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Becki backcombed Mrs. Winters’ hair while the bleach sat on Lori’s foiled head. She nodded while she listened to Mrs. Winters’ endless complaints about her daughter-in-law and what a terrible job she was doing raising her grandchildren.
“Can you believe she let those little ones have cold cereal for breakfast? Children need a hot meal three times a day, but will she listen to me? Hell, no.” Mrs. Winters complained. Becki knew her daughter-in-law and sympathized with her. Mrs. Winters slimy son had run out on her and the two boys, leaving Deb to her own devices without any emotional or financial support. Mrs. Winters didn’t know how lucky she was Deb could even afford the cereal. Mrs. Winters raised one no account son and never worked at anything but gossip and criticizing.
“Well I’m sure she’s doing the best she can. It’s not easy working and raising children without any help.” Becki tried to defend Deb but after years of listening to her mother-in-law she knew it went in one ear and out the other. Luckily Lori’s timer went off and Becki had to excuse herself from Mrs. Winters for a minute, grateful that she had been able to hold her tongue and not tell Mrs. Winters exactly what she thought of her. Becki checked Lori’s hair and decided it was time to rinse the bleach out, which she did just as Jillian came running into the beauty shop.
“Mommy, look what I made at preschool today! It’s a picture of you and me. Can we hang it up?” Jillian’s little cherub cheeks were pink with excitement. Her hair, once neatly held back in the braids Becki had put in this morning, now barely hung in place on the child’s head, distorted beyond recognition by the hair falling all around her face.
“As soon as I’m done with my customers we’ll pick just the right spot for it. Have Heather give you your snack while I finish-up here. Tonight is clean the beauty shop night, sweetie.” Becki answered, love radiating from her eyes at the beautiful little girl.
“Yes mommy.” Jillian turned and skipped back into the house, holding her picture tightly to her chest to keep it safe.
“Becki, she is just the happiest, sweetest little girl I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. You must be so proud of her,” Lori commented.
“I’m blessed, that’s for sure.” Becki admitted, not wanting to say more than was necessary. Mrs. Winters was listening with all her might, probably salivating at the thought of being able to spread anything she perceived as negative. Why did gossips only spread what they considered to be bad news? Lord forbid Becki go on and on about her precious Jillian, an unforgivable offense that she knew she would hear about tomorrow morning while she worked the breakfast shift at the diner.
One of Becki’s rules of survival was to never talk about her personal life either at the beauty shop or in the diner. If you happened to be a customer at the shop when Jillian came home, you knew she was there, otherwise Becki kept to herself. She had learned to keep a cool, aloof distance from the townsfolk, letting them draw their own conclusions. All she really cared about was Jillian, letting her daughter know every chance she got how much she loved her and how proud of her she was. But that was always in the privacy of their home and no one else’s business.
If she was going to stay in this town she knew she had to keep a low profile. People had long memories around here and she was sure she would never live down the reputation her mother had made.
Being the town nutcase that tried to murder her own pregnant daughter was just the last in a string of psychotic episodes her mother had gone through. The last murder attempt was the one that landed her in the state mental institution for the criminally insane. The only good that had come out of Becki ‘s attempted murder was that she now had a house that was paid for, allowing her to gather a little nest egg for Jillian’s future. Just one of several nightmares that haunted her in her dreams.
Often she worked two, sometimes three, jobs. Saving and scrimping every cent she could, knowing things could change in the blink of an eye. The waitressing job at Mom’s Diner, the only diner in Somerset Falls, paid for her and Jillian’s health insurance while the beauty shop paid the bills. Tips got saved religiously. She kept her tips in a coffee can until it couldn’t hold any more, then she would take it to the bank and deposit it. She chuckled to herself thinking that the twenty five cent tip that Mrs. Winters gave her every week would add up to a whole dollar by the end of the month, and that was a dollar more than she had last month.
By the time she locked the salon door Jillian was done with her snack and came through the door with her picture in hand.
“Mommy, is it time to hang my picture now?”
“Yep. Lets go into your special area and see where it would look the best.”
She grabbed the tape dispenser and walked with Jillian to the area of the beauty shop that was designated just for her. When Jillian had been younger and she didn’t have money for a sitter she had made a little room for her in the same style as the rest of the beauty shop, but where customers weren’t allowed. It followed the same pink, white and green color scheme as the rest of the shop. It was sectioned off with lattice painted white with silk greens ‘growing’ up the lattice. Jillian had her own small television with built-in dvd player, a recliner with end table and all her little tykes kitchen ware. She often stayed in there for hours ‘cooking’ for the customers, humming to herself and even taking her naps on the cot against the wall.
Throughout the rest of the shop she kept the garden theme going with pink floral wallpaper, a white linoleum floor accented by four hot pink dryer/chair combinations matching the hot pink shampoo bowls and chairs. For fun she had painted the desk and back cabinets in a cheery green color, keeping the Formica countertops white. The ceiling was a white drop style with florescent lighting. To look at it you would never know it was a converted garage. As her business grew she had been able to put a gas fireplace in the corner of the reception area, giving it a warm, cozy atmosphere while providing heat in the cold winter months. She had made slip covers for a couple of couches and chairs in a cute, happy gingham check and making the throw pillows in the same pattern as the wallpaper, tying everything together nicely. Overall she was proud of her achievements, even if it wasn’t at all what she had planned for herself back in high school. Without any help from anyone, including Max James, she had made the best life she could. With a shake of her head she pushed the anger and hurt he had caused her to the back of her mind. Ancient history and a complete waste of time, rehashing it wouldn’t change anything. What counted was the here and now.
“Okay Jillian, show mommy the spot you picked for your art work.”
Jillian walked up to the art wall and put her chubby little finger on the one spot of uncluttered wall.
“Right here.”
“You got it, babe.” Becki tore off a small piece of tape and placed the paper on the wall, pretending to take care that it was centered. With a flourish she taped it up.
“Did I do it right?” Trying to keep a straight face, she asked as seriously as possible.
“Perfect. Can I watch a movie while you clean today? I had a rough day.” Jillian flopped down into the chair, raising the foot even though she was short enough to not need it.
“Oh, poor baby. Of course you can. I’ll only be a minute.” Becki laughed to herself at how adult Jillian sometimes spoke. She had probably said the same words a million times to Jillian. Seriously though, how bad could a four year- olds day be?
“Do you want to talk about your bad day?”
“Nah. I’m all right. I just need to relax for a while.”
“Well you know where to find me if you change your mind.” She started cleaning the salon, grateful that Jillian wasn’t ‘helping’. Without her help she would finish twice as fast.
Becki looked through the huge window of the shop just as a shiny black car, one she knew didn’t belong to anyone in town, as it drove slowly past her house. Who in the world would be visiting So
merset Falls in a car like that? She knew she would find out tomorrow morning at the diner.
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