“The cleaning service comes on Mondays so you have the day off to do any personal errands you need to.”
It starts with a huff and then a gasp and then a slightly hysterical laugh.
“Hey now, it’s okay! Breathe, just breathe. Talk to me Avery, tell me what’s wrong.”
I’m so out of my depth here but when she turns those eyes on me and I see the small spark of anger, I’m totally at a loss from the shift. She lifts the envelope and kind of shakes it.
“Do you know how much money I left that house with?” She doesn’t give me a chance to respond. “Ninety-two dollars and fifty-seven cents. Ninety-two dollars and fifty-seven cents! Less than half that after I had to fill the empty tank with gas. That’s how far away we got. One freaking tank of gas! There’s over a thousand dollars in here in cash, isn’t there?”
I cautiously nod my head and it causes her to squeeze her fingers around the envelope even more. She turns and looks straight ahead with an empty expression and I wish she would go back to being mad.
“Do you know I’ve never had a job before? My parents…they wanted me to focus on school. There was a savings account. You know, just to put birthday money and allowance into. By the time their estate was settled, he already controlled it all. Had it transferred into his name and I just…let him.” Her brow crinkles when she frowns but it looks more like confusion than sadness. “I’ve never had a credit card. I had a cell phone for two years before it was taken away.” She huffs out a humorless laugh. “I don’t even know if my driver’s license is valid.”
She turns her head my way again but she’s not really seeing me and her voice goes soft and quiet.
“This is more money than I’ve ever held in my hand before. I have a day off. I don’t even know what that means. What do…I do?” She blinks a few times and I see the minute she focuses on my face. I see the embarrassment and shame cross her expression when she realizes all that she’s just told me. I can’t fucking stand it.
“You left. You wanted a new, better life, right?”
The tiniest of nods with a lip tremble is her only reply.
“Alright, so what does that mean? It means change, right? So, what else do you want to change? Anything? Anything at all that you want to change?”
Her brow furrows as she thinks it through and then slowly her hand comes up and touches the long, thick black braid hanging over her shoulder.
“I…I think…I want to cut my…hair.”
It’s like she’s thrown me a life ring and I grab on to it eagerly. My thoughts from this morning of putting distance between us are gone as I whip out my cell phone to send an email to my assistant to reschedule my day and start googling up hair salons. I have no fucking clue which one is good so I go by the number of 5-star reviews and then put the car in gear.
“Let’s go get your hair cut.”
The salon and spa we go to is in one of the bigger malls in town. Her feet slow as we get to the entrance and her hand comes back up to touch her braid. I give her time and wait beside her as she works through it. When she finally looks up at me, I see one corner of her lips lift in a small sad smile.
“I…I wasn’t…allowed…to cut it.”
I give her a challenging look, careful to keep the anger off of my face.
“Fuck him.”
She chews on her bottom lip for a few beats and then breathes out, “Yeah…okay.”
The waiting area is empty as we walk up to the front desk and a thirty-something woman with perfect makeup and an edgy red hairstyle smiles at us. Avery is still clutching at her braid with her head down so I take charge.
“Good morning. Do you have any openings for a haircut?”
One perfectly sculpted eyebrow goes up as she scans Avery and then turns that cool gaze my way.
“What were you thinking? A full style or just a trim?”
“Full style. Uh, and anything else that needs doing?” At her amused look I shrug. “Sorry, not my area of expertise. Avery is looking for a makeover. She wants a change. Can you help?”
She clicks away at her keyboard and then nods. “You know what? I love a good makeover. I’ll handle it myself.” Her hand comes across the counter. “Cicely Saxton, I’m the owner.”
I shake her hand with a relieved smile. “Perfect. Avery, you good?”
She nods timidly. “W-what, how should I…what style should I get?”
My hands go up in a stop motion. “No, I have no clue on that kind of thing but I’m sure Cicely has plenty of ideas. Let’s leave it to the expert.”
