Page 48 of Small Town Firsts

“Good mornin’, ladies,” Seraphine sing-songs as she walks into the salon.

I twirl around at the sound of her voice. “Hi. You’re off today—what gives?”

“Oh, like I’d miss today,” she replies, and I roll my eyes and Azalea snorts. “And I brought coffee. You’re welcome.”

She sets a to-go cup on each of our stations before marching back to the dispensary. Azalea shoots me a look full of amusement before picking up her coffee and following Seraphine.

I reluctantly follow suit. “Are y’all ever going to stop giving me shit about him? I mean, my stars alive.”

They exchange a knowing look, and Azalea asks, “Did you ever let him explain himself?”

“She's right, you know?” Seraphine quips. "You should hear him out and then decide if you wanna be mad."

“No, no, no. I'm not mad. Not one bit. We hung out a few times and went on one date. Turns out we weren't on the same page.”Minimize and hide those feelings, girl.“Sure, I hate that he led me on, but we're both adults and capable of acting like it. He left a note saying sorry, and I just wanna let the past be, got it? I mean, it’s not like I’m pining away for him.” I slap a hand to my forehead—why did I say that?

“Aren’t you?” AzzyJo fires back.

“Ugh, forget this.” I check the time on my phone. “This conversation is finished. It’s time to open.” I snatch up my coffee and stomp out to my station.

I know I’m overreacting, but still. My grand exit has me feeling a bit better, and I know chatting with Mrs. Cumberland will finish the job. That woman is a ball of energy and so full of life, it’s impossible to be anything but happy in her presence.

Just what I need beforehishaircut.

Azalea and Seraphine file out behind me, and Seraphine drops her gaze to the floor as she walks past me on her way to the front desk.

Great, now I feel bad.

“You know we were only messing with you, right?” Azalea asks. “No need to pitch a fit.”

She walks away and joins Seraphine at the front desk before I can even form a reply. Looks like I’ll need to add groveling to my to-do list today.

“Oh,Myla Rose, this color is just a little slice of heaven. Exactly what I was goin’ for!” Mrs. Cumberland exclaims when I spin her to face the mirror after blowing her out.

I lightened her hair up a bit to blend out thosepesky silver strands, as she calls them. But God bless her, you’d think I’d performed a miracle with how excited she is over it.

"I’m glad you like it. And you should definitely be able to go a week or two longer between touch-ups.”

“You know, with this new color, maybe I’d like a new cut as well? What do you think?”

“I think you’d look amazing with some soft layers around your face and maybe a side-swept bang.”

“Well, that sounds like a whole lotta gibberish to me, but I trust you.”

I section her hair for how I’d like to cut it while she tells me about this new recipe she found on Pinterest. Except, she calls it Pin-Interest every time she mentions it. I’m fighting hard to hold back my smile—she’s just too cute.

The door chimes as I’m about to snip the last section of her bangs, and Mrs. Cumberland pulls her head back from me.

“Myla Rose, would you take a look?” Her eyes are laser-focused on the front desk. “That man is a cool drink of water on a hot day. I mean, gracious, if I were single and maybe twenty years younger . . .”

I chance a peek over my shoulder and see Cash standing there, nephews in tow.

“Yes, ma’am, he sure is something, all right.” I run my flat iron through her bangs to smooth out the marks my clips left behind and once again swivel her to face the mirror. “Here you go. What do you think?”

“Oh, Myla Rose, this is perfection personified. I just love it!”

My smile is beaming. This is why I do hair. There is nothing better than making someone love what they see in the mirror.

“I’m glad you like it, Mrs. Cumberland. When you set up your appointment with Seraphine, remember to have her book it out two weeks later.”

---