Chapter Fifteen
Hayley
December
T he tinkling opening of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas’ had started playing in the salon. Decorations gleamed on the window display and the naughty elf had moved from his place among the conditioner bottles to swinging from one of the lights. Hayley teased out Willow’s extremely long blonde hair, half hearing bits of conversations over the drone of hairdryers. Everyone seemed to be chatting about how organised – or not – they were for Christmas.
Except Hayley.
She and her cousin were talking about the subject that she always seemed to be talking about. Weddings. Even at Christmas, she was the one who got the clients getting ready for a wedding, either their own or as a guest. And hen parties too. Part of her was flattered that so many came to her to have their hair done, but the constant wedding chat was taking its toll. A headache loomed. Not that she’d ever let it show, especially when Willow was so happy. Hayley would never rain on her parade. She loved Willow and was delighted for her. Willow deserved to be happy. She was so sweet and lovely. Her husband-to-be was a famous weather presenter and both he and Willow had made a name for themselves over the past year as a presenting duo on a TV show, Destination Forecast . It still made Hayley smile to think her wee cousin was on TV when she’d been such a little mouse as a child. How she’d come out of her shell.
‘And you’re sure you want this much off?’ Hayley held up the section she’d marked off with bands. Willow could afford to have six or seven inches taken off and still have very long hair, but once the cut was made, there was no going back.
‘Yes. It needs a proper tidy up. It’s got completely unmanageable.’
‘Ok. As long as you’re sure.’ Hayley took out her scissors and trimmed the sections off. ‘This will still give you plenty of length to play with. And it’ll be easier for the stylists on Destination Forecast .’
‘Yeah, one of them said it was far too long for the curls she wanted to put in it.’
‘I can style it in curls today if you want. You’d suit some loose barrel curls.’
‘Ok, sounds good. Do you think I should wear it loose for the wedding too? Most people go for updos but I don’t know if I really suit them. Do they make me look really short?’
‘Not at all. If I did one high on the back, it could give you the illusion of more height. But Willow, it doesn’t matter what size you look, you’ll be beautiful anyway. You always are.’ And Marcus loved her, no matter what.
Willow smiled at her in the mirror. ‘You’ve always been the best cousin.’
‘One does one’s best,’ she said with a fake curtsey. ‘Now, let’s get this shampooed. I can neaten the edges properly when it’s wet.’ She led Willow to the back of the salon and got her seated at one of the sinks. Willow had cerebral palsy and sometimes found sitting at these sinks awkward, but with the footrest she was usually ok. ‘Is this comfy enough?’
‘It’s fine just now,’ Willow said.
‘Just shout at me if you need to move.’ Hayley shifted around behind and started the water.
‘How are Finlay’s wedding plans going?’ Willow asked, as Hayley splashed water on her hair. ‘Have you booked a sten yet?’
‘Oh, don’t get me started on that. I’m running out of time. I saw something that looked cool. It’s a weekend in a big house where you get cooking lessons, and everyone cooks the evening meal. Plus, you get to do ballroom dancing and cocktail making. I thought it sounded really good.’
‘It sounds like lots of fun. I’m sure Genevieve would love it. She’s really into cooking, isn’t she?’
‘Yes, she is.’
‘Why not book it then?’
‘I think I will. The organisers said I could go up on Saturday night and have a sneak peek at what they do.’
‘Sounds perfect.’
Hayley let out a sigh as she squeezed a blob of shampoo onto her hand and began massaging it through Willow’s hair.
‘What’s wrong?’ Willow asked.
‘Nothing. It’s just annoying because I was meant to organise this with Oliver. You know, Finlay’s best man. But he’s being so…’ She let out an exasperated huff.
Willow grinned. ‘I guess he’s not as enthusiastic as you.’
‘He’s about as enthusiastic as a slug in a coma.’
‘Oh dear.’ Willow put her hand to her lips to stifle a laugh.
‘Honestly. I thought we’d made some progress. I didn’t tell you before, but I went to London with him a couple of weeks ago.’
