"Yes," he agreed. He could tell that she was really thinking about it, and he figured she was putting together who his father was. He glanced around for a second and then back at her. He felt nervous about her recognizing him, and he braced himself. This was the moment when all women flipped a switch and realized he could support them for the rest of their lives.
But all she said was, "Where does the J come from?"
She was confused about his initials, and he smiled when he realized. "Oh, the J is junior. Edward Junior. I'm named after my dad."
"Ohhhh," she said, smiling as she understood. She stared at him intensely for a second and then broke into motion as she reached out for a hug. She gave him a quick squeeze and then pulled back to look at him. "Oh my gosh, it's you, EJ! I don't even know what to say. I've thought about you so many times over the years! This is so cool! I had so much fun with you that summer. I wondered how you turned out, and it looks like you did good for yourself. Did you say you knew it was me when you came to get a haircut the first time? (he smiled) You rascal!" she said, pushing at his shoulder. She grinned at him and changed directions, tugging on his hand to get him to follow her. "Come on, I'm going to ask a thousand questions. We'll sit here and talk for an hour. We should get started, and we can talk while I cut." She stopped and turned, wearing adifferent expression and tilting her head at him. "Wait a second, do you even want a haircut right now? I don't want you to have to do that if you were just coming to say 'hey' or catch up for a minute or whatever." Her face broke into a grin as she stared at his face. "I was telling Bree how much I thought you looked like that boy I knew. It's crazy seeing you all grown up and with facial hair and whatnot."
She held the amazed smile as she reached out and touched his jaw. EJ felt a jolt of electricity when he felt her fingers on him, but she didn't seem affected at all. She was friendly and excited to see him, but she had a certain level of unattached confidence that told him she wasn't interested. Maybe she was married. EJ glanced at her hand but didn't see any rings. He thought maybe hairstylists couldn't wear them."
"I don't mind getting the haircut," he said. "Unless you don't wanna do it."
"No, no, I just didn't want you to do all that if you only wanted to come here to you know, catch up. You know what? I'll just do it, and then not charge you. Come on. You gave me so much last time… and there's no way I can charge my buddy, EJ, from Gary's house in Pontiac!" She peered up at him once they made it to the shampoo chair. "You got so tall," she said with a grin as she stretched up to put a cape around his neck. Her smile was sweet but unaffected. "I really can't believe how big you got! It's no wonder you decided to open a gym." He laughed at that, and she shook her head at him dazedly. "I'm putting all the pieces together with you tipping me so much and being interested in my work, EJ. Come on, I can't believe you sat in my chair and didn't tell me! Sit down, let's wash your hair."
EJ reclined into the shampoo bowl. The other woman had finished with her customer, and they walked out of the room.
"Did you remember my name and search for me on the Internet or what?"
"Yes," he said, not explaining that he went to their old house and talked to a neighbor.
She was quiet for a few seconds as she began the shampoo. EJ felt the warm water hit his head, and then he felt her fingers.
"I thought about you a bunch over the years, EJ, because I wish I could go back and do it better. That whole interaction we had that summer, I'm so embarrassed about it."
He opened his eyes. "What? Why would you be embarrassed?"
"Because you were younger than me, and you were sweet, and I was a terrible influence on you."
"Barely younger than you."
"A year. That was a lot back then. And I don't know. I'm glad you turned out so good, that's all. I'm glad you came here so I could apologize. I was kind of worried I put you on a bad path—teaching youhow to make out and smoke cigarettes. What were we thinking?"
"We smoked two cigarettes."
"Still," she said. "I wish I could take back so much of that. You're not the only person I have regrets with in my life, and you rarely get to look someone in the eyes and say you're sorry. But I'm sorry, EJ. I shouldn't have been pushing you into getting in trouble that summer." EJ glanced back at her while she was shampooing, and he found that she was peering at him sincerely. She was standing behind him, which meant she was upside down.
"No," he said. "That's not how it was. You didn't help me get into trouble. We got into trouble together. I had so much fun with you. Why do you think I looked you up and drove over here for a haircut? It definitely wasn't for an apology."
Her relief was visible, even from upside down. She worked for a minute on his hair before responding.
"Oh, my goodness, that makes me feel so much better," she said. "And I'm glad you turned out good. You look great. This is unbelievable. I'm so happy you said something to me this time. I can't believe you sat through that whole haircut and didn't tell me! So, you're still in the Chicago area?"
"Yes," he said. "I live and work in Chicago. I go to Milwaukee a lot because my brother and his wife are there. We have a second gym there."
"Wow, that's great. So, what were you doing at your grandparents that summer? I know you had a broken foot. Is that why you were there? Your brother and sister weren't there, were they?"
"No, I was all messed up about my foot, so I was supposed to be helping my granddad in his workshop. I just didn't get to that part."
"Yeah, instead you met Miss Mischief."
"No, meeting you was good for me," he said. "Honestly, I was being a big baby before I met you, and you helped me out. You gave me a different perspective on it. Anyway, I got injured several more times in my life, and all of them were made easier because of that perspective."
"Really? That makes me feel better because I regretted so much of that all these years. I am sorry, anyway."
"Don't be," he said. "Do you remember how much Mario Party we played?"
"Yes, and hang on…" she said, turning off the water.
She expertly wrapped his hair in a towel. "I'll have you hold the towel right here and go ahead sit up. We're ready to head back over to the chair."
