fit with us. It’s very much us up here and them down there, for now.
After the shuffle Romi is now at the station right next to me, and I’m glad about it. He is the least irritating of my coworkers, he minds his own business.
“That all happened really fast.” He points to my finger as I sit and wait.
“I know, I am still processing it.” I spin on the chair, looking out the window.
Rat chose this spot for me, he said it had a view.
“Don’t look now, but crazy Dawn is your next client.” He snickers and moves over a little.
Dawn is that client, the one no one likes, the one who ends up with whoever isn’t busy on the day.
“Ugh, are you shitting me?” I can think of nothing worse than chatting to her for an hour. “I will literally pay you to take her.”
“No can do. I have a color in twenty minutes.” He tidies his counter.
“Alistair is getting his ass kicked for this,” I say before she gets too close and hears me. “Hi, Dawn, how are you today? Take a seat.”
I fake the friendliest greeting I can manage without coffee. This pregnant list of ‘can’t haves’ is killing me. It may end up killing someone else too. I need coffee.
Two hours of Dawn telling me about the best wedding vendors and I am ready to slit my wrists with my scissors. She, it turns out, has four daughters that all got married in the last eighteen months. Those poor, poor girls.
I have a gents cut booked right after her. Since the barber closed down we seem to have gained all their clientele. I’m not prepared for who I get after Dawn, and when Rain sits down in my chair without a word, I know I’m in shit.
Romi disappears very quickly, leaving us alone in the corner of the salon.
“What can I do for you today?” I ask, avoiding his death glare in the mirror.
“Trim the beard and cut the back and sides,” he says, deadpan. “I’m not here for a fucking haircut, Chelsey.”
I knew that somehow.
“Did you know Rat was his son?”
“No, I didn’t. I really didn’t,” I answer as we walk to the basin so I can wash his hair.
He is quiet while there are others around us, but back at my chair he speaks again. “Do you know Sal is using drugs?”
I drop my scissors. “He’s not.” I defend him, because I’ve never see him use.
“He is, it’s been an issue before. He’s also up to something with our Russian rivals. You know anything about that?”
I feel like I’m being interrogated by the FBI.
“He meets with Russians, and we have dinner. I didn’t know that wasn’t allowed. He always sends me away when things get serious. I don’t know anything, Rain. And Sal isn’t using drugs.”
“He is, Chelsey, and you are making a dangerous mistake. I’m here because my wife – god bless her – loves you, and I don’t want her losing a best friend when this turns bad. And it is going to.”
I feel like he is threatening me, more than warning me. “Rain, I am saying this with respect, because quite frankly you scare the shit out of me, but I have a baby to think about and Sal is his dad, so I need to do what’s best for my child. He promised to take care of us, and I am not in a place where I can do this alone.”
He spins the chair around and I narrowly miss shaving half his head bald by accident. “No one said you’d be alone, Chelsey. The baby is family. And we always take care of family, but Sal, you might want to ask Rat how he took care of him over the years.”
He’s making me worry, he’s putting doubt in my head when I should be over the moon happy that I just got engaged, and it makes me angry that he’s robbing me of that joy right now.
“I’m a big girl, Rain, I can make my own decisions.” I brush his neck clean and finish his cut.
“Are you sure? Because you aren’t acting like one.” He stands up and I feel small and belittled. “Chelsey, be very careful what my uncle drags you into. This was a nice chat, maybe you should think about it later.”
Before I can come up with a comeback, he’s gone, stalking into Ailee’s office grumbling under his breath. That man really isn’t a people person.
The Monday