Primp & Style for Dinner in the Sky

Days went by swiftly. Business was good & I was developing a strong following. More & more men were coming to me for haircuts, & they were telling their friends to come to me. Their girlfriends were starting to follow suit, first to see what this hairdresser looked like, then returning & referring their friends. Easy maintenance, no or very little hairspray, wash & go styles were replacing the weekly wash & sets, teased & heavily sprayed looks. To be a blonde, natural or bottled was the new 'Sex Appeal'.

It was about three weeks since I gave Vidal his haircut, & he hadn't returned to the shop since. Anne Marie hadn't mentioned him to any of us, so I was worried that I'd given him a bad haircut. Let's face it, we can't give everyone what they want, & I have made mistakes with cuts & colors. I still cringe when I remember the time that I turned a clients hair green, & the time I fried a clients hair doing a perm. It happens, will always happen, & we just have to try to fix the mistake the best way possible.

Today was Saturday. It was raining so heavy that the sky looked black. The extreme heat of the past few weeks was so overbearing, that most of us welcomed the cooling rain. However, we got a lot of cancellations from our weekly wash & set clients, since they feared the rain would ruin their hair-dos. I felt fortunate that a few men came in for me to do their cuts, & luckier since they insisted on waiting for me to get to them. I had the biggest male clientele so far in the shop. Plus, the men were better tippers. with a $5.00 cut & blow, I got at least a dollar tip. The women only fifty or seventy five cents.

It was about 5:45 when the door swung open & this figure came rushing into the shop. The man was dripping wet. I was cleaning up my station & looked up. It was Vidal.

"Hi everyone," He stood at the door with a puddle forming at his feet.

"Come in,come in," Anne Marie called to him, "Take that wet jacket off, want to remove your shirt?"

"Yes,yes,no,no," he answered, quickly removing his jacket & tie. I handed him a towel for his face & hair, which was now dripping down to his shirt. He looked like a little boy, all wet & helpless, haven been caught jumping into rain puddles.

"Thank you CeCe."

"What are you doing here in this weather Vidal?" Anne Marie inquired as she hung his jacket over a dryer hood & turned the heat on.

"Well," He paused & looked from me to Anne Marie, "I came to ask you & CeCe to join me for dinner tonight. I have some very exciting news that I wish to share with the both of you, & to delight in my happiness." That accent could make a death sentence sound sexy.

Anne Marie & I looked at each other in astonishment! I glanced around to Sofia & the others, the shock & envy was on every ones faces. Terry was washing the shampoo sinks & gave a little giggle.

" I have to go home & change." Anne Marie answered

"Me too." I looked down at all the little specks of hair on my clothes. I needed to shower, & had no idea what to wear. What do you wear to dinner, with a man like this??

"No problem ladies. CeCe, where do you live?"

"Three blocks from here."

Fine, fine. I'll go home with you, Anne Marie, & I'll have a cocktail, while your getting ready. CeCe, you go home right now & get all dolled up. Pretty evening dress, we are going to dinner at the 'Restaurant in the Sky,' reservations are for 9pm. So, you girls, pardon me, You ladies, have plenty of time to make yourselves beautiful, as if your not already stunning! CeCe, you call Anne Marie when your ready. I have a car on it's way to Anne Marie's apartment as I speak. We will come to pick you up, then go for dinner. How does that sound? Go,go,CeCe." he commanded of me. "Anne Marie, let's get out of here! We are going to par-r-ty tonight!"