Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 62430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Our mutual assumption that we would be together for at least one more night was comforting. Already, I was beginning to lose some of my anxiety. Whatever the ramifications of our coupling were, they would be worth it. I still had most of my vacation left and a second date with Porter in the evening. That was enough. In my entire life, I couldn’t remember being happier or more satisfied than I was that morning, watching him walk out the door.
I went downstairs for free coffee and pastries in the hotel lobby. While there, I watched the news on a mounted television. I had a whole day to kill, so I decided to walk down Main Street again and maybe pop into some of the stores. I spent some time browsing shelves and bought myself a hat and some sunglasses. I passed the hardware store and stopped outside a hair salon.
The Wooden Rose Salon was done up with a beautiful stencil of a rose on the door. I figured getting a blowout could kill an hour and give me someone to talk to. I pushed through the door into the interior to find two stylists buzzing around empty chairs. One woman was straightening her tools, and another was at the register, punching numbers into the computer. They both looked up as I entered and smiled.
“Welcome,” the woman at the computer said.
“Thanks.” I grinned. I was relieved again to realize I knew neither of these women.
“What can we do for you?” She left her screen, turning all her attention to our interaction.
“I was thinking just a blowout,” I said, touching my newly brushed but still knotted in places hair.
“You can have a seat here,” the other woman said, dusting off her chair.
I hung my purse beside her station and sat down.
“I’m Ava. This is Lindsey,” my stylist said, pointing out her friend.
“Gina,” I answered.
“What brings you to town, Gina?” Lindsey asked, ignoring her work in favor of conversation.
Ava draped a plastic wrap around my shoulders, teasing my hair out with her fingers. “I think I know.”
I blushed and closed my eyes in sheer embarrassment.
“Don’t worry about it,” Lindsey whispered. “That’s the best reason to come to town.”
Ava picked up a comb and began to work through some of the smaller knots that still plagued my head. “Anyone we know?”
“You probably know him.” I hesitated. “But we’re trying to keep it secret for now.”
“That might be hard in this town,” Lindsey advised me.
Trust me, I know, I thought but didn’t say.
“How did you meet?” Ava tried a different tactic, still curious.
“We met at my work,” I answered.
“And what do you do?” Ava gently peeled apart the clumped strands.
“I’m a nurse in Nashville.”
“Did you fall in love with a patient or a doctor?” Ava asked, grinning at me in the mirror.
“Ava, that’s enough,” Lindsey scolded. “Let her keep her secret.”
Ava pouted, clearly the junior officer in the establishment. I tried to keep a straight face. The friendship between the two women was easy and affectionate. I felt a twinge of something like jealousy. If I wasn’t so afraid of word getting back to Porter’s twelve-step friends or my own father, I might have opened up to these ladies. There was something about them that made me instantly comfortable in their presence.
Ava finished combing my hair and picked up her hair dryer. She ran the machine over my head, teasing the strands to their full length and letting them fall gently into place. I relaxed into the chair, with noise too loud to speak over. Lindsey went back to whatever work she was doing at the register. I watched my reflection in the mirror as my hair went from ordinary to wow in a matter of minutes. Porter would really appreciate this touch when it was finished, I thought.
“All done.” Ava stood back, setting her tools down like a surgeon after the procedure.
I checked my profile from the left and the right, thrilled with the way I looked. So often I went to work in ponytails or buns—to see my locks layered like they were was fantastic. I could just imagine Porter running his fingers through them. They would feel like satin to his touch.
“I can’t thank you enough,” I said, standing up.
“Don’t you go messing it up again,” Ava teased me.
Lindsey smiled, ringing up the sale. “Or come back again tomorrow if you have to.” She winked.
I swiped my card and left the little salon, feeling better than I had in years. I decided it was time for lunch and that I would eat at the first restaurant I came to. It was a taco shop, run by a jovial old man with a balding head and a round belly.
“Soft tacos are two for three dollars today,” he offered helpfully.
“I’ll have two,” I agreed, pulling out my wallet.