Page 53 of My Heart To Heal

‘Nick!’ I scold him for his interruption, but his eyes are fixed on Mr. Barber.

‘Oh, don’t you worry, Missy. I’m used to his tone. Nicholas. Good to see you, son.’

Nick laughs, but it’s not the usual deep, warm hug that his laugh is — it’s tight, cold.

‘I asked you a question,Dad. What are you doing here?’

‘Well, Missy here was treating me to a trim.’ Mr. Barber smiles, and Nick steps closer.

‘Are you okay?’ He directs the question to mewith concern in his eyes, and I nod, yes, but can’t seem to speak as he turns back to his dad. ‘You need to leave.’

‘Nick,’ I barely say his name, shocked at how he’s speaking to his father.

‘Nicholas, watch your mouth.’

The change in Mr. Barber has me taking a step back. His smile falls, his expression hardens, the lightness in his voice is gone, and he speaks slowly, his words clipped and devoid of the warmth he had while speaking to me.

‘This isn’t your shop anymore. You have no reason to be here. Leave,’ Nick practically growls.

‘You have a son, don’t you, Missy?’ I nod yes. ‘You need to take a firm hand while he’s young, or he’ll turn out like this.’ He points at Nick, and my jaw drops. ‘Insolent, head in the clouds,interestingideas. You make sure he knows now what you expect of him.’

‘A firm hand, really?’ Nick spits. ‘Yourfirmhand is exactly the reason I fuckin’ hate you.’

Mr. Barber steps toward Nick, his fist clenched, and I get it now. As Nick stands strong, refusing to back away, I see his resolve, and it all makes sense.

‘He’s a disappointment. Gave up our legacy for puppies and kittens because he’s soft, always was. Such a waste.’ He scrutinizes his sonwith disgust twisting his features at the same time as it twists my gut. ‘You take a firm hand with that boy, Missy. Heed my warning.’

‘Excuse me?’ I tilt my head, unable to believe the change in the man in front of me or the words coming out of his mouth. ‘If my son turns out to be half the man that Nick is, I’ll be a very proud mom, Mr. Barber.’ He turns to me, his jaw clenched, and I smile sweetly. ‘Your son, I suspect, despite your special brand of parenting, has turned out to be the kindest, most loving, sweet man I’ve ever met. Now I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’

‘What?’

‘You come into my shop and disrespect my friends — that’s a problem for me.’

‘This shop has been in my family for generations. You don’t get to tell me to leave, girl.’

‘Oh, yes, I do, actually. You gave me that right when you sold the place.’ I point to the door, ‘Your welcome here has been revoked.’

He glares at me, but my attention comes to Nick who looks ready to pounce at any second. When his dad steps close to him, I tense, expecting one or both of them to blow, but neither do.

Inotice the tension in Mr. Barber as he clearly doesn’t know what move to make, so I step toward the door and open it.

‘Mr. Barber, thank you for coming to Chopped today. I appreciated the history lesson, but now it’s a new era. For the record, as you’re walking away from this old building that you no longer lay any claim to, I need you to understand something. Raising a child is not about shaping them to be who you want them to be. It’s supporting them intheirdreams, keeping them safe and happy. You failed, Mr. Barber, but somehow, your son turned out wonderful anyway. Sadly, I suspect you’ll never get to know just how much. Now, I would like you to leave.’

Nick steps aside and Mr. Barber, with his glare boring into me walks into the doorway, and stops, just for a moment, then walks away.

‘Fuck!’ Nick yells, and I flinch.

He walks away from me, to the back of the salon, his back to me as I close the door.

‘Nick, are you okay?’

He laughs, that same humorless laugh I heard before.

‘I need to go.’

Turning quickly, he walks toward me and the door, and I put my hands on his biceps, stepping in front of him to halt him in his escape.

‘No, don’t run away from me. I need to know you’re okay.’

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