looks pretty good now,” Marcie commented, as she peeked a look through the windows of the salon.
I saw a man walking towards us and while the other two talked, my alarm bells started ringing. It was the reaction I always had when I saw anything bordering on suspicious activity.
“What do you think?” Eliza asked, touching my shoulder to get my attention to something they were discussing. I glared at the man who weaved through the crowd of pedestrians, making his way closer and closer to us. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me and my instinct was to back away into the salon.
“Maybe we should go inside,” I murmured. I didn’t know who this man was or what he might want from us, but I didn’t like the look of it. I didn’t want to wait and find out.
