their luck.
They were shocked by the number of people who thought the whole thing should just go away.
Mabel Jean left to run an errand, and Ruby was sweeping up hair from her last appointment when Jane Farris arrived. By the time she’d hung up her jacket, Ruby was ready for her.
“Morning, Jane!”
Jane waved.
“Good morning, Ruby. I sure appreciate you working me in to your schedule. The older I get, the more I appreciate the luxury of someone doing my hair for me.”
Ruby beamed. “And that’s just music to my ears. Come on back and we’ll get started.”
Jane noticed Luwanda Peeples deep in conversation with Vera but didn’t interrupt to say hello. Luwanda’s husband was on the city council, and the way she carried on, you’d have thought he was one step down from being president of the United States.
As soon as Jane was seated, Ruby snapped a cape around her neck and escorted her to the shampoo station. Jane was unusually silent, and Ruby purposefully didn’t initiate a conversation, sensing her need for peace. After she’d finished the shampoo and conditioning, they moved back to her station to blow-dry her hair. Ruby combed through Jane’s hair with her fingers, getting a feel for the texture and thickness.
“Vesta uses a curling iron rather than rollers on your hair, right?”
Jane was eyeing herself in the mirror, trying to remember what she had looked like when she was young, but she’d forgotten. All she saw now was a middle-aged woman with a round face, a wide nose, and double chins. She was lost in thought when she suddenly realized Ruby was asking her a question.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Vesta uses a curling iron, right?”
“Yes. I don’t have the patience for rollers and sitting under a dryer anymore.” Then she smiled. “I take that back. I shouldn’t say anymore , because I never did like to sit still. Some things never change, I guess.”
The moment that came out of Jane’s mouth, Luwanda Peeples took her private conversation with Vera to the room.
“I’ll say that’s right, Jane. Some things never change, like another member of that no-good Pine family in trouble with the law! I’ve been telling Vera here what a crime it is that four decent little boys were taken to jail for nothing more than a little scuffle. Everyone knows the Pines are just white trash. The mother is dead from drugs and the father is in prison, and yet that Pine boy got off scot-free after the fight and those dear boys are the ones in trouble. They all go to my church, and I think it’s a crime what happened.”
Ruby had just brushed a hank of Jane’s wet hair around the bristles of a vent brush and had the dryer only inches from her scalp when Jane spun her chair around so fast Ruby lost her grip. The brush slipped from her hand, tangling in Jane’s hair as it dangled down the back of her neck.
Jane could have cared less. She was so angry with Luwanda, she was shaking.
“I can’t say you don’t have a right to voice your opinion, but if you’re going to gossip, Luwanda Peeples, then you need to get your facts straight.”
Luwanda’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in anger. The emanating hiss she emitted was reminiscent of a pissed-off snake.
“That’s not gossip! I heard it straight from Buckley’s gardener who also does my yard.”
“Well, I know for a fact that everything that came out of your mouth is a big fat lie, and I got it from Johnny Pine himself!” Jane shouted.
Ruby wondered if she needed to stop this before it got any worse, but she was privately pleased to hear someone speaking up for the Pines, and so she said nothing. However, an unwise decision is usually recognized only in hindsight, and such was the case.
“I don’t lie!” Luwanda shrieked and leaned forward in the chair.
The hair spray Vera just spritzed went down the back of Luwanda’s neck, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“So tell me how it’s okay for four older boys to
They were shocked by the number of people who thought the whole thing should just go away.
Mabel Jean left to run an errand, and Ruby was sweeping up hair from her last appointment when Jane Farris arrived. By the time she’d hung up her jacket, Ruby was ready for her.
“Morning, Jane!”
Jane waved.
“Good morning, Ruby. I sure appreciate you working me in to your schedule. The older I get, the more I appreciate the luxury of someone doing my hair for me.”
Ruby beamed. “And that’s just music to my ears. Come on back and we’ll get started.”
Jane noticed Luwanda Peeples deep in conversation with Vera but didn’t interrupt to say hello. Luwanda’s husband was on the city council, and the way she carried on, you’d have thought he was one step down from being president of the United States.
As soon as Jane was seated, Ruby snapped a cape around her neck and escorted her to the shampoo station. Jane was unusually silent, and Ruby purposefully didn’t initiate a conversation, sensing her need for peace. After she’d finished the shampoo and conditioning, they moved back to her station to blow-dry her hair. Ruby combed through Jane’s hair with her fingers, getting a feel for the texture and thickness.
“Vesta uses a curling iron rather than rollers on your hair, right?”
Jane was eyeing herself in the mirror, trying to remember what she had looked like when she was young, but she’d forgotten. All she saw now was a middle-aged woman with a round face, a wide nose, and double chins. She was lost in thought when she suddenly realized Ruby was asking her a question.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Vesta uses a curling iron, right?”
“Yes. I don’t have the patience for rollers and sitting under a dryer anymore.” Then she smiled. “I take that back. I shouldn’t say anymore , because I never did like to sit still. Some things never change, I guess.”
The moment that came out of Jane’s mouth, Luwanda Peeples took her private conversation with Vera to the room.
“I’ll say that’s right, Jane. Some things never change, like another member of that no-good Pine family in trouble with the law! I’ve been telling Vera here what a crime it is that four decent little boys were taken to jail for nothing more than a little scuffle. Everyone knows the Pines are just white trash. The mother is dead from drugs and the father is in prison, and yet that Pine boy got off scot-free after the fight and those dear boys are the ones in trouble. They all go to my church, and I think it’s a crime what happened.”
Ruby had just brushed a hank of Jane’s wet hair around the bristles of a vent brush and had the dryer only inches from her scalp when Jane spun her chair around so fast Ruby lost her grip. The brush slipped from her hand, tangling in Jane’s hair as it dangled down the back of her neck.
Jane could have cared less. She was so angry with Luwanda, she was shaking.
“I can’t say you don’t have a right to voice your opinion, but if you’re going to gossip, Luwanda Peeples, then you need to get your facts straight.”
Luwanda’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in anger. The emanating hiss she emitted was reminiscent of a pissed-off snake.
“That’s not gossip! I heard it straight from Buckley’s gardener who also does my yard.”
“Well, I know for a fact that everything that came out of your mouth is a big fat lie, and I got it from Johnny Pine himself!” Jane shouted.
Ruby wondered if she needed to stop this before it got any worse, but she was privately pleased to hear someone speaking up for the Pines, and so she said nothing. However, an unwise decision is usually recognized only in hindsight, and such was the case.
“I don’t lie!” Luwanda shrieked and leaned forward in the chair.
The hair spray Vera just spritzed went down the back of Luwanda’s neck, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“So tell me how it’s okay for four older boys to
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