For the life of her, Charlotte couldn’t understand why every well-to-do, black-owned salon in town always had women stacked on top of each other. Not in the literal sense but it was just that every time she came to Robin’s Hair Creations there was a minimum of two clients waiting for each of the four stylists to finish up with another client that individual was already working on. She didn’t understand this because it just wasn’t logical for any stylist to assume he or she could service more than one person at a time. It was also the reason she paid Robin whatever she needed to in order to have her undivided attention. She paid her almost double her normal prices, so that Robin could do her hair nonstop with no one-hour delays in between steps. It was true that some customers had basically resorted to using salon time as their magazine- or novel-reading time and didn’t mind playing musical chairs with each other, but Charlotte refused to do anything there that she could easily do in the comfort of her own home.
“Hey,” Robin said, smiling. “I’m all ready for you.”
“So how’s it going?” Charlotte said, sitting in the chair.
“Everything’s good. How about you?”
“Fine. I think it’s time for a touch-up, though.”
Robin picked up Charlotte’s client information card. “It looks like I just gave you one five weeks ago.”
“I know, but feel my roots and you’ll see what I mean.”
Robin pulled the plastic cape in front of Charlotte and tied it behind her neck. Then she took a comb and parted her hair down the middle.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. You’ve got quite a bit of new growth. It grew out fast this time.”
“I know.”
Robin pulled out a large jar of relaxer and set it on her station’s counter. It wasn’t one of the most widely used relaxer systems or one of the most expensive, but it was mild and still strong enough to straighten Charlotte’s hair the way she liked it. Robin always said she loved it because it wasn’t harsh and because it helped keep Charlotte’s hair extra healthy.
Next, Robin parted her hair from side to side so that it was now divided into four sections. Then she slipped on her gloves and applied the first portion of chemicals.
“So how’s Pastor Black?”
“He’s doing well.”
“Did you tell him what I said?”
“About not writing fast enough?”
“Yep.”
“I told him. And he said to tell you he’s getting ready to start another one.”
“Good. You know I love his work. Helped me tremendously when I was seeing that jerk, Roscoe.”
“I remember you saying that, and I’m just glad you finally left him alone. You deserved so much better than that.”
“I realize that now but back then I just couldn’t see it. I really thought I was in love with him.”
“It happens to the best of us. We’ve all been in that situation at one time or another.”
“And how’s Mr. Matthew?”
“He’s wonderful. His football championship is this Thursday, so of course he’s excited about that.”
“You’re so blessed to have such an amazing young man. And he’s a gorgeous little thing, too. Looks just like his daddy.”
Charlotte heard this all the time, which was why she’d been so sure Matthew was Curtis’s son. She knew she’d slept with David around the time Matthew had been conceived, but Matthew looked nothing like him. David was fair, the same as his Caucasian and Native American mother, and Matthew was medium brown. They had no resemblance whatsoever, but that just went to show that not every child was the spitting image of his parents.
Charlotte crossed her legs. “You still planning to take one of those extension courses you were talking about?”
“I think so. I’ve been researching a few of them, but what I like about two of the methods is that they can bond other brands of hair if I needed them to.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to use the hair they manufacture?”
“Because most of the samples I’ve seen look way too silky to match most black hair. Our hair is so much coarser than most anyone else’s, and you would have to use a ceramic flat iron on it all the time in order to make sure it blended properly.”
“So can they do it?”
“Yes. There’s an extra charge, but I think it’s worth it. All I’d have to do is order the hair I need, send it to them, and then they would cut it from the weft and bond individual strands together.”
“Sounds neat. Maybe I’ll have to get me some extensions once you start doing them.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious. You know I don’t care for sewn-in or glued-in weaves, but I saw the strand-by-strand process being done on Today, and I really liked it.”
“Well, it’s not like you really need it. Your hair will grow past your shoulders on its own anytime you want it to.”
“Still, it would be nice to have a lot more volume every now and then.”
“That’s true. Well, we’ll see what you think once I start doing it.”
