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Defying the directions that got me into this mess, I stripped out of my clothes, turned on the water in my shower, and didn’t bother to wait for it to warm up before I jumped under the punishing spray. After applying a massive glob of shampoo, and with closed eyes, my fingers went to work scrubbing from roots to ends praying that once done, my hair would either be the dark chestnut it was or the platinum blonde that had been my goal.
Older and wiser, my butt!Yes, it was my twenty-seventh birthday and while out shopping for my store, I made a detour into a pharmacy where I bought the box of disaster. My lips formed an O as I blew out a long breath before taking the ends of my hair into my hands. I opened one eye, then slowly peeled open the other, and glanced down at the vibrant colored strands. With a sigh, I turned off the water, wrapped myself up in a towel, and stepped out to turn off my phone’s alarm.
If it were October, I could dress as a jack-o-lantern for a Halloween party, but it was June, and a hot one at that. Not wasting time, I quickly blew dry my hair, and it somehow looked brighter.
“Honey, I’m home!” I heard my best friend and roommate, Sophie, call from the hall. Swapping my towel for a robe, I pulled the door open. “Happy Birth—”
Her greeting died on her lips as she took in my appearance. “Hey, Soph.”
I never knew someone could blink with their eyes opened as wide as saucers, but I did now. “Happy Birthday. Um…” Her head tilted to the right, then slowly to the left. She furrowed her brows, opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Ugh. I know.”
“What happened?” She stepped into the humid room and surveyed the vanity. “You bought boxed hair color? I told you I’d make an appointment with Casey for you. She’s the best stylist in Virginia.”
“And booked. I didn’t think this would happen. The commercials made it look so easy. All of the actresses had super shiny and perfect hair.”
She tilted her head, studying me. “On the bright side, you own a hat store… no pun intended.”
Bright. Funny.Sophie secured a space for both of our businesses while I’d been traveling abroad thanks to her uncle owning the building. “True. Wait, it’s just past two, why aren’t you at work?”
“It was slow, and since you took the day off, I thought I’d come home to sadly tell you my meeting rescheduled… for seven o’clock. I’m so sorry, I know we’re supposed to go to The Tavern tonight to celebrate your birthday, but I can meet you there right afterward, if that’s okay.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I wanted to talk to Lynn, the manager, about hats for the servers. So, no worries.”
“That’s great! See, everything is falling into place. And…” She bounced her eyebrows up and down. “Maybe tonight’s the night you meet Mr. Right. I mean, it is your birthday after all.”
If I had known that Sophie wouldn’t outright yell at me, I would have audibly sighed. Ever since I returned to Virginia, Sophie had been on my case about meeting someone. She even threatened to put my name on an online dating website. I wasn’t opposed to dating, but I wasn’t in a rush to start either.
Had it been a while? Yes. Had I dated in the past several months? No, not really. I had gone for coffee once and met someone else for a drink, but nothing to write home about or even tell my best friend. It all felt robotic—I’d laugh when they said something they deemed funny, I nodded when they went on and on about themselves, and politely declined any future date requests.
Maybe I was broken when it came to dating or just didn’t feel as though the effort was worth it. Maybe that had to do with my past? Before I left to travel to various parts of the US and Europe last year to meet with designers, my then boyfriend, Trevor, and I decided to take a break from our relationship. Despite being together for a little under eighteen months, both of us thought it was for the best. Technically, it was more me than him that did the breaking up. After all, didn’t the saying go that if you let something go and it came back it was meant to be or something to that effect? Well, he stopped calling me soon after my plane took off for Paris. In other words, not meant to be.
I supposed it was inevitable that things would change. My departure was necessary and worth it. What it boiled down to was I wanted to settle down… eventually, and Trevor didn’t. He said something about not wanting to get married until he was maybe thirty-five, and we were in different places in our lives and wanted different things.
Considering I had other hopes, my heart broke a little at that admission. It wasn’t that I was aiming to become a bride, but I did have aspirations of having it happen before my mid-thirties. Even though I was the one who decided to call it quits, it had been the right thing to do. Still, there were times when I missed him. Trevor didn’t fight for us—another blow to the muscle in my chest. The only thing that made me relax was knowing he moved to North Carolina.
“We’re going to have so much fun tonight!” She pulled me out of my thoughts and into a hug. When our arms relaxed, she picked up the ends of my hair. “This really isn’t awful.” I laughed, and she added, “I’ll text Casey in the morning, she owes me a favor for planning her husband’s surprise party after she forgot his birthday.”
“Perfect and thanks. Now get out of here.”
“Before I go, come with me.”
She grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the kitchen where my favorite bakery’s carrot cake graced the table. Sophie produced a lighter and lit the candles in the shape of a two and a seven. The small flames flickered as my best friend belted out the Happy Birthday song as though we were in a crowded restaurant and not our kitchen. “…to you!”
I couldn’t help the smile that grew across my face. After giving her a round of applause, I hugged her. “Thanks, Soph.”
“Hurry and blow out the candles before that icing turns inedible.”
Nodding, I closed my eyes. Several choices ran through my mind. Iwish my hair wasn’t orange. I wish for my store to be a success. I wish for peace in the world.Granted, that was a bit much, but still worth a shot. I inhaled, opened my eyes, and blew.
“Yay!” Sophie said, clapping. “You better have wished for something or someone sexy.” Figured, that thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Knowing she’d probably relight the candles, I shrugged. “If I tell you it won’t come true.”
“Fine. Okay, I’m heading back to the grind. Good luck with your meeting! I have a great feeling about tonight. Bye, sweetie!” Sophie’s voice trailed off as she went one way and I went the other, straight into my bedroom to put away more clothes I still needed to unpack.
The hours ticked by and before I knew it, it was time to get ready for The Tavern. Sifting through my wardrobe, I decided on a short denim skirt with an unfinished hem that hit me mid-thigh, a blue strapless top with a folded over ruffle across my boobs making them look deceptively bigger, and a pair of strappy wedges. I then grabbed my favorite fedora-style straw hat with a navy band around the bottom of the crown, just above the brim.
Back at the scene of the crime, I tossed the hair color paraphernalia away, cursing as it landed in the small bin with a clunk, and began applying my makeup. Using a soft-brown liner pencil, I rimmed my eyes, then swept my lashes up with the same color mascara, and dusted my lids with a pale color that made my baby blues pop.
