Scarlett (5 page)

She proceeded to brush her teeth, opening her mouth and brushing as far back on her tongue as she could until she gagged. She let the drizzle from the showerhead rinse thoroughly as she spit the water back out. Scarlett loved the clean feeling she got when she washed her body and brushed her teeth. Cleansed inside and out by the time she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped the towel around her waist and walked out of the bathroom.

The house was still quiet, so she walked over to Anton’s room and knocked lightly. She didn’t hear anything or anyone, so she gently pushed the door open. Anton and Samantha were sound asleep. Anton had his arm wrapped around Samantha’s waist. They were fully clothed, lying on top of the cover. Scarlett smiled and closed the door behind her, trying not to wake them.

She tiptoed over to Gwen’s room and silently cracked open the door. To her surprise, Gwen was in the bed asleep with the covers wrapped around her neck. She was snoring so loudly that it seemed she hadn’t slept this good in days.

Satisfied that all was well in her home, Scarlett went to her room to get dressed. She looked at all her junky clothes, clean and dirty, lying around on her floor.
I think I have time to clean this mess up before I go get my hair done. When I come home later, I want to walk into a big nice clean room.
She smiled and began separating the clean clothes from the dirty ones. She was determined to start cleaning up her room and putting her things up in the drawers where they belonged, once they were washed. Things had to change in her life and she was starting with her resting space first.

By the time Scarlett was done cleaning and finding something to wear, it was 8:40 a.m. and past time for her to go. She dashed out of the house and got in Sheila’s car. She started up the engine and headed over to Joan’s.

__________

Scarlett parked Sheila’s car directly in front of Joan’s Beauty Shop. She got out of the car, dressed in a pair of fitted bleached jeans and a red fitted shirt. She had on a pair of red pumps that gave her a casual appeal. As she walked inside the double doors, the door chime jingled; alerting Joan that she had a visitor.

“Scarlett is that you?”

“Hey Joan, it’s me. It’s good to see you.” Scarlett admired the way Joan dressed. Even though she did hair, she was always dressed professionally in the latest designer clothing. Today, she had on a pair of J Brand stretch denim Capri leggings and a red Ellen Fisher silk and cotton blend top. She also had on a comfortable looking pair of red Fit Flop “Walkstar III” Sandals. To Scarlett, it was just a pair of Capri leggings, nice flowing tank top, and a pair of flip-flops.

“And it’s good to see you,” Joan smiled and peeked at Scarlett’s hair.
Yep, it’s still the same,
she thought. “So, you say you’ve never had any chemicals in your hair right?” 

“No, I’ve never wanted anything in my hair. I’ve always felt tender headed for some reason and didn’t care for anyone to touch my hair.”

“I see,” Joan said.

“Personal reasons, Joan.” Scarlett added.

“Come on baby, sit down.” Scarlett sat in Joan’s stylist chair. She’d never sat in a stylist chair before now. It was something about Scarlett that made Joan feel bad for her. She could see the good in her, but whatever the bad was, it didn’t want the good to show. “Sweetie, if you don’t mind, would you tell me why you’ve never let anyone do your hair?” Joan hated to pry, but she wanted to know what the real deal was with Scarlett. It was unusual for a twenty-five year old lady to not get her hair done or attempt to let anyone do it.

“I guess I don’t mind telling you.” Scarlett was reluctant, but decided she’d tell Joan, because she felt she could trust her for some reason. Joan was older than she was by at least ten years, and she seemed to be about business, not about drama and keeping up the, “he said, she said” mess.

Scarlett cleared her throat. “Well, when I was 9 years old, my mother called me into the kitchen to straighten my hair with a hot comb because she said I had the nappiest hair she’d ever seen. I didn’t want her touching my head, but I didn’t have a choice because she would’ve beaten me if I didn’t come to her. I sat down in that chair and she practically held me down and combed through my hair with that scorching comb.” Scarlett’s eyes filled with water as if she was reliving the moment. “She intentionally burned my scalp so bad, that it left blisters in my head for months because she didn’t treat it like she was supposed to. Not only that, but the little bit of hair I did have left, she nearly burned that out too. I cried for days on end, because the burns hurt so badly and the children at school were unforgivable with their cruel remarks about how ugly and burnt my hair looked and smelled.” Joan stood there speechless. She felt horrible for Scarlett. “So, after that encounter, I have been afraid to let anyone else touch it.”