‘Did you? You said you’d been to London, and you showed me all the photos when we were at lunch last week, but I didn’t know you were with him.’
‘Well, I wasn’t with with him. As in, we weren’t together together.’ Hayley started the water again, rinsing out the shampoo.
Willow frowned and Hayley knew she was making no sense, but it was impossible to describe what had happened in London… Particularly some of the things that had happened.
‘What I mean is,’ Hayley said. ‘He was going anyway and had a spare bed in his hotel, so I went along too so I could go to the Hair Show. We just travelled together out of convenience.’
‘Ah, ok.’
Hayley would like to say they’d shared food and transport costs, but they hadn’t. Oliver had paid for everything when they were together. She was pretty certain it wasn’t coming off his expenses either. This was exactly what caused the conundrum. Sometimes he was so generous, other times he was a complete grouch.
‘Anyway.’ She massaged the sweet-scented conditioner into Willow’s scalp. ‘He seemed much nicer in London than usual. We got on fine, but the minute we got back here, he started being grumpy and unconcerned again. And completely disinterested in the sten. Which I suppose I just have to accept, but it’s so irritating.’
‘Maybe he hates living here and wishes he could move to London,’ Willow said. ‘Maybe that’s why he’s happy there.’
‘I think you’re right.’ And he’d get his wish soon.
‘I’m not sure I get why Finlay is his best friend. They don’t seem at all like each other.’
‘They even each other out.’ Was that actually true? Finlay had always stood by Oliver, but did Oliver really do much in return? Not that friendships had to work like that, but if it was always one-sided, what was the point?
‘I’m glad Finlay’s back to his old self again. He always looked so depressed when he was with Elise,’ Willow said.
Hayley lifted the nozzle and washed off the excess conditioner. ‘Yeah, that was not good. I’m cross with her for hurting so many people, but she’s still my friend.’
‘Do you ever see her?’
‘Not that often anymore.’ Hayley helped Willow sit up straight and wrapped a towel around her wet hair, before leading her back to her seat in front of the mirror. ‘She’s moved to Glasgow, but I keep in touch.’
It was hard to sever connections completely with someone who’d been a friend for so long. Hayley just wished Elise hadn’t messed things up with both Finlay and Aidan, two people Hayley cared so much about. At least things had worked out for them both. She could only hope things would work out for Elise too.
She brushed out Willow’s hair before neatening the edges, drying, and styling it with the wand. Willow beamed at the finished result, moving her head from side to side and admiring it.
‘You’re amazing,’ she said to Hayley. ‘I don’t know how you do it.’
‘I’ve had years of practise.’
As Willow got up, Hayley gave her a hug. ‘Good to see you. We’ll have another catch up soon.’
Colette, the salon assistant, took Willow to the desk to pay, as Hayley’s next client had arrived.
‘Hi, Nina. How are you today?’ Hayley asked her.
‘Great thanks. Well, kind of.’
‘Oh. Is something wrong?’ Hayley combed Nina’s strawberry blonde hair. Nina had been her client for a year or two since moving to the town, and Hayley didn’t know her that well, but she liked to hear about her client’s lives and took a genuine interest in them. She always tried to remember as much as possible about everyone. Nina was married to a high school teacher who worked in the same school as Finlay, and Nina herself worked just up the street in a furniture upcycling store named Wood ’n’ Chic.
‘I’m pregnant,’ Nina said half apologetically. ‘We’ve just started telling people and weird smells have been making me sick, so I thought I better let you know in case I throw up all over the salon.’
Hayley chuckled. ‘Oh gosh, congratulations! But should I get you a bucket? We’ve got the wee bowls we mix up the colour in, if you want one?’
‘That might actually be a good idea. If it gets really bad, I’ll leave. I don’t want to put people off.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Hayley went to fetch a plastic tub from the back, just in case. Her heart raced a bit. Nina must be about the same age as her or just a little older. Everyone of her age seemed to be getting married and having families while she was still single and didn’t even have a casual date for the weekend, never mind anything else. Sometimes, she inwardly despaired at the state of her life.
