“Never did. My, I’m beginning to feel boring.”
“Well, you could go and get your hair dyed and get a pedicure,too.”
Flo considers this. “I spect I could.”
“What color would you dye your hair?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I’d just get one of those colored streaks, you ever seen those on old ladies, just the one streak?”
“Yes, I have. And I have seentattooson old ladies, too. One got a full-sleeve parrot!”
“Hmmm,” Flo says. “I’ll pass on the tattoo.”
“I’m sure with you there. You know, in a magazine, I saw a picture of a bride pretty as could be, except her neck and chest were all tattooed! I have to think, what if she comes to regret that? You can’t justerasetattoos. You have to go in and get tortured all over again to get them off.” She looks at her watch. “I’d best get going.” She starts down the steps, but turns to say, “Next time I see you, I want to see your polished toes and your dyed hair.”
“Uh-huh,” Flo says. She wishes she would do that, she does. She rocks back and forth, back and forth, thinking.
Well, hell. Flo gets up and goes inside and calls Lotus Salon, two blocks away. Inside her is a jangly happiness that feels almost like she’s nervous. But she’s not nervous. Lo and behold there has been a cancellation for 11:00 today, and Flo can get both things done. It just goes to show you. It just goes to show you all kinds of things.
When Flo walks into Lotus, the receptionist, a young Vietnamese woman, looks up. “May I help you?”
Flo says she called earlier, she is the 11:00.
“Oh, yes,” the woman says. “I’m Binh. You want a pedicure and hair color?”
Now Flo isn’t so sure. But she nods, and Binh says, “Okey-dokey, we’ll do the pedicure first. You want to pick out a color?”
“Say what?” Flo cups a hand around one ear.
Binh gestures to a wall of polish. Why, there must be over one hundred to choose from!
Flo goes over to look and finds a lilac color; now, there’s an idea. She holds it up and turns around to show Binh. “What do you think?” she asks, and Binh says, “Oh, that’s a good one, very popular this time of year.”
Flo looks at some of the other colors and sees a bright yellow. Well, isn’tthatcheerful! “What aboutthisone?” she asks Binh.
“That’s good, too,” Binh says.
“Now, Binh. Tell me true. Do you just say they’re all good?” Flo asks.
“No. Tangerine Dream, I hate that one. But some people like it so much! I say do what your heart tells you.”
Flo gets an idea. “What if I asked you to do one foot lilac and one yellow?”
“I can do that. Also I can alternate toes.”
“Alternate toes, you say.”
“Yes.”
Flo nods. “Let’s do that. And what about if we add evenanothercolor?”
“Whatever you want!” Binh says, and Flo says never mind, just the lilac and the yellow alternating. There will be spring right on her feet. Why, she had no idea this would be so much fun! She starts to walk to the chair where Binh is filling up a tub with water, then pauses.
“You want to add more colors, right?” Binh says, and Flo nods.
“Go for it,” Binh says.
Flo chooses three more colors: sky blue, royal purple, and a deep rose pink. There.
