“Are you trying to talk June into marriage or out of it?” asks Sabrina. “I can’t keep up.”
Bernadette hugs her huge purse to her chest. “Harvey and I made a better match, and our spring wedding was so pretty. Such a shame he got gored.”
“Your first husband choked to death on a lobster roll and your second husband got gored?” I ask in surprise, as Sabrina starts running a comb through my damp hair.
“That’s right. It was by his aunt Dorothea’s prize bull.” Bernadette shakes her head sadly. “If she told him once, she told him a hundred times not to play ball in that field. But would he listen?”
I stare at her in wonder.
She smiles sadly. “Harvey had a wonderful funeral. Such a big turnout. And of course there was the BBQ afterwards.”
“That poor cow,” I mumble.
“I think it would have turned me vegan,” says Hiro. “To be personally victimized by sources of protein that way.”
Rose nods.
Carmen raises her brows.
And Sabrina picks up her scissors. “How sad to lose the love of your life.”
“Oh, no,” says Bernadette. “Harvey wasn’t that. Don’t get me wrong. He was a good man. And a skilled dancer despite not being a fast sprinter. As I said, we met at a dance. But no… Vernon was the true love of my life.”
“Your third husband?” I ask.
“That’s right. Of course, he worked at the timber mill…”
“What happened to him?” I ask, half dreading the answer.
Bernadette raises her head in surprise. “Nothing. He’s at pickleball right now. We’ve had six children together.”
“You stuck with the withdrawal method, huh?” asks Sabrina with a grin.
“Very funny,” says Bernadette primly. “We both wanted a big family.”
“I salute you, Bernie,” says Rose. “You’re certainly a walking advertisement for adventures in matrimony.”
“I just know what’s the right thing to do.”
“That’s not true, Bernadette,” I say in a firm voice. “You know what the right thing to do foryouis. Other people are entitled to decide for themselves.”
Her lips thin to a dangerous degree. The woman is not pleased.
“She’s right.” Carmen watches Hiro braid her hair in the mirror. “Though I’m not even convinced the piece of paper makes much of a difference.”
Bernadette’s brows draw tight together. “But you’ve been married for over a decade!”
“And it’s been damn hard work at times,” says Carmen. “People need to decide what’s best for themselves.”
“We need to talk about the baby shower sometime,” says Rose.
“Oh. That’s so kind of you.”Shit shit shit. “No need to worry about that. I mean…there’s ages to go.”
“You’re right, Rose,” agrees Carmen. “I bet the time is going to fly by.”
“Why don’t you plan a wedding at the same time,” grumbles Bernadette, who really should have taken a cookie because the woman could use some sweetening up.
“I love this song. It’s by that band…what’s their name?” Sabrina rushes over to her cell on the counter to turn up the volume. And rock music with a thumping base line fills the salon helping to drown out further conversation. She gives me a wink in the mirror. Guess I’m not the only one who’s done with the judginess. Seems everyone is smiling except for Bernadette. Whatever.
