Page 165 of Dove
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Someone from the city?”
It wasn’t like it couldn’t happen, but yeah, it just didn’t. They only came for the festival; beyond that, they forgot about our little town the rest of the year.
“Well,acity, yes.” Reverie turned her chair, patting the back of it invitingly. “Sit down, Miss Riley, we havemuchto catch up on.”
I sat down, smiling up at her. “I guess we do.”
She leaned against her station. “Oh, Iknowwe do. Don’t think I’m letting you get away with not spilling the details on thatmagical nightI helped make reality.” She narrowed her eyes at me, crossing her arms. “I’ve been waiting.”
I could feel my face heating up. “We’ve been busy!”
Reverie snorted. “Yeah, busy fucking.”
I sputtered. “N-no! With the harvest!”
“Is that what you farmers are calling it nowadays?”
Her eyebrow waggle had my eyes rolling. “And what about you?” I quickly countered. “You just show up with Zeke and fail to mention you’re together again?” I couldn’t keep some of the hurt out of my tone, even though I hadn’t been the most open with her about my relationship with Josh, either.
Reverie looked away. “We’re not together.”
“Rev.” Doubt laced her name as I said it.
“I already told you it wasn’t serious. It’s not like that,” she denied. “It’s just a summer thing. Until...”
My stomach dropped. “Are you moving back to LA?” She never made any promises to stay in Haven, but I hadn’t expected her decision to leave to come quite so soon.
She wavered, as if unsure on what to say, before answering, “No. Not back to Cali, at least. But I—” Rev sighed heavily. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s get rid with these split ends of yours, then we can chat. Deal?”
Knowing we’d get to it eventually, because even if it took time there wasn’t much we didn’t tell each other, I agreed. “Deal.”
She coaxed me back to the shampoo bowl, and after a thorough wash that nearly had me falling asleep, she led me back to her station.
“I forgot how unflattering these things are.” I grimaced as she pinned the cape around my neck, and I became a floating head.
Reverie ran her hands through my wet hair, making sure it wasn’t stuck in the snaps as she secured it, our eyes locking in the mirror. “No one looks good in these, babe, trust me. This lighting certainly doesn't help.”
Now that she mentioned it, I could hear the low-level buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead, even over the music she had playing low in the background. They had a slightly yellowish cast to them, and had probably been here since Betty had opened the salon. I wasn’t even sure how long ago that was, now.
“I considered replacing them with LED’s since Betty pretty much gave me the green light to do whatever I wanted to this place, but...” Reverie shrugged, grabbing a brush out of her drawer. “I wasn’t sure if it was worth it when I might not be here that long.”
Every time she mentioned leaving, my heart sunk. I reminded myself that just because I wanted my best friend here with me in the worst way, I didn’t want it at the expense of her own happiness. Even if I was pretty sure the happiness she’d been “chasing” was really located here in Haven.
“Is there a salon somewhere you’re interested in, is that why you mentioned leaving?” I probed as she brushed through my damp hair. Her lips twisted in the mirror, her eyes downcast as she focused on what she was doing.
“Not entirely sure yet. There’s someone in New York trying to convince me to work for him. He used to come spotlight at the salon every few months, and he was good friends with myboss. He had some high-profile clients in California who made it worth the trip. Apparently, he has more business than he knows what to do with in New York and not enough stylists he trusts. He knows my work.” Our eyes met in the mirror when she glanced up. She shifted around me to set the brush down on her station, grabbing a comb and her scissors.
“Healthy trim?” she asked, moving to stand behind me again.
I nodded. “Do whatever you think it needs. I just want it long enough to pull back?—”
“Because of the farm,” she finished, knowing me well. “You got it, I can work with that.” She gentle guided my head down. “Tip your head down for me. Perfect. Stay just like that.”
I smiled down at the cape at her memorized speech. My best friend had been made for this job. She was wildly creative and even more wildly outgoing. Her lack of friends in this small town had been intentional, because I knew she could befriend anyone. There just hadn't been many people Reveriewantedto befriend here. It’s why she’d flourished in LA.
Her comb glided through my hair as she sectioned, and I could hear the quiet snip as she began cutting.
“I’ve been taking some of my clients out here.”
