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Chapter 15
Saturday
“Harder?Softer?”
Carts lay back, eyes closed, and let the bliss wash over him.“It’s perfect, thanks.”
Tara’s fingertips continued to massage his scalp with the pressure only a true pro could exert.His whole body felt like a giant floating marshmallow as the massage chair sent ripples into the small of his back and his shoulders.Why had he been so worried about coming here?To think he’d put up with years of Bernie scrubbing his scalp raw, followed by a towel-dry that was more suited to a doggy wash than a hair salon.
Right now, he’d happily pay Tara for another half hour of this.
After she’d rinsed out the peppermint-scented conditioner and wrapped a towel round his hair and dried it with the gentleness a mother might administer to her favourite child, he found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror, and all the anxiety about having his hair cut evaporated.
He’d woken with a mild hangover from his Friday evening out with Dan, and a determination to do the deed.This was no longer acceptable, he decided as he combed a long lock of hair one way and then the other, only for it to flop right back over his eyes.
So he’d made a list.Get a haircut.Purchase a new bottle of Eau d’homme.Buy a packet of…?His pen hovered over the letters, unable to complete the word “condoms”.He hadn’t needed them for a year and now he felt like he was being presumptuous, but… well, after Thursday… they were on the brink of something and he had to hope that Fern’s teachings would work magic—
Tara, who’d disappeared to answer the phone, now returned with a little trolley full of exotic-looking implements.She took out some scissors with strangely scalloped edges to them and a comb.
“So what are we doing today?”
At which Carts launched into a lengthy description of how his hair behaved if it was cut wrongly.“So,” he finished when he realised her nodding had increased to the point where it was clear she wanted him shut up, “that’s my hair woes in a nutshell.”
“Just a bit of shape around the front and ears then.A touch off the back so it doesn’t flick up on your shirt collar.”
He looked at Tara’s refection in awe.“You reckon you could do that?Keep some length but get the shape back into it?”
“Hey,” Tara pointed the scissors at her chest, where today the words,Great hair doesn’t happen by chancewere emblazoned in gold letters on a black background.“Trust me, sweetheart, okay?”
Judith had barely slept.Images of the disastrous evening at Harry Tan’s had churned through her head, invading her dreams and tying her into knots in her bed clothes.
When she’d arrived back at the restaurant, Dad had been paying the bill.He carried Mum’s coat and ushered her through the door, mouthing to the others over her head, “Your mum just needs time to process.”And then they were gone, leaving Judith and Luke and Kirsty standing on the pavement.
Kirsty said, “I guess we should havesuspected,” in the slightly incredulous tone of someone who inhabited a world of heterosexual couples with 2.2 kids.Luke cleared his throat.“That would account for why Pip never brought a boyfriend home.”His troubled gaze fixed on her.“You’ll talk to Mum won’t you Jude?”he said.“Get those two back on track.”
Judith stared at her parents’ departing figures.Dad, bulky shouldered and protective; Mum bent as if pushing against the wind, even though the air was perfectly still.
“I don’t know if I can anymore,” she’d said and swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
Sitting up in bed now, she decided affirmative action was needed.Not the kind of action that meant fixing other people’s lives.She’d done too much of that over the years, today she had her own to fix.With sudden determination, she got up, showered, dressed and, after a piece of toast and marmalade and a coffee, made her way into the city.
When she arrived at the Book Genie she browsed the shelves of mystery books outside, all packaged in brown paper with clues handwritten on labels.She wondered if Alice had written them, because she only managed to guess one, the hints were so clever and obscure.Eventually, she plucked up her courage and sidled through the doors and along the aisles of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, until she reached the Ancient History section.The yellowing sign hung off its nail, the letters fading and the cardboard curled at the edges.
She scanned the top shelf and her heart dropped.No little red volume as far as she could see.She squinted—this part of the shop was dimly lit—and then she spied it, squeezed in, right at the end of the shelf, like an afterthought.A bright red spine in all the dull scholarly titles.For once, she was thankful to be over six foot.Standing on tiptoes, her fingers scrabbled to reach it.She managed to tug it from the shelf, catching it just before it hit her in the eye.
There was one embossed rose on the cover, which struck her as a good omen.She flipped it open and read the title page:
Pleasure Your Partner
A manual for lifelong loving
By Dr Daphne Rubekind
Sneaking the book behind her handbag, Judith went to find somewhere to sit.The wonderful thing about the Book Genie was that there were reading seats in every nook and cranny; stools shaped like toadstools and frogs in the children’s section, a big Alice in Wonderland throne at the end of the Fantasy section, and square trompe l’oeil cubes painted to look like shelves of books.She perched on one of them in a quiet corner and eagerly turned the pages.
The first gem she came to was “Take Your Time”.She guessed that’s where she’d gone wrong, jumped in too fast and eager with the hip grind move down by the river when they’d kissed.She’d more or less rubbed herself all over him like marinade and from what Polly said, that could have been somewhat overwhelming.
She flicked eagerly through more pages and found a chapter on touch.Her eyes widened as she read through all the tips and little tricks.Tongues, lips, thighs, breasts, you name it; there was not one piece of your anatomy you couldn’t put to good use.
But it was the chapter on Barriers to Intimacy that resonated the most.Dr Rubekind had a lot to say on good old-fashioned talking things through.It was all very sound advice.She skimmed to the end of the chapter where a little shaded box summarised the main points.
REMEMBER:Great sex involves the brain far more than the reproductive organs.Many barriers to sexual intimacy are psychological, not physical.Talk about your likes and dislikes, deepest desires and greatest fears with your partner.A truly wonderful physical connection develops when you can be open and honest with one another.
“Thank you,thank you, Dr Daphne Rubekind,” Judith whispered, clasping the little volume to her chest.Because now she knew that there really was nothing to worry about.Sure, there were some hurdles to overcome, but there was nothingwrongwith either of them.They loved each other’s company, they made each other laugh and their chemistry was off the charts.The rest would follow once they relaxed and learned to open up and… justtalkto one another.
Holding the book like a precious artefact she’d uncovered in an archaeological dig, Judith made her way to the counter, and didn’t even blink when the woman flipped it open, revealing the title in big bold letters.
“I can’t find a price anywhere,” the woman said finally.“How about I charge you ten dollars?”
“Ten dollars is absolutely fine.”Judith smiled sweetly and got out her purse.
