Pull on your big-girl panties and get inside.
Cool and fragrant air greeted her as she stepped inside, a relief from the sweltering nineties outside. The earthy scent was actually somewhat calming, but not enough to still the rapid beating of her heart as anxiety took hold.
What if it was seventh grade all over again and she was resigned to spending the next few months praying that her eyebrows finally returned?
She spotted Henry flirting, as usual, with an attractive woman with short but sleek burgundy hair. He waved her over when he spotted her.
“Katrina, this is Dr. Benny Sorensen. Benny, this is Katrina, my good friend.” Yeah, I’ll just bet. “She’s going to take care of you today. Believe me, you’re in the hands of a pro.”
She bit off the witty retort she had ready about the woman’s “pro” hands, realizing she didn’t want to risk offending the woman Benny was entrusting herself to for the next hour.
“Benny? That’s an interesting name. Is it short for anything?” the woman asked her and guided her to a salon chair where she proceeded to clasp a cape around Benny’s neck.
“It is.” Benny slipped a sideways glance at Henry, who was watching them both. Damn. Why did the woman have to start with such prying questions? “It’s short for”—she cleared her throat—“Bernadette.” A name more appropriate for a saint than a former tomboy who’d grown up hating the old-fashioned moniker.
Henry’s eyebrows lifted at that. But he fortunately remained silent. Probably knowing he’d risk bodily harm if he dared utter anything.
“Bernadette, huh? Pretty name.” The woman pulled the elastic from Benny’s hair and spread the mass around her shoulders and back. “Wow. That’s a lot of hair.”
No one said anything, and the silence felt oppressive to Benny, squirming under both of their gazes. They’d probably already decided it was a lost cause.
Katrina’s eyes narrowed, and she nodded, almost to herself.
“Let’s get you washed, and then we’ll get started. Henry, weren’t you saying you had to be somewhere?”
Huh. The lady was growing on Benny. Dismissing Henry like that.
“As a matter of fa
ct, I do.” He looked at Benny again, his eyes speculative. “You’ll be fine. Try and enjoy it. I’ll catch you a little later. Katrina, thanks again. I’ll have those tickets sent over tomorrow for you and Sherry.”
Then he was gone.
Probably for the best. Because when Katrina held the gleaming scissors in front of her a few minutes later, Benny might have wanted to cry. Just a little.
It was absolutely silly, really. The way this transformation instantly made her feel like a whole new person. Benny stood at the counter while Katrina tallied up her purchases, trying not to stare at herself in the mirror ahead of her.
A good four inches of her hair was back on the floor around Katrina’s chair, and even though Katrina had assured her there was still enough length to pull it back into a ponytail if she needed to, it felt a lot shorter. Lighter. Then there was the fringe of bangs that grazed the top of her eyebrows. The last time she had bangs she’d been seven. But Benny had to admit, they actually looked…not bad.
Katrina kept smiling—actually, more like gloating—every time she glanced at Benny. “You like it?” she asked.
“It’s definitely going to take getting used to.” That was about as much as Benny would give. For now. She still needed to go home and plant herself in front of the mirror and analyze herself at every angle to make the final judgment.
But her head did feel a million times lighter. Her face, even with the layer of products, somehow felt smoother and more polished. Curious.
Her phone chirped, and she looked down to see a text from Daisy asking if Benny wanted to stop by. Her sister was settled into her place, and the kids were thriving, but even with their aunt Glenda next door, Benny knew she got lonely.
Well, there was no reason to let this little makeover go to waste, now was there? She needed to hear accolades—and with Henry taking off early and not seeing the final creation, she had to get someone’s opinion. Who knew how competent she’d be in the morning when it was time to duplicate it.
I’m on my way, she texted back.
Thanking Katrina, she took her bag and headed outside. The fading sun was still warm, and the air was cloying, but Benny felt lighter as she headed to her car.
The sound of her nieces and nephew shouting and laughing around the back of Daisy’s place greeted her a few minutes later when she pulled up into the driveway. It was good to hear, considering how shattered their world had been over the past year after their dad walked out.
Her nieces, Jenna and Natalie, were pumping their legs trying to get higher than the other on the swing set that everyone had helped chip in to buy last spring—ignoring any arguments from Daisy, who hated taking anything that she might view as charity. Paul was digging a hole, for some unknown reason, while Daisy sat on the back step, a tall glass of iced tea next to her.
“Hi, guys,” Benny yelled loud enough to be heard over the girls.