“No. She was. Now she’s mine.”
I watch through the mirror as Dani puts her hands on her slim hips and snaps, “You can’t just steal my appointment. She’s my friend, you weird old man. I swear, if I didn’t love you I would quit.”
He laughs, throwing his head back and his arms in the air. “You,” he points to her and then reaches out to unbutton the top button on her black blouse, “Will never learn to let those babies free. Can you believe her?” he asks, looking at me through the mirror. “She has those great girls now that she’s turned into a human milker. Never shows them off. I tell her, time and time again, now that she has the man doesn’t mean she should put them away. And you,” he snaps, turning back to Dani. “Leave me to this sweet child. She needs Sway. You need to go tug up the girls and go give your man a nooner before he calls here, again, and yells at me for keeping you away from the house.”
“He did not yell at you,” she yells. “He just asked if I could take a longer lunch and then got a little upset when I had to leave before we finished.”
“Oh yeah, and what didn’t you finish? Huh? You think he was happy with me because you have too many clients? No, not Cohen Cage. Just like his daddy. Wants to lock you up in the bedroom and never let you go. I bet you have another little Cage in that belly before too long.”
Her face reddens. “I was talking about lunch, you perv! We didn’t finish lunch!”
“Hmmm,” he mumbles and starts running his hands through my hair. “And what, honey child, was he eating?”
My jaw drops when hers snaps shut and I watch, fascinated, when she turns her eyes to me and with a shrug says, “Sorry. Looks like you’re his now.” Then stomps off to the back room.
“Uh,” I start.
“You need to ignore her, sweetheart. I figured out she was pregnant two weeks ago, mind you she has not a clue, but she will. She always gets snappy in the beginning. So, while I love that I get to get my hands on all this hair, I also get her off her feet while she’s back in the breakroom having a snit. So I win, but she wins bigger,” he whispers close to my ear and then pulls back.
“Pregnant? Again?”
“I swear it must be a Cage thing. Runs in the family. Super swimmers, both of them.”
“Uh,” I mumble.
“She’ll find out soon enough. If her losing her breakfast this morning was any help, if not, she will when she stops focusing on her best friend’s love life long enough to remember she hasn’t had her lady time yet.”
“Oh my God,” I say, still low and soft. Shocked.
“You, sweet girl, are ready for the new you?”
I nod, still thinking about how Sway could know that Dani is pregnant before she does.
“Then sit back and relax, time for me to work my magic.”
I nod again, because really what can you do when a man who does heels, skinny jeans and a loose blouse better than you ever could, starts waving his hands around with scissors attached? You sit back and shut the hell up. That’s what you do.
“You’ve had a hard life, honey,” he tells me some time later, while painting some high or low or whatever he called them lights. I have no idea; he just said it was time to make my blonde hair come to life.
He looks up from my head and gives me soft, kind eyes. “It takes an old wounded soul to recognize another.”
“You?” I don’t finish because his eyes get even softer and he nods.
“It isn’t easy growing up in the south as a gay man that loves women’s clothing. I wouldn’t say I’m a cross dresser, but I love what I love and that happens to be heels and tight clothes. It wasn’t popular then and it still isn’t now. I’m a lucky man though. I have a wonderful husband and a daughter that is my whole entire world. But, all my life until I moved to Hope Town, I felt the pain of my life choices. People think I’m crazy and that’s okay with me. I can laugh about it now, but I surround myself with things that make me happy and far as I can see, you’re starting to do the same.”
“The glitter,” I laugh, looking around his station at everything that shines in the lights around the salon.
“Oh yes. Started at church camp. My parents sent me there in hope that I could be saved from the devil that lives inside of me. That, well that backfired when I found art inside that camp. Sitting there during arts and crafts time while the glitter fell through my fingers, I was able to find a little happiness that, as you can see, I keep with me at all times.”
I chuckle to myself. He isn’t kidding. He really does keep it with him at all times.
“My light in the darkness. We all have that light, honey. Some people, it’s an object like glitter. Other people, it’s a person that takes their hand and takes the lead.”
I look into his eyes. “Is there anything you don’t see?” I ask.