If Today Was Your Last Day

Missy gave me a stern look as I entered the salon 10 minutes late, walking straight to my station to place down my bag and begin to work on my first client.

“What can I do for you today?” I asked her, running my fingers through her hair.

“Just a trim please,” she smiled at me. Her hair was very long, straight, flat and, well, boring.

“Have you thought of doing something to your hair? Maybe layer it or something?” she looked up at my hair.

“I quite like yours actually. Yeah. Can I have it like yours?”

“Sure,” I lead the young women, who looked to be about my age, to the sinks to give her a quick rinse. “So how are you?” making small talk with the client always makes the time go quicker.

“I’ve been good. Been through a rough patch lately, but I’m recovering from it quickly,” I washed out the shampoo and then added some conditioner to her hair to make it smooth.

“Awwh. I’m sorry to hear that,” I washed out the conditioner and then wrapped a towel around her hair.

“It’s okay. Deaths are always hard to handle, right?” I was taken aback. I didn’t expect her to say something like that.

“Uhh. Yeah. I went through that at a young age. It changed me,” I smiled as she sat back down in the chair. I grabbed the scissors and began to trim her hair before layering it.

“Oh. Who died for you? If you don’t mind me asking?” she asked.

I sighed deeply and replied, “I’m the daughter from the case of The Burning Burnes. I don’t know if you remember that or not though,” I made sure her hair was the correct length before I started with the layers.

“I do remember that case, yes. That must have been an awful experience for you. The death of my brother seems like nothing compared to what happened to your parents,”

“What do you mean?” I asked her, finishing off the touches of the layers.

“He died in a motorbike accident,” that was when I realised we were having a very sinister conversation. I had to end it as soon as possible.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I smiled at her, dropping my arms to the side, “would you like a fringe too?” she nodded her hand. “Okay then. Close your eyes for me.” I began to work on her fringe when I heard the bell above the door ring.

“Hi. Um. I need to talk to Ebony?” I looked up into the mirror and saw that Tom was standing at the counter, looking at Lisa.

“She’s busy right now,” was all Lisa responded with. I looked back down at my client and noticed that the fringe was almost complete.

“There we go. How’s that?” I rang my fingers through her hair and smiled at her through the window.

“I really like it. Thank you,” she stood up and followed me to the counter so that she could pay.

“You look lovely,” Lisa cooed as the young lady left me a $5 tip and left the salon after giving me a huge smile.

“Ebony. We need to talk,” Tom said as soon as the door closed shut.

“Tom. If you haven’t noticed, I’m working,” I rolled my eyes, leaning my weight on my left leg.

“I can take your next client. It’s fine,” Lisa butted in, allowing a smirk to appear on Tom’s face.

“Fine. Come on Tom,” I turned on my heel and walked into the back of the salon, sitting down on a chair, Tom taking the chair opposite me. “Well?”

“I wanted to talk about last night,” I sighed.

“There’s nothing much more to say,” I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my feet.

“Yeah there is. What you said fucking hurt me. You basically said that I wasn’t heartbroken, when I fucking was. That’s why I honked my horn at you this morning to make you hurry up. I was pissed off at you. But if I wasn’t pissed off at you, then I wouldn’t have done that. But when I saw Megan step forward, my heart sunk. She’s fucking beautiful. And to think we created that little piece of wonder, it amazes me. But I remembered that she doesn’t know that I’m her dad, and that’s when I drove off down the street at a stupid speed. I was frustrated that my own daughter doesn’t know who the fuck I am,” I saw the anger in his eyes which only brought the tears into my own.

“ Megan asked who you were,” I told him.

“She did?” I nodded my head. “What did you tell her?”

“That. That you were an old friend,” Tom stood up from his seat and began pacing around the room.

“You could’ve fucking told her I was her dad, but you fucking didn’t?!” he screamed.

“Tom. We were on the way to her school. We were late enough as it was,” I argued back, standing up from my seat.

“Oh. Right,” was all he answered.

“She also asked if you were here dad and that if you were, that you still love me,” I whispered. Tom stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, his hands clasped together.

“Ebony?” I looked into his eyes and waited for him to carry on with what he was saying. “Can I. Can I see Megan?” I didn’t answer for a few minutes. Do I let him see her? Does that mean I have to tell her who he is tonight? If so, what happens if it doesn’t work out? “Ebony?” I blinked my eyes once and stared back into Tom’s eyes.

“24 Kalvin Street. 6pm,” I told him. A smile appeared on his face as he took a few steps towards me.

“Thank you,” he gave me a quick hug and walked out of the back room with me following his every step, watching as his hips swiftly moved from side to side.

I stood beside Lisa and watched Tom leave the salon, not believing that I had agreed to let him see his own child for the first time. I hadn’t exactly planned for that that to happen.

Crap.