‘It’s important, Tom. I don’t need you fucking this up.’
‘I won’t, I know what I’ve to do, first you, then Amber.’ Ellen is to be here at six thirty and wait until Tom is back from picking Amber up from the party at ten. ‘And I’m not to leave the house once I get back from dropping you to the RDS until I collect Amber.’
‘Good, just make sure you stick to that.’
‘I will, Mammy.’
‘Don’t mock me, Tom, I didn’t ask for any of this.’ A quick reminder of whose mess this is and he’s back in his box.
Tom must perform like an army recruit in his final exam. There’s no room for error. Kenny is not to be left here on his own until I’m certain he’s telling the truth. It might sound overly dramatic, do I care? No.
Amber has appointments the whole afternoon, nails, hair, make-up. My own hair will get done sometime during the day, whenever the chance arises. Sienna said she’d do make-up for some of us before we go home to change. The hair show starts at 7 p.m.
It’s unfortunate that the two events landed on the same night. I would have loved to drop Amber to Sarah’s party, even though it’s only two blocks away. As it stands I’ll have a mere fifteen minutes to change before I’m back out the door. Thank God for Ellen.
Maybe Tom and Ellen can have that all important what-the-hell-happened? chat tonight while they’re on their own. Tom hasn’t properly discussed the situation with his mother yet, so this will be their opportunity.
It just goes to show, ye think ye know people. I would have bet my house on Ellen being a lot nosier, that she’d ask a lot more questions about Kenny and how he came to be, but she hasn’t. In fact, it’s slightly worrying. Did she know already? Don’t be stupid, Sal, now you’re definitely letting your mind wander.
Tom is in the kitchen cooking sausages for his enlarged family, the sizzling smell filling the whole house. Amber comes rushing down the stairs.
‘Ma.’
‘What is it, Amber, I’m in a hurry.’ Pulling my jacket on, I look in the mirror and make a plan to fix what I see looking back at me while I’m in the car on the way to work.
‘Money.’
‘What about money?’
‘I need some.’
‘Ask your father. I’m in a hurry.’
‘Ye know him, Ma, he’ll have a fit when he hears how much I need to get ready for the party.’
‘Well, he’s right.’
Actually, Amber’s right. Tom will go on and on about how many rounds of golf he could play for the cost of getting highlights, or how many pints he can get for the price of a false tan. I don’t want Amber to have to listen to that bullshit. Not at the moment. It’s important she gets to enjoy this party, take her mind off what’s going on at home.
I become aware of the closed door beside me housing Kenny and whisper the
instructions.
‘There’s money in the bottom drawer of my jewellery box, Amber.’
‘Thanks, Ma.’ Running back up the stairs Amber shouts for her father to cook her two sausages and I head out the door.
The salon is already buzzing when I arrive. Hoping to finish earlier than usual to facilitate the staff getting to the hair show on time, Megan has timed the appointments so we can be all out the door by five at the latest. It’s so busy I have no time to feed my worries. But they linger at the back of my head, a dark cloud waiting to drop its rain on me.
‘Do you think Anna has a chance?’ Marie says, both of us pushing the dregs of two chicken wraps down our throat that were bought in a hurry from the Spar shop on the corner.
‘Yes, I think her presentation is fabulous, have you seen it?’
‘No, but I heard it was good.’
Megan is referring to Anna’s entry into the ‘Fabulous Hairstyle’ section of the show. She’s one of three categories the salon qualified for. The ‘Fabulous Hairstyle’ category, the ‘Long Hair’ category and the ‘Best Salon’ category. It’s the first time we’ve qualified for three so we’re hoping to come away with at least one trophy tonight.
The black water flows between my fingers, colour disguising the passing of time on Mrs Rooney’s head. Rinsing until the water becomes clear, I wrap her hair in a towel and bring her back to her seat.
Megan catches my eye while I walk back, throwing her eyes to heaven at all the bodies gathered at the reception desk waiting to check in or check out.
In the mirror, I see Anna work away on the opposite side of the salon. It’s impossible to keep my eyes from scanning her body. Looking for bruises, cuts, swelling. Very little of her skin is showing, her clothes cover her like a wannabe nun.
Anna sees me looking, fuck. ‘Nice skirt,’ I mouth before turning away. God, I’m paranoid. It’s not like I could do anything to help her. Except let her know I’m here if she needs me. But that’s not even true. I’m barely here for myself at the moment.
Pulling the plug on my hairdryer for the last time today, I finally receive a bit of pampering. The salon was so busy, no one got a minute to blow-dry my hair so I did it myself during my break. Sienna is now attempting to make my face look its best. Which it hasn’t for a long time.
With my make-up done, I look at my face in the mirror. It resembles nothing like the turmoil boiling inside of me. Thanking Sienna for her work of magic, I leave the salon and head for home.