“Okay, it’s finally done!” Shirley entered Frothy Monkey and practically floated to where Lee sat at a corner table.
Harry was strapped to her chest, out cold. Lee smiled to see such a sweet sight. He was only two months old, but Shirley had swiftly warmed to motherhood after her initial uncertainty. While she’d dropped most of the pregnancy weight, she had curves again. Her hair was growing back to its natural blond, and she looked like herself.
“I’m dying to see it.” Lee offered the chair next to her. “And this cutie.” She stroked the top of Harry’s sleeping head and slid over a decaf coffee. “For the nursing mother.”
“Why thank you.” Shirley took a long sip and grimaced. “God, I miss real coffee.”
“It’s only a matter of time. Now, give it to me.” Lee opened and closed her hands while Shirley reached into her bag to retrieve her stylist portfolio.
Though she took several weeks off after the baby, Shirley had been hard at work building her book. For the last month, she’d done nothing else. There was a training spot open at Parlour & Juke, and though Lee had only been there for two months, she wanted to put in a good word for her.
Shirley proudly set the portfolio on the table. Her cheeks were flushed, her skin glowing, and Lee marveled at how well motherhood suited her. How much it had changed her. Even if her father was still the same.
Lee clapped her hands excitedly and prepared to open it.
“Before you get into it”—Shirley laid her hand on Lee’s forearm—“I just want you to feel like you can be one hundred percent honest with me. I can handle constructive criticism. Ooh. Oh boy.”
“What?” Lee looked at her.
Shirley lifted the baby as well as she could in his carrier and sniffed. “How can a baby poop while he sleeps? That’s a talent in and of itself.” She rolled her eyes. “Perfect timing. I won’t have to sit here biting my nails. I’m going to change him. Have fun.” She grabbed the diaper bag and headed for the bathroom.
Lee laughed and opened the portfolio, thick with photos of all types of cuts. Shirley had decided early on that she would be a haircut specialist and not get into color, which Lee thought was brilliant. She scanned the first page. She’d started with the long cuts, which had been Lee’s suggestion.
A knot formed in her stomach as she peered closer and dissected each haircut. Sections were heavy where they should have been light. Layers at the wrong angle or overly hacked into the hair. Wrong scissors. Slightly uneven tips. Blunt, wide cuts that made the hair shaft expand, not shrink. Razor cuts on the wrong hair types. “No, no, no.” Lee quickly flipped to the next page, hoping it would get better. It didn’t. Medium-length hair that did nothing for face shapes. Short cuts that were completely uneven and outdated. Lee turned page after page and waited to see the right cut, a glimmer of something that showed promise. They’d trained together, for God’s sake. She’d taught Shirley various tricks and tips, but the last couple of months, she’d been training with someone else. And Lee had given her the recommendation! How could she have been so off base?
Shirley had picked up so many bad habits, Lee didn’t even know where to begin. She started to panic. She couldn’t tell her how bad this was. She closed the book and sipped her coffee. God, did Shirley think this was good?
A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom. “Shoo-wee can this kid fill a diaper. Holy God in heaven. I’m afraid for when he starts solids.”
Lee laughed. “You and me both.” She’d taken on her fair share of changing diapers in the last eight weeks. Harry loved to eat.
Shirley glanced at the book. “So?” She stomped her feet like a little kid. “You’re killing me. Tell me everything.”
Lee smiled and fanned her hands across the top of the book. “First of all, I just want to tell you how absolutely impressed I am that you did this in such a short amount of time. This is a huge portfolio and a really big deal.”
Shirley beamed and ran her hand in soothing circles across Harry’s back. “Thank you. I worked hard on it.”
Lee opened the book. “That being said though, I do want to ask you about a few of your stylistic choices, just so I can understand how you approached each cut.”
“Okay.” Shirley’s hopeful tone shifted, and Lee could hear a bit of defensiveness edging in.
“For instance, tell me about the layering for the long cuts, if it was wet or dry, how you sectioned the hair. All that.”
Shirley launched into the details, and Lee listened. Wrong. It was all wrong. She moved on to the medium and short cuts, withholding judgment until they’d gone through the entire book. With every answer, she realized how little Shirley actually knew about how to approach a head of hair. She wasn’t ready to go anywhere near someone’s head, let alone be hired by Supercuts.
“Is there anything you think I could work on? I want to get this right before I show P&J.”
Lee hesitated and then rested her hand on top of the book. “You can’t show this to Parlour & Juke. Not like this.” Lee’s direct statement hung in the air, and she watched as Shirley’s face visibly fell.
“Okay.” She adjusted Harry’s pacifier. “Why not?”