When Robin finished working in the relaxer, she and Charlotte walked over to the shampoo bowl so she could rinse it out. Next she added a special conditioner that would bring the pH back to normal and then she rinsed that out as well and saturated Charlotte’s hair with a neutralizing shampoo. She washed her hair a second and third time and then squeezed all the water out. When Charlotte sat up, Robin massaged a liberal amount of deep conditioner so that it covered every strand and then placed a plastic cap on her head. Afterward, Charlotte followed her over to the dryer area and sat in a chair between two other women. Robin set the dryer for twenty minutes and then lowered it.
Then she brought Charlotte the latest issue of Upscale, which was fine because she did think dryer time was the one time it was okay to read something at the salon.
When her twenty minutes were up, Robin took her back to the shampoo bowl and Charlotte almost laughed when she saw the two women she’d been sitting between still sitting under their respective dryers. Their stylists must have set their timers for forty-five minutes, and Charlotte knew it was all because they were trying to buy themselves more time with the other clients they were working on. Clients they were trying to maneuver and were doing so unsuccessfully.
“Do you want it wrapped today or just blow-dried?”
“Blow-drying is fine. Especially since you have that new ionic blow-dryer.”
“I love it, too. Doesn’t dry the hair out the way regular ones do.”
They walked back over to Robin’s station and Charlotte sat down again. “Did you know that most of the black salons here in Mitchell are still using marcel equipment to flatten and curl hair?”
“That’s what I keep hearing, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that so many stylists in this area don’t attend regional or national hair shows on a regular basis. Which means they’re not always aware of new trends. Plus, switching over to new trends usually means you’ll have to make a certain investment and in all truth, the really decent ceramic flat irons do cost a pretty penny. But to me, they’re so worth it because they’re so much better for our hair. They get the hair silky straight, and they don’t overheat or damage it the way the marcel curling irons can. That is, if you use the expensive ones. And they can curl the hair the same as a curling iron.”
Robin pulled out a large round brush and turned on the blow-dryer. Charlotte looked around the shop and then up at the television at Dr. Phil.
But she thought she would pass out when she heard the front door of the salon opening and saw that witch, Tabitha, walking in. Charlotte locked eyes with her and she took a seat.
“You must be Tabitha?” Melanie, one of the stylists, said.
“Yes.”
“Welcome. I’ll be with you in just a few minutes.”
If only everyone in there knew what Charlotte was thinking. If they did, they would run for cover and would probably lose all levels of respect for her. She knew her thoughts were heartless, but she just couldn’t stand Tabitha. She couldn’t stand her, and the mere sight of this woman made Charlotte sick. Made her want to jump up and rush over and knock Tabitha out of the chair she was sitting in. Better, she wished she could drag that heifer outside to the middle of the street and leave her there.
Charlotte tried to focus on Dr. Phil and the two guests he was conversing with, but every now and then she couldn’t help glancing in Tabitha’s direction. She did this for about fifteen minutes until finally Melanie called Tabitha over, which was worse because Melanie’s station was directly next to Robin’s.
“So how are you today?” Melanie asked, shaking Tabitha’s hand.
“I’m well. And you?”
“I’m good. Please have a seat,” she said, and Tabitha sat down. “On the phone you mentioned that you wanted to get a hot oil treatment and then a roller set, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You have really nice hair. It’s very nice and thick.”
“Thank you.”
Charlotte cringed and took a deep breath. Robin was now curling her hair, and Charlotte was glad no one in the place knew who Tabitha was or what her connection was to Curtis.
Melanie asked Tabitha a few questions and jotted down some information on a card. “Are you on any medications?”
“No. I take a multivitamin every day but that’s pretty much it.”
“Do you color your hair?”
“Not really. I’ve gotten a few highlights here and there but not on a regular basis and not in a long time.”
Melanie jotted down more information and then pulled a cape from the hook on the side of her station. “So are you from Mitchell?”
“No, but I’ve been here for a while. My husband’s job transferred him here but even after we were divorced, I decided to stay.”
Yeah, and why don’t you tell her the reason? Why don’t you tell her it’s because you’re a lousy tramp, you started sleeping with my husband, and then you got knocked up by him?
“So do you like it here?”
“It’s okay. I just had a little girl six months ago, and I definitely think it’s the right place to raise her. Plus, her father lives here, and he comes to visit her every day. Actually, he’s the one who offered to come by and watch her so I could have some me time to come and get my hair done.”
