Saturday morning, Talise woke ten minutes before her alarm was set to go off. The sun was already shining brightly outside her bedroom window. “I haven’t slept that good in weeks,” she said, stretching.
After saying a quick prayer of thanks to God for waking her, Talise got up to start her day. She performed her morning ritual and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Pouring herself a tall glass of milk, she took a banana from the basket on the counter. The baby book recommended adding warm applesauce to a bowl of oatmeal. Glad that she had adopted the tip, the cereal gave her a soothing feeling. Talise felt ready for the day when she put together a healthy lunch and quickly cleaned up her mess.
Humming, she returned to the bathroom and applied her makeup artistically. One might have guessed she was going out on the town instead of to work. Lois strolled into her bedroom and flopped down on Talise’s freshly made bed. A few curlers were dangling from her hair. Yawning, she squinted.
Talise ignored her and walked across the room to her closet. Standing in her slip, she returned a black and gold printed dress to the rack. It was the third one she had tried on. Seven weeks pregnant. Soon, none of her dresses or clothes would be flattering.
Noticing the way Talise was fussing over her outfits, Lois asked, “Where are you going, looking so cute?” Her eyes were barely opened. “Don’t you have to work at the salon today?”
“Yep. And I want to feel and look pretty. I’m moving on. I have to.”
“Good. So did you tell everyone you want to know about the pregnancy?”
“Yep, everyone on my list—you, Sinclaire, my Dad and his wife, and the father of my baby. Oh, and Sasha knows too.” She twirled around and walked back into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The baby book said to expect more frequent trips to the bathroom as waste flushed from her body.
“Good. You don’t want to jinx yourself before the end of the trimester. Well, I hope you won’t be upset that I added one more person who wasn’t on your priority list—Cameron,” she spoke louder to make sure Talise heard her through the door.
She didn’t believe in jinx. Drying her hands, Talise opened the door. “Why did he need to know? I asked you to stay out of it.”
Talise’s scolding wasn’t convincing to her own ears. Deep down inside, she had hoped Lois would give a Jamieson a piece of her mind—even if he was the wrong one. Maybe Cameron would pass it on to Ace.
“Humph!” Lois lifted her chin. “I did stay out of it—for almost a week. When I didn’t see Cameron at the university, I hunted him down. His response was rather surprising after I told him what his sorry cousin had done to you. He was speechless and irate. I’ve known Cam for years. It was a genuine reaction.”
“You mean, Cameron didn’t know? I thought he and Ace were close.”
“Anyway, he wants the two of you to have lunch—today.”
“Why? Didn’t you tell the man I have to work? I have eight clients, press-n-curls, relaxers, a few colors, and no telling how many walk-ins. I’ll do good to get out the door by four. Five o’clock tops. In hindsight, I don’t see how Ace and I were able to go out as much as we did on Saturday evenings.”
After Talise slipped into a looser fitting summer dress, her roommate stood and zipped it.
“I don’t want to see another Jamieson for the next twenty years, Lois. Thank you very much.” She dismissed Cameron’s request.
Talise gathered some of the hair products she had at home and dumped them into a tote bag. Then grabbing her lunch and purse, she was about to tell Lois goodbye. But it was already too late, Lois had dozed off. It was her friend’s nightlife that left her exhausted. Talise covered her with a throw blanket and left.
Sassy’s Salon was located on Mass Ave. It was busy when Talise breezed through the door fifteen minutes later. Most of her clients were students from nearby Berklee College of Music, Northeastern, and BU.
On any given Saturday, juicy gossip entertained the stylists and their clients. Talise would hold off as long as she could before she became the next hot topic. She planned to be very careful about to whom she would reveal her secret. So far, only Sasha knew.
“Was it that fine brother who would sometimes bring you those box lunches?” Sasha whispered. Talise nodded. Sasha shook her head in disgust. “But, no doubt about it, you’ll have a pretty baby, even if the father is no good. I thought he was one of the good guys.”
“Me too,” Talise mumbled and walked to her station.
She kept her lips zipped around her clients, especially the college students. As a university graduate with no husband—or boyfriend—for that matter, here she was pregnant. Somehow Talise felt that she had failed them as a role model. It was always her hope to have the traditional family with marriage first and babies later.
Three hours passed and she was able to grab a snack, along with another much-needed potty break. When she came back to her station, munching on grapes, Priscilla Stanford was waiting in Talise’s chair. She was there for her regular blow-dry and flatiron press to her natural hair. The woman wasn’t just another client, but more like family. She could be trusted. When Talise told her, Priscilla was in shock.
“Baby, if there is anything I can do, just let me know. I can send plenty of customers your way. I get so many compliments about my hair.”
“I appreciate it, Miss Priscilla, but I don’t know how I could handle the extra load. Already the odors from the chemicals are starting to make me sick,” Talise whispered.
“I guess we’ll have to think of something else. It’s a shame what he did. If you repent and walk away from temptation, the good Lord will forgive you.”
Talise nodded. She hoped it wouldn’t take her a lifetime to forgive Ace. Just then, a bell chimed, indicating another customer had entered the salon lobby. Suddenly, conversations ceased. Glancing up, Talise recognized the man Lois held responsible for her woes. Removing his sunglasses proved that the new visitor had the handsome face to back up his athletic body.
“What is he doing here?” Talise sighed.
“I hope he’s here to take me home,” Priscilla replied and waved her hand in the air. She happened to be the mother of three grown children. “Do you know him?”
“Unfortunately, yes. That’s Cameron Jamieson, my ex-boyfriend’s cousin.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Priscilla rolled her neck. “You want me to jump him? Others carry a knife or a gun, but I’ve got a thick belt in my purse to protect myself.” She patted the oversized shoulder bag sitting in her lap. “And I don’t mind dishing it out.”
Talise chuckled. “Nah. He’s supposed to be the nice one.”
Without approaching Talise’s station, he walked farther into the waiting area. Some of the clients were quickly painting their faces with eyeshadow, blush, and lip gloss. Without him asking, two women parted an opening for him on the sofa.
Besides their first introduction, Talise really didn’t know much about him. According to Lois, he was extremely smart, courteous, and family-oriented. Beneath his macho exterior, she described Cameron as a sweet and patient man with a double degree in engineering. Too bad those good genes hadn’t been passed on to his cousin.
Talise finished straightening Priscilla’s tresses and then trimmed her ends. She had to focus, as she became incensed that Ace’s cousin would suddenly come to see her when he found out about her pregnancy. He hadn’t bothered to pick up the phone and check on her or visit her.
With the last flip of a curl in place, Talise brushed the excess hair off Priscilla’s cape. Standing, the woman dug through her purse for her wallet. At the same time, she glanced over her shoulder to the waiting area and sneaked a peek.
Turning back, she winked at Talise. “I don’t mind giving him a spankin’.” Priscilla pointed to the object and laughed. “It would be my pleasure,” she said in a sultry tone.
“Hush. Come on. I’ll walk you to the register, so I can see what he wants.”
“Here’s something extra.” Priscilla handed Talise a twenty-five dollar tip, ten dollars more than usual. “For the baby,” she whispered.
“Thank you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked Cameron, after escorting Priscilla to the lobby.
He stood. “We need to talk.”
Talise shook her head. “I’m having a good day. I don’t want to mess that up. Plus, I’m busy for at least another hour, maybe longer.”
Reclaiming his spot on the sofa between his admirers, Cameron crossed one ankle over his knee. “I’ll wait.”
Jamiesons. Flustered, Talise headed back to her station to service her next client.