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Opening Day of Color Me Crazy…
Ultimately, Hazel Channing’s hair was her one shot at redemption.
I dare you to find a problem with it today…
“Ashlynn Donovan!” she screeched excitedly as she leaned closer to the mirror. “What did you do to my hair?”
“Um…”
“Look at it! It’s fantastic! I look twenty years younger!”
It would be wrong to preen or to point out how the color was almost exactly the same as she’d done that day at Lavish Locks, so she simply smiled.
“I’m so glad you like it. And you’re right, you do look twenty years younger! Wait until Marty sees you when you get home! He’ll be chasing you around like you were a couple of kids again!”
“Darn right he will! Ooh…just look at it! I look like something out of one of those…those…videos that you see all over the place! The ones with the women getting drastic makeovers!” She spun around and looked up at Ashlynn. “I don’t suppose you have time to do my makeup, do you?”
“Oh, wow…um…it’s opening day, Miss Hazel, and I’m booked. But I promise when we make your next appointment, we’ll schedule extra time for me to do it. What do you say?”
Hazel stood and squeezed Ashlynn’s hand. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said with a smile. “And I’ll make sure that Marty and I have dinner reservations for that night so everyone can see how young and glamorous I look! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Ashlynn walked her to the front desk and smiled at her receptionist, Heather. “Heather, could you please make an appointment for Mrs. Channing for six weeks out and make it for cut, color, and makeup? Thanks.”
“No problem!”
“See you soon, Miss Hazel!” she said cheerily before walking away. It wasn’t until she was in her office that she sagged down into her chair and almost wanted to weep with joy.
It had shocked her to no end when Hazel made the appointment and on some level, Ashlynn was waiting for the woman to rant and rave and tear her apart all over again. She’d almost denied her request but decided to be the better person, and now she was glad she did.
“Okay, that wasn’t nearly as horrible as it could have been, so…”
“Knock, knock!”
She looked up and saw Reid standing in the doorway with a tray with two disposable coffee cups and a white paper bag. “Ooh…perfect timing! I was just taking a quick break.”
He stepped into her office and put the food and drinks down on her desk. “So how’s it going today? You are looking pretty full out there.”
“It’s been wild but wonderful! Ellie and Josephine are both doing a great job and we’ve had a steady stream of customers all day. Actually, our appointment book is full for the next month! I can’t even believe it!”
“Well, you’re kind of a big deal,” he teased before reaching into the bag and pulling out a cake pop for her. “Billie said you needed this.” Then he pulled out two more. “And these.”
“And that’s why I love her,” she said with a happy sigh.
“I knew you were going to kill it, Ash. How could you not? You’re amazing at what you do, and people genuinely adore you.”
“I’m not so sure about that, but my brother is really the hero here.”
“Why?”
“He’s a marketing genius. I was a little limited in my thinking and was essentially targeting Sweetbriar Ridge as my audience. But he put his genius to work and I’ve had people coming in from twenty plus miles away! And this is just the first day!” She took a bite of her cake and hummed with appreciation. “I swear, my sister is a genius too. I’m so lucky.”
He laughed softly and took a bite of the cake pop he had gotten for himself. “You’re a talented family, that’s for sure.”
“And we’re all talented in completely different ways. I think that’s what I love the most—no competition because we’re each unique.”
He laughed again. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
She was too happy right now to call him out on that comment. “How’s your day going?”