Charlotte wanted to scream a thousand words, none of which God would be happy about, and it was all she could do to keep still. It was all she could do not to grab Tabitha and yank her across the room. On the other hand, she wanted to cry her eyes out because the whole idea that Curtis, at this very moment, was sitting at his woman’s house, looking after their child, was enough to tear her heart out.
Melanie and Tabitha went over to the shampoo bowl and Robin said, “She seems nice, doesn’t she?”
“Actually, I wasn’t paying all that much attention,” Charlotte lied.
“She’s beautiful and she dresses with a lot of class. The more I think about it, she reminds me of you.”
Charlotte felt like she was suffocating. Like she was dying a slow death and if she didn’t get out of there soon, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold her tongue.
But thankfully, Robin finished her hair before Tabitha returned to Melanie’s chair.
Charlotte and Robin walked to the front of the salon; Charlotte paid her and then left as quickly as she could.
She dialed Curtis’s number before she even made it to her car.
But he didn’t answer.
So she groaned and threw her phone inside her purse and drove away from the hair salon. She was steaming and the more she replayed everything that Tabitha had just told Melanie, the more she realized there was no way she could allow Tabitha to get away with all her boasting.
Which is why she drove down to Subway to get a quick bite to eat and then returned to the parking lot and waited. It was now after five and with it being so close to November, it was already dark outside, which was good because she didn’t want to be noticed. The temperature was actually starting to cool down, so she kept the car running and turned on the heat.
Then she waited some more. She waited until she saw Tabitha practically sashaying out to the parking lot and over to her vehicle.
Charlotte got out of hers and headed toward her.
“Of all the salons in town, I guess you decided my salon was the best one for you to go to, hunh?”
“Charlotte, leave me alone.”
“No, you leave me alone. I don’t know how you found out where I get my hair done or how you knew I was getting it done today, but I’ll tell you this. I’d better never see you here again.”
“Ha! And you think that’s going to stop me? Sweetheart, please,” Tabitha said and opened her door.
But Charlotte slammed it back shut.
“You may have slept with my husband and then had a baby by him, but you’ll never have him as your husband.”
Tabitha opened her door again. “We’ll see about that.”
Charlotte slammed it shut a second time and shoved Tabitha against the vehicle. “If you think I’m playing with you, just keep messing with me.”
Charlotte looked around to see if anyone had witnessed their little altercation and then went back to her car. Tabitha yelled out a bunch of threats but Charlotte left her standing there. She drove away and tried to calm herself down. She was so upset and even embarrassed about the way she’d put her hands on Tabitha. But then again, Tabitha deserved that and so much more. She knew Curtis was at fault, but now she had a feeling this lunatic was stalking her and she hoped this wasn’t going to become a habit.
She pulled out her phone and saw that she had two messages. The first was from Curtis, saying he was sorry about everything and to please call him back. The second was from Matthew, saying he’d gotten an A on his math test, that he would call her later from Jonathan’s, and that he loved her. Charlotte hadn’t remembered him saying he was going over there after practice, but Jonathan and Elijah had been his best friends since elementary school and she was sure Elijah was probably over there as well and they were happy to be doing whatever thirteen-year-old boys do when they get together.
The third and final message was another message from Curtis.
“Baby, it’s me again. Where are you? Tracy told me you had some errands and that you had to get your hair done, but I was thinking you’d be home by now. Anyway, Tabitha crossed the line today and, baby, I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am that I didn’t listen to you. You were right all along about her intentions, and I never should have made the decision to start going over there. I was wrong, and I’m through doing that. I know none of this changes the fact that I have a child with her or the fact that I love Curtina, but I will never, not under any circumstances, allow any woman to come between you and me ever again. So please when you get this message call me. I told Matthew he could spend the night at Jonathan’s because I really wanted you and I to have some time alone. But, most important, baby, I love you. I love only you and that should mean everything. Don’t you think? Anyway, I’ll see you soon.”
Charlotte saved his message and wasn’t sure what to think. She was so confused. Only a short while ago, she’d just learned from Tabitha that Curtis was at her house babysitting and now Curtis was saying he was never going over there again.
She dropped her phone onto the seat and drove toward the side of town they lived on. She drove and for the first time in a while, she prayed.
She prayed that Curtis really was finished with this Tabitha and Curtina business for good.