Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
I’d already fixed Fiona’s hair into a bun with braided sections, making her look like a Disney princess. Now I was working on Caroline, who was so excited she was barely keeping still.
“When are you putting the pink in my hair?” she asked me for the twentieth time since she sat down.
“Soon.”
She threw her arms in the air in celebration, and I noticed the same thread bracelets on her wrist like Sean wore, only Caroline’s were all pink.
I smiled at her in the mirror.
“These are too tight, Momma!” Fiona cried.
“The joys of being a woman, baby. Get used to it.” Val blew out a breath. “There. Okay, one thing down.”
I moved around to the side of the chair and looked over at Fiona.
She only had her tights on so far, so she didn’t have anything covering her stomach.
I noticed a long scar running down the center of her abdomen, about three inches long, but before I could study it any more than a glance, Caroline was bouncing in the salon chair again and whipping her head around.
“You’re not excited one bit about tonight, are you?” I teased as I gathered up the strands again I’d been braiding that had pulled out of my fingers the second she started quaking about.
“Yes, I am!” she shrieked. “I’m so excited!”
“Oh, okay. I wasn’t sure. You’re just so calm.”
“You should’ve seen her earlier,” Val said. “She kept taking my keys and going out to sit in the car.”
I eyed Caroline in the mirror. She started giggling.
“Is it time for the pink now?” she shrieked.
“Almost.” I wrapped the braid around her bun and secured it with a few bobby pins. Then I told Caroline to cover her face so I could set the bun with some hair spray. When I was finished, I capped the bottle and spun her around so when she stopped, she was facing the mirror again. “Ready?” I asked.
She nodded quickly and covered her mouth with her hands.
“Me too!” Fiona yelled. “Mommy, hurry up!”
“I still need to zip you up. Hold still.”
I shook up the can of pink hair color and gestured at Caroline’s hair. “How about we do some on this side, and a little bit over here, around the bun.”
“Can’t I get my whole head?” she asked.
“Caroline,” Val warned.
The little girl sulked and sank in the chair.
I bent down and whispered, “Maybe we throw in some glitter too. What do you say?”
She perked right up hearing that.
Both girls got dolled up with bubblegum streaks of shimmer in their pretty blonde hair. They couldn’t stop looking at themselves in the mirror when I was finished, and they kept fighting over the chair.
“Okay, time to go!” Val exclaimed, purse dangling from one elbow and bag of clothes hanging from the other. Her eyes cut to me, and for a moment, she seemed startled. “Oh, my God, I almost forgot. I have an extra ticket tonight. Would you like to go to the recital?”
“Really?” Wow. That was unexpected. I paused mid-OCD-organization of my hair clip drawer and smiled at her. “Sure. I’d love to go.”
And only ninety percent of that reason had to do with Sean being there tonight. I also really wanted to watch the girls. They were so excited about their recital. It was infectious.
“Awesome!” Val dug the ticket out of her purse and handed it to me, then she pulled me into a quick hug and thanked me again for helping her out. “All right, girls, let’s go. Did you thank Shay?”
“They did,” I said.
“Thanks, Shay!” both girls hollered as they chased each other around the salon room in their tutus, squealing and giggling.
My ears were ringing when I walked them to the door.
After a quick shower since I’d worked a shift at Whitecaps today, I fixed my hair in loose waves and dressed in leggings and a flannel tunic. I applied a powder foundation and kept the focus on my eyes with a winged liner and the mascara I had that made my lashes look too thick to be real. Then I shot out a quick text, letting Sean know I’d see him tonight at the recital before I left my apartment. His text back to me came as I was backing out.
Glad you’re going.
I smiled the entire drive there.
Val had saved four seats in the auditorium, which didn’t make sense to me until her sister showed up five minutes after I’d arrived.
Apparently hood rats went to recitals. Go figure.
“Shay, this is my sister, Bridgett,” Val introduced. “Bridgett, this is Shay. She’s the girl who’s been doing my hair. She works with Sean too.”
Bridgett claimed the seat next to Val at the end of the row and leaned forward, waving and smiling at me like the giant ho-bag she was.
It was possible I was still holding a minor grudge about the other night.