“Wow, what a story!” Joan said. “I would have never known things were that bad for you. I’ll be very gentle with you, honey. Don’t worry, I am a professional and will not hurt you.” She smiled and started gently parting Scarlett’s hair with her hand. Her hair was thick and rough, but Joan was determined to make Scarlett feel brand new by the time she was finished.

“Scarlett, I used to watch you come in here with Sheila and she would tell me that you were her best friend, but I could never understand why she didn’t talk you into getting beautified. I even told her one day that I would gladly hook you up, but she just would say that you didn’t want to. After a while, I never saw you come back in here with here.”

Scarlett frowned because she used to dream of getting her hair done like Sheila, but couldn’t afford it. If Sheila had told her that Joan was willing to hook her up, then she would have let her. Funny thing is that Sheila never mentioned it, but always wanted Scarlett to watch her get beautified.

“I wish I had known you would have done my hair. Sheila just used to say that my hair was so thick and untamable, that no real professional had time to tackle it.”

“I don’t know what Sheila was thinking about, but that’s why we go to school. It doesn’t matter if a person’s hair is good or bad, I’m going to do it.” Scarlett smiled. “Your hair can be tamed to be good hair,” Joan added.

“Really?” Scarlett asked in shock.

“Yes, really.” Joan laughed. “I’m going to mix up this mild relaxer by Designer Essentials and put it in your hair, and then I’m going to let it sit for just a little while and rinse it out. Once I’ve rinsed it, I’m going to deep condition it and sit you under the hair dryer. When you come from under the dryer, I’m going to put a black rinse by Clairol in your hair to give it a deep shine and a natural look. I’ll put you back under the dryer, and then I’ll rinse out the black rinse and condition your hair some more. Once that is done, I’ll cut your hair in a layered bob, and put some setting lotion on it and wrap it. You’ll go back under the dyer until your hair is dry. I will then comb it out, cut the ends again, and style your hair. After I’ve done all that, I’m going to wax those thick eyebrows of yours. Trust me, you’re gonna look like a new woman when you leave here today.”

Scarlett was ready. She was glad that Joan took out the time to tell her what she would be doing to her hair, since she was vulnerable about letting someone do it. Joan was true to her word, and handled Scarlett and her hair with care. After a few hours, she was done, and it was time for the big reveal.

Joan turned the styling chair toward the mirror so that Scarlett could get a good look at herself. Scarlett gasped for air. Joan beamed inside because it made her feel good to see Scarlett’s reaction.

“Wow,” Scarlett said in awe. She was in disbelief. “Wow.” She shook her head and her shoulder length bob bounced back and forth. She couldn’t believe she was actually looking at herself. She closed her eyes and opened them again. It was still her that she was looking at. She even went so far as to pinch herself, but the feeling was all too real. She wouldn’t have ever imagined that she could look so pretty.

“Do you like it?” Joan asked. She had tears in her eyes, because Scarlett was already wiping hers from her face.

“I can’t believe I look like this.”

“Well, believe it. The looks were already there. I just enhanced them for you.”

Scarlett smiled. “Wow, I can’t thank you enough. You’ve made me feel like a queen.”

“You deserve to feel this way from this day forward. If you don’t mind, I’d love to be your stylist from now on.” Joan was very proud of her work.

“I’d love for you to be my stylist.” Scarlett grinned. She was so amazed when she looked at herself.

“Scarlett, what size do you wear?” Joan asked.

“I wear a size twelve, depending on if my pants are relaxed or fit. My shirt sizes are smalls for the most part.”

“I have some things for you.” Joan walked into the back of her shop.

What now?
Scarlett wondered.

Joan walked back out, pushing two boxes with her feet back up front.

“In these boxes are clothes that I was about to give to my nieces. They didn’t really need them, but I was going to have them look in here first before I took them to Goodwill. Some of these clothes still have tags on them. I just never got a chance to wear them.”

“Are you serious?” Scarlett asked. She’d never been given anything in her life without giving up something for it.