Lee exhaled. “I just think you need to refine a bit.”
“But how? Lee, come on. Out with it.” She bobbed Harry up and down.
Lee knew she wanted constructive criticism, but she wasn’t sure how to say it without being cruel. “Shirl, if I’m being honest, there’s something fundamentally wrong with every single one of these haircuts.”
Shirley stared quizzically at the book. “What do you mean?”
Lee opened it to a random page. “From how you just explained your process, to the approach, and especially the end result.” She motioned to one of the photos. “They’re just completely off the mark.”
“Well…” Tears welled in Shirley’s eyes, but she blinked rapidly to prevent them from falling. “Isn’t that just your opinion?”
Lee covered Shirley’s hand with her own. “I’ve been doing this a long time. I know what salons look for. I know how they will assess your work. That being said, this is nothing we can’t fix.” She squeezed her hand. “I’m happy to help you rebuild the book, but whoever you’ve been training with the last few months has given you some bad advice. We need to start over with the basics.”
“I don’t have time to start with the basics.” There was a desperate edge to her voice. “I need this job. I need this job like yesterday.” Shirley’s face reddened. “I am counting on you putting in a good word for me. I want to get my own place. You know that. I need the money. This is important to me, Lee.”
Lee nodded. She was being put in an impossible position. She wanted Shirley to have a good job and her own place. “Of course I know that. But I’m telling you, you need more time. No one will hire you with this book.”
Shirley stared silently at the table. Lee saw a few tears splash against the wood.
“Shirley, hey. Please don’t get discouraged. My first book was a disaster too. But it can be fixed. We can fix it, okay?”
“My book is not a disaster,” Shirley snapped. She snatched the book and shoved it into the diaper bag. “This is just your opinion. One opinion. You’re not the deciding factor here.”
Lee sat back. “I’m just trying to help. You just said you could take constructive criticism.”
“By telling me I have no talent and that my book is a disaster?” Shirley stood and her fingers shook as she shouldered her bag. “Yeah, thanks for the fucking encouragement. I’ll never ask for your help again.” She turned and stormed out of the coffee shop. Lee didn’t want her to be angry, but all she’d done was tell the truth. Shirley needed to put in the real work, and it took longer than two months. She couldn’t have a job handed to her just because she knew someone who worked at the same salon.
Lee palmed her coffee and keys and checked the time. She had to get to work. She knew they’d talk it out later, but she felt bad she’d hurt her feelings. She entered the parking lot. Shirley was strapping Harry into the backseat. As she approached, she could hear her sniffles before she snapped him into place and shut the door.
“What?” Shirley wiped her face and smeared mascara across her cheek.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. Hey, come here.” She tugged Shirley closer. “Look at me. You are talented.”
Shirley scoffed.
“You are. Let’s just approach this like a challenge, okay? We’ll do it together.”
“I don’t want to do it together! For once, I wanted to prove to you I didn’t need your help.”
Lee shook her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re right. You’ve been right all along. I’ve been so busy trying to be like you—dressing like you, losing weight like you, dating your father, living in your house, becoming a hairdresser…” She lifted her arms and dropped them. “I thought if I could prove that I was as good as you in some way, then I’d be worthy.”
“Worthy of what?” Lee was genuinely confused. Lee’s life, from the inside, was a mess. She was constantly trying to fix things, trying to escape a past she couldn’t escape. She’d become an alcoholic and still couldn’t kick the cravings. She had no romantic prospects. She was basically a babysitter for her father. Her job was her only saving grace.
“I don’t know. I just…”
“Listen, this is your life, Shirley. You don’t need to be anything like me. You’re a mother now. You have your entire life to do whatever you want to do. Is hair really what you want to do?”
She nodded. “It is. I love it.”
“So go after it. No matter what.”
“But how am I supposed to do that if I have no talent?”
“You do have talent. And I’m sorry if I seemed harsh in there. Look, if anyone can do this, you can. Look at you. Look how far you’ve come. You’re sober. You’ve become a phenomenal mother to Harry. You are getting your life together, and I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
Shirley collapsed against her chest. Harry yawned from the backseat. Lee’s heart swelled for her tiny brother in his bucket seat and her best friend in her arms. She wanted to help make this right. She wanted to help her succeed.
Shirley finally pulled away and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m such a hormonal mess.”
“You’re fine. It’s going to work out,” Lee said. “I promise.”
Shirley smiled through her tears, but doubt lurked just behind those pretty irises. “How do you know?”
“I just know.” A sinking feeling crept over her skin. Lee swallowed her apprehension and forced a smile. “It’s all going to be great.”