As she brushed out Nina’s hair, she watched for any change in her skin colour or expression, but her cheeks stayed rosy, and she smiled and chatted as normal. Her Christmas plans included visiting her brother, who used to be a professional footballer. Hayley had never heard of him, though she was sure both Finlay and her dad would know exactly who he was. Finlay was sport daft and her dad had Mastermind- level knowledge when it came to football teams and players.
‘What team did he play for?’ Hayley asked. ‘So I can tell my dad.’
‘Celtic,’ she said. ‘But not for a while. He was in a car crash and couldn’t walk for a long time, let alone play. Then he quit and now he and his wife run a health retreat on the Isle of Mull.’
‘Oh, wow.’
‘Yeah, they’ve just had a wee boy a few months ago. They already have a wee girl, who’s three, so they’re thrilled. It’s exciting to think this time next year I’ll have a baby cousin for them.’
‘Aw, that’s lovely.’ Hayley smiled as she always did, but bitterness settled in her heart, making it burn. She didn’t like that sensation or want it . I’m not like that. And she certainly wouldn’t direct it at Nina or anyone else. She was bitter with herself and her inability to find someone who wanted to do these things with her.
Her mind drifted back to Oliver and the kiss. Just one kiss. That was all it was. But what a kiss. Why couldn’t she have had a kiss like that with a nice local guy who was happy to live up here forever, get married, have kids, grow old together, and have a happy life with her? Why did she have to have it with a grumpy guy who didn’t do relationships, didn’t want to stay up here and was moving to London in a month’s time?
‘Right. I’ll get Colette to shampoo you and I’ll do your cut and blow dry after.’
Nina went off with Colette, and Hayley took a moment to nip into the back room and grab a drink and a snack. She checked her phone and noticed a message from Oliver. She frowned as she opened it. What did he want? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know because she didn’t really want to talk to him. The grouch.
OLIVER: What do people wear to ballroom dancing? Please tell me it’s not frilly shirts and trousers so tight my eyes will be watering and I won’t be able to sit down… Because if you still want me to come with you to check out the sten venue on Saturday night, I will… As long as I don’t have to wear the aforementioned costume.
OLIVER: P.S. Jumpsuits are a no too. As is any form of leotard or tights.
OLIVER: P.P.S. and leather.
OLIVER: P.P.P.S. and definitely no body glitter.
Hayley pouted and tried not to laugh. Was this his attempt at a peace offering? Did he think she was that easy to bring around? The laugh burst. Ok, screw it, she was that easy. Part of her wished she’d managed to stay mad at him for longer, but hey ho. She’d never been able to hold a grudge, especially when her mind was preoccupied with creating mental images of Oliver strapped into leave-nothing-to-the-imagination tights and a ruffled red shirt open down the middle to reveal his gorgeous, toned abs covered in a smattering of dark hair and a liberal dusting of gold glitter.
HAYLEY: I appreciate your change of heart and you are of course welcome to come with me… However, I must express my severe disappointment at your lack of enthusiasm re. the costumes. I think your lack of love for body glitter is frankly disturbing and also distresses me, as now I’ll have to think of something different to get you for Christmas. I was so sure the Lush Shake ’n’ Spritz sparkle was the perfect gift too… Dang it!
She sent it, wishing she could see if it brought a smile to his face or if he impassively dismissed it.
After she’d seen to Nina, she had two more clients, and it wasn’t until she’d finished them she could check for a reply.
OLIVER: I’m tempted to wear it now just to see your reaction if I did.
She raised an eyebrow before replying.
HAYLEY: I’d rather see you in the tights.
OLIVER: Yeah? You’ve already seen me in my cycling shorts. I think you get the picture.
That was enough to bring colour to her cheeks, and she was glad she was safely in the backroom where no one could see her.
HAYLEY: Wear them then and I’ll bring the sparkle!
OLIVER: You always do. See you on Saturday.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she reread the message. Was that a compliment or a sarky remark? With him, it was so hard to tell. He was so hot and cold she couldn’t figure him out at all.