“Yes, I’m very serious. It’s shirts, pants, dresses, capris, and skirts in here. I also have another box in the back with nothing but shoes and purses in them. You can get that box too. Is your shoe size about a seven?”

“Yep, it sure is,” Scarlett nodded with a smile on her face. “I don’t know how to thank you. How much do I owe you?”

“This one is on the house. Seeing this smile on your face is all the pay I need. I do my job because I love it. I do need to make a living, but I love it more than anything. My husband always says that I have a heart of gold, and what I do for others, will be returned to me in happiness. Even though I put a smile on your face today, you’ll never know what that smile has done for me. I haven’t felt this alive in a long time, and I thank you, Miss Scarlett, for making me feel this way.”

Scarlett reached over and hugged Joan. The tears fell from their eyes. Scarlett never hugged anyone in her life that made her feel worth hugging except for Nina and Anton. That morning, Joan had healed a part of Scarlett that had been wounded for many years, and she would always be grateful to Joan.

“Now with the money that you were going to pay me, go get your nails and toes done,” Joan laughed.

“With pleasure,” Scarlett responded with a smile.

Chapter Six

Scarlett felt like a million bucks after stopping by a nail salon to get a manicure and a pedicure. It felt good to be pampered, and she was going to continue this treatment every time she had enough money to do so. Afterwards, she went to her house to drop off the beautiful clothes and shoes Joan had given her. She was ecstatic about her new look, and now she had the clothes to match it. She would forever be in Joan’s debt.

Finally, she pulled up to her workplace. She looked in the mirror as she applied lip-gloss, the smile that covered her face almost seemed foreign to her. She still couldn’t believe she looked this good. She never imagined in a million years that getting her hair done and her eyebrows waxed would make such a huge difference in the way she looked and felt.

Clutching a
real
Coach purse and wearing a tan knee-length skirt with a beautiful red buttoned down blouse, she stepped out of the car. She’d put on a pair of shiny red pumps that Joan had given her, because they looked new compared to hers. She was excited to see how happy Sheila would be to see her looking like this. She opened the office doors and walked in. Sheila wasn’t even looking up, acting as if she was busy, as usual.

“Sheila, look at the new and improved me,” she announced. Sheila looked up and almost had to do a double take.

“Wow, Scarlett what have you been doing this morning? You look fabulous!” Sheila jumped out of her seat to walk over and check her friend out. “Oh my God, I love your shoes!” Sheila frowned for a moment. “How could you afford those?” Scarlett just smiled. “And this outfit?” Sheila looked Scarlett up and down. “Your hair is beautiful,” she said. Scarlett felt wonderful inside. “Did you win the lottery or sum’?”

They laughed.

“No girl, I didn’t win the lottery, but it certainly feels like it.”

“Well, where did you get this expensive gear from? This stuff is name brand shit I saw online at Nordstrom’s.”

So, that’s where she gets a lot of her things.
“Joan gave it to me,” Scarlett finally responded.

“Joan?” Sheila thought hard. “Joan that does my hair, Joan?”

“Yes, and the same Joan that did my hair this morning. She gave me boxes of clothes, shoes and purses. She was going to give it all to her nieces, but since I came in for her to do my hair, she decided to give it to me instead.”

“Wow, that was very noble of her.” Sheila’s tone revealed a little jealousy. “So you’re wearing hand me downs?” Scarlett’s feelings were somewhat hurt to hear Sheila say that, but she felt too good to allow her comment to affect her happiness.

“As a matter of fact these clothes still had the tags on them. I can’t believe I’m wearing an outfit that costs over three-hundred dollars.” Scarlett grinned.

“Don’t forget about your Jimmy Choos on your feet,” Sheila reminded her.

“Yeah, I saw that name in the inside of the shoes before I put them on.”

“Yeah, you should be more aware of what you’re putting on these days.”

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. “Is Jimmy a bad man?” she asked, feeling like maybe she should remove the shoes from her feet immediately.

Sheila laughed. “No honey, those shoes cost more than your entire outfit. I priced those shoes last year at six hundred and fifteen dollars.”

“Wow, say it ain’t so.”

“Yep, it’s so.” Sheila stated and they chuckled again. “Scarlett, had I known you would take hand me downs from a stranger, I would have been given you my old things before taking them to Goodwill.”