Besides, she thought in that secret, hidden part of herself that wanted to let a spark of hope flicker to life, she would get to see him again soon for the oven repair. And who knew where things might go from there?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Cadence didn’t know what was worse, turning up to the book club meeting without having done the assigned reading or her hair.
Just kidding. She knew. It was her hair.
As it happened, perms did not look like the woman in the poster on everyone. She probably should have suspected as much when she’d waltzed into the salon that day with her request and the hairdresser had raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Oh, honey. You’re sure?”
But Cadence had been buoyed by her decision, not to mention a bit frazzled by her interaction with Tyler. Oh yes, she’d told the woman. She was sure. Please proceed!
It had taken about an hour and a half into the process before Cadence’s confidence had flickered.
Things had pretty much gone downhill from there.
Looking at her hair now, she tried not to compare her reflection to Shirley Temple as a child. It was the closest comparison she could come up with, though.
“This is not great,” she muttered to herself in the mirror before cramming a beanie over the top of the raucous hairstyle. This was apparently her new signature look. The curls didn’tlook quite as… chaotic if she put a hat over the top of them, at least.
She contained her locks a little bit more by wrapping them into a bun. As long as she kept her hat on, nobody could really tell that she was having the bad hair day to end all bad hair days.
Now she just needed to wear the beanie until the perm grew out. She didn’t even dare to think how long that would ultimately take.
By the time Cadence arrived at the book club, her unread book clutched behind her back, as if hiding it would diminish her embarrassment over not having done the reading, she was more than ten minutes late.
“Hey, all,” she said sheepishly. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Oh, don’t worry a bit,” Eleanor said, looking frankly in her element as she placed a lovely charcuterie board in the middle of a circle of comfy chairs. These were a new addition to the space, and Cadence thought their mismatched appearances were charming. It made the room feel cozy and comfortable, exactly like the kind of place where you’d want to pull up a chair to read.
“We’re all still getting settled in,” June confirmed.
“Everyone knows that book clubs are only half about books and half about noshing and chatting,” Miriam contributed. “Come on in, make yourself comfy, honey. Take off your hat.”
“Yeah, girl!” June chimed in. “Spring has sprung. Aren’t you hot?”
Cadence paused. “Uh, no. I’m good.”
She’d never been much of a liar. Her tone immediately revealed that something was amiss. Even Eleanor, the newest of their group, paused while placing napkins and plates so everyone could serve themselves some treats.
“Is everything okay, Cade?” Diana asked, brow furrowed in concern.
Cadence sighed. She could put this off, but she didn’t want to worry her friends. She released her hair from its tie and pulled off her hat. She could practically hear her hair spring into place,boing,like in a cartoon.
Her friends’ faces all grew aggressively neutral.
“Oh,” June said. “You changed your hair.”
“How nice,” Eleanor said, like the words hurt.
“It’s… different,” Diana added diplomatically.
Miriam stayed noticeably silent. Cadence turned to her.
“Go ahead,” she told the older woman.
“It’s… a very bold choice,” Miriam said.
Cadence felt her eyes grow damp. “Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed. “You know it’s really bad when evenMiriamis being tactful!”
