Stand Tall
“You know, Miss Eliot, you have lovely hair! What do you not like about it?” Sharon had been washing, cutting, dying and styling hair for 35 years. She no longer owned a salon, but had taken her business home with her. A corner of her basement had been turned into her ‘Home Salon’. A select clientele and her own schedule had made her life much easier. Emelina, one of her select clientele, had moved with her.
Dez was quiet. She ran both hands through her hair. “Not sure. Everything? Too short. Lopsided. Don’t like the colour - it makes me look like a purple zebra. My hair is curly, but they insisted that it should be straightened. Can you really do something with it? I want my normal hair back.” Dez almost sounded like a petulant six year old.
~~~~~
Dez and her sister had driven into Hartley for two reasons. She was going to see this magic hair dresser of Emelina’s. Emelina was going to the hospital to meet with her husband. Dr. Jeremy, finishing his two week rotation, had some time off. The three of them were to meet up later and return to the Estate.
Sharon did what she could with her hair. It was still short, but at least no longer lopsided. She’d just have to be patient while it grew out. Sharon had coloured her hair so she no longer looked like a purple zebra. It still wasn't her normal colour, a rich dark brown, but close. Em had taken care of her nails and promised to help Dez keep them in trim. This whole mess was all about taking the spa job. Keep the job, have ‘the look’ and a regular paycheque. Quit the job, have her own look and no money. Paying the rent on Martha’s duplex was her responsibility Emelina had insisted she would pay for it, but Dez put her foot down. “I need to do this Em. After all, I’ll be 50 in a couple of years.” The matter was closed.
So here she was, in a park not far from the hospital. Alone with her thoughts and glad of it. Her head had been spinning for two long. Trying to hide away. She laughed aloud. “That was a mistake. I had no one to help me out.” Stopping at a pond where ducks floated, she looked at her reflection. “No one that I knew and trusted.” The ducks ignored the crazy lady talking to herself until she tossed bird seed on the water. “I’ve had few close friends over the years.” Another handful of seed pebbled on the water. “When Covid got serious, they all seemed to disappear. Breaking the habit of being stubbornly independent, to ask for help……well, it’s still there. What do you guys think?” Her question was answered with a loud quacking that sounded like a demand for more treats.
“Dez! We’re here.” Turning away from the ducks, she saw her beautiful sister with her handsome husband coming across the beautifully manicured lawn. “You ready to go? We’re going for supper before we go back out of town.” Before Dez could say much, he continued. “We’ve already called Cook to tell her not to wait for us.” Dez smiled. To herself she said ~ ‘There are my supports right there. And I forgot. Glad I came to my senses.’ To her family she said ~ “Sure am ready to go and hungry too.”
“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us
who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.
~ Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
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