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“If you find some courage…” the woman dug through her purse, “…my friend did it for me, and she had a cancellation this afternoon. Give her a call and tell her Monique sent you.”
“Thanks, I will.” I wouldn’t. I stuffed the card into my purse and walked back to my car.
Where I sat in the driver’s seat, letting an onslaught of thoughts flood back in. How many times would I have to tell myself last night wasn’t a repeatable thing, before the words sank in? How was everyone living life but me? I’d worked so hard, for so many years, and my reward was… to ignore what I wanted to do?
I pulled the hairdresser’s card out again, and let the vibrant colors in her logo tease me.
Fuck it. Before I could question myself into oblivion, I let impulse dial the number. Thirty minutes later, I was in her chair, in a tiny salon. Four hours after that, I was staring at my reflection in her mirror, and didn’t recognize the woman who stared back.
I’d opted for darker colors, and a combination of deep burgundy and rich purple framed my face.
“You look stunning, Hun.” The hairdresser fluffed my hair again, and it fell in soft waves around my cheeks.
“I feel stunning. I feel like a different person.”
“Nah. You’re just a truer version of yourself.”
I wasn’t sure that was true, but I did love the way I looked. I paid, left her with a huge thanks and matching tip, and headed out. The day was almost over, and I hadn’t done anything. How did I feel so good, in that case?
Next stop was Joystick’s hotel room. Like in Milan, the place was simple and understated, but clean. It was easy enough to gather up his things, since it seemed he’d never unpacked. Really, the biggest disarray in the room was the paperwork spread across his desk.
It took me a moment to realize what I was looking at, and when I did my brain short-circuited. This wasn’t at all what I expected from Joystick. I’d made some very incorrect assumptions about who he was.
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I wassurprised that Kandace didn’t feel comfortable introducing us to her son, but I had a lot of respect for how close the two seemed to be. It was obvious she cared about him, and him her, after less than a day.
The hurt faded into oblivion when I popped the next round of drugs for the pain, and I fell into sleep quickly after breakfast. Years ago, when I hit adulthood and the public started getting wind of my tattoos and piercings, everyone assumed I’d gone full party boy.
I’d tried it a few times, to see what all the fuss was about, but it wasn’t my thing. Nights like last night were as drunk as I got, and things like prescription pills knocked me on my ass like any lightweight.
When Kandace stopped by with my stuff, I was still in that happy haze. Something was different about her.Oh. “You turned into a purple-haired angel-raven.”
Her smile was its own drug, especially the flush that came with it. “I’m not sure I know what that is, but thanks?”
“If you need a messenger, beautiful angel-raven, call on me.” I kissed the back of her hand, and ignored Eli rolling his eyes.
The rest of the weekend, I fluctuated between groggy and aching, with a few pauses for food. The hospital called Sunday afternoon and said they’d fit me in for surgery the next morning. I hoped it wasn’t just because the doctor’s kid was a fan. I’d feel bad if I jumped the schedule line.
I also felt bad that Eli took Monday off work, to make sure I got to the hospital, and home again. By the time we got back to the house, from surgery, I was tired of feeling like a foggy-headed mess, and I decided to skip the meds for a few hours.
Large cotton candy clouds still lingered in my head, but I could see the light of brain-workingness through them. A pair of crutches leaned next to my bed. I’d used them to get in here, but it was with Eli’s help. Otherwise, it had been a few decades since I had a need for something like that.
Still, how hard could it be to relearn?
I scooted myself to the edge of the bed. My bags sat in the corner—I’d have to go through those later, and also make sure I gave Kandace a real thank you for bringing them to me.
Pulling the crutches to me, I fumbled a few times before I figured out how to stand upright with them in place. The concept was simple, but the execution took some maneuvering. As I hopped/swung/ limped my way across the bedroom, trying to get used to two aluminum legs and one good one, I thumped enough to shake the floor.
By the time I reached the doorway, Eli was there. “Are you all right?” He asked.
“I won’t win any three legged races any time soon.” Wait. What? “Was that funny? Did it even make sense?” I might not be as clear-headed as I thought.
“Are you sure you should be up?”
“I spent more than two days in bed. I’m sure I’m tired of lying around doing nothing.”
