‘This feels so weird, doesn’t it?’ Arabella said, sitting down in the kitchen at the back of the salon. She watched as Roxanne smiled and sat down on the chair across from her. ‘I mean, the last time we did this was back in that hellhole of a place.’
‘Aye,’ Roxanne said, glancing out at the salon floor with a look of wonderment. ‘So, how’s that lassie? What’s her name, Scarlett? She seems a bit up her own arse if you ask me.’
Arabella frowned. ‘Why would you say that? You don’t know her. I don’t even know her.’ She chose not to share the conversation she’d had with Scarlett earlier. That wasn’t her story to tell.
‘Just the way she looked at me when I got here. Like she thought she was better than me or something.’
‘She’s actually lovely, really nice. I only just met her today but so far, she’s been so lovely and showed me everything she could in such a short space of time. I’ve kind of been shadowing her. She knows her stuff, has the place running like clockwork. She’s going to go over the books with me later but if I’m honest, she’d be as well showing me in Japanese because I don’t have the first clue how to run this place. But I know that I can trust her; she’s worked here for years and I couldn’t step on her toes even if I wanted to. She’s a mum too, so I know she’s working hard to give her kids a good life. She’s unlike my own mother, that’s for sure.’
Roxanne shook her head. ‘You’ll pick it up quickly. If you can get through almost a year of living with me in the jail, you’ll be running this place single-handed within the week. And look how far you’ve come now, without that woman in your life. We don’t all need a mum; we can survive without them. I mean, look at me. I turned out just fine without mine.’ Roxanne gave a sarcastic grin.
Arabella laughed at Roxanne’s attempt to ease her. She had been able to do that ever since they met in Kirktonhill, somehow instilling in her a confidence that she’d never really felt before. It was different with Eddie, although their relationship was loving, romantic. Roxanne was the first friend that Arabella had ever had. A true friend.
‘So, you like her then?’ Roxanne asked.
Arabella noted that this was the second time Roxanne had asked about Scarlett’s character. She watched as Roxanne’s eyes trailed towards Scarlett and saw her expression change. Was there more to it than Roxanne was letting on? She didn’t strike Arabella as the type to care what people thought of her.
‘Is there something you’re not telling me? Do you know her or something?’
Roxanne didn’t answer. Scarlett and Roxanne had locked eyes with one another, but Arabella watched as Scarlett looked away first. What the hell was going on?
‘I just don’t like how she’s looking down her nose at us, Arabella. Because we’ve been in prison.’
‘No, she’s not. Rox, she doesn’t even know anything about you. I haven’t told her about you other than that you’re my friend. She only knows that I was in prison, not you.’
Roxanne’s expression softened then and Arabella felt relief wash away the tension she hadn’t realised was there. ‘Ah, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you get your hair done?’
‘Here?’ Roxanne failed to hide her surprise. ‘Now?’
‘Why not take advantage of the fact that your bestie owns the place? I’ll get mine done too. We can get a bottle of fizz and really celebrate being out. Oh come on, it’ll be a laugh.’
Roxanne’s surprise switched to delight as a smile raced across her face. ‘Go on then, you twisted my arm.’
Arabella smiled widely and got up from her chair. The feeling inside was like waking up as a child on Christmas morning. The excitement and butterflies almost caused her to start giggling. She half-walked, half-skipped towards Scarlett who was wiping down the surfaces of the front desk.
‘Scarlett, a few questions. The first is, would you mind if I spent some time catching up with Rox here? We’ve not seen each other in a while and have a lot of catching up to do. And do you happen to have champagne or prosecco on the premises? And lastly, could you arrange for me and Rox to have our hair done today? I know it’s short notice but I’d really appreciate it.’
Scarlett hesitated, stole a glance at Roxanne then smiled. ‘Yes to all,’ she said glancing down at the diary. ‘I can do Roxanne’s hair and I can fit you in with Leanne over there. She’s had a cancellation today so it won’t be a problem. Means you’ll get to see the kind of treatments we offer here at Hair Envy. And the prosecco is in the fridge in the kitchen. Help yourself to however many bottles you want.’
‘Great,’ Arabella replied, turning her back to head for the fridge. Before she got far, she turned and thanked Scarlett for her hospitality. ‘You could join us if you wanted?’
Scarlett shook her head. ‘I couldn’t possibly. A few glasses of fizz and your friend would look like she’d had a perm from the eighties. Let me get your chairs sorted and I’ll grab some prosecco glasses too. Oh and I think we’ve got some nibbles.’
Scarlett excused herself from the conversation and Arabella smiled. This day was turning out to be a decent first day.