Eventually, Sarah quit the cleaning service and enrolled in Miri’s beauty program. Everything was done in secrecy behind Dwight’s back. If he were to find out, Sarah’s punishment
would have been beyond severe.
Sarah told Dwight that the cleaning service was paying her under the table
and every month she handed over her wages in cash. He’d put the money away in his stash and the next month she’d take it out again. Essentially, Sarah was just giving Dwight the same money over and over again each month.
Sarah knew the risks going in but was encouraged by the potential reward. Learning a skill could very well be her ticket out. And here she was
two years later, taking that first step to freedom.
Her whole life she’d never felt good enough.
Never
been
good enough. Dwight had pounded it into her brain just how worthless she was. But when Sarah was cutting hair, all that negativity and ugliness faded away. The only thoughts were of the slant of her scissors and the sound of hair splatting onto the cape and sliding down to the floor.
Miri’s voice brought Sarah back to the present.
“You know my offer to drive you to Red Valley is still on the table,” she said.
“Yes, I know
you would. And I’d still turn you down because you’ve already done too much.”
“
Hey, what are friends for?”
Before
two years ago, Sarah wouldn’t have known the answer to that question. Dwight had made it impossible for her to have friends. He didn’t know Sarah had made a friend for life with Miri. And now she was leaving her behind.
It was a double edged sword. S
arah hated to leave Miri but she needed more than anything to get out from her uncle’s clutches. Miri was the only good thing about Los Angeles, but having a friend wasn’t worth staying and enduring Dwight’s wrath for.
S
arah bit back the tears that threatened to fall. She still had a long journey in front of her and she couldn’t afford to fall apart this early in the game. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she whispered.
Miri
patted her hand again. “You’d better believe it, hon. You deserve this and you’ve worked hard for it. Now you’ve got a new job to start and a new hairdo to go along with it. The color looks great, by the way.”
Sarah touched the ends of her newly highlighted hair.
The week before, Miri had given her a beautiful new cut and brightened up her already light brown hair with blonde highlights. Now Sarah’s new shoulder length cut hair swung around her shoulders in layers. It was Miri’s gift for graduating the beauty school’s cosmetology course at the top of her class and completing her apprenticeship. “You can’t start a new life without new hair to go with it,” Miri had told her. She’d been wearing it pulled up into a messy bun so Dwight wouldn’t notice.
At that moment, her hair
was the last thing Sarah cared about, but she figured she’d better get used to it because appearances were everything in the salon business.
“I can’t thank you enough for everything, Miri.”
“It’s been my pleasure.
When Peach told me she needed another stylists, I knew you were meant to go to Red Valley.”
Sarah smiled and wondered what Peach’s Salon would be like. She hadn’t given herself any time to think about what things would be like in Red Valley. Her whole focus had been about getting away from Dwight.
From everything that Miri had told her, Peach Pomatto sounded like quite the character.
“Are you sure I can’t change your mind about giving you a ride?”
Miri asked.
“I’m sure.”
“It’s only a day’s drive.”
“No. I’ve involved you enough as it is.
And it’s a nine hour drive, Miri,” Sarah added with a smile. “That’s way too far for you to drive me.”
Miri
returned the smile with a shrug. “I’ll plan a trip up in a few months for the holidays. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Peach anyway.”
When the bus station came into view,
Miri slowed the car, found an empty parking space and parked. “Well, here we are.”
Sarah took a deep breath. This was it.
Miri turned sideways and pulled a gift bag out from behind the seat. “I put a few things together for you.”
“Oh, no,
Miri! I can’t accept any more from you. You’ve already done so much.”
“
Don’t be silly. Take it.” She shoved the heavy bag into Sarah’s hands.
“But you already gave me all those styling tools,” she said, referring to the blow dryer, flat iron, scissors, brushes and combs at the bottom of her backpack.
“That was your graduation present. These are going away gifts.”
“Oh,
Miri! I’ll repay you for everything, I promise!”
“The only payment I’ll accept is for you to go to Red Valley and do good hair
, okay? This isn’t about money, it’s about helping you make a fresh start.”
“Okay
,” Sarah conceded. She looked inside the bag and pulled out the first item. “A cell phone?”
“
Yep. It’s nothing fancy or anything. Just the kind you pay as you go and add minutes whenever you need them.” Miri had put enough minutes on it to last Sarah a lifetime, but she didn’t tell her that. “I already programmed in my number and Peach’s too. You call me if you need anything okay?
Anything at all
.”
“
I will.” Sarah turned the phone over in her hand. She’d never owned a cell phone before. Dwight would never allow her to have such an extravagance. “Thank you so much.”
“
You’re welcome. There’s a charger for it at the bottom of the bag, too.”
“Oh,
Miri, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Miri
ignored her and gestured to the bag. “There’s more.”
Sarah
reached in and pulled out a little metal can from inside. “What’s this?”
“
Pepper spray. Just in case. A girl can never be too prepared.”
“Thank you
, Miri.”
And there was
even more. The next item in the bag was a fancy gift set tied with a purple satin ribbon. Inside were bottles of purple shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bubble bath. Without even opening them, Sarah could smell the lovely lavender fragrance.
“Th
ose are from the girls in your class,” Miri told her.
“They
’re wonderful!” She’d never had anything so lovely before. What an amazing day this was turning out to be.
Tears burned
Sarah’s eyes as she pulled out a little velvet box from the bottom of the bag. She blinked and asked, “What’s this? It looks fancy.”
“That’s
just a little something from me.”
Sarah opened the box and gasped.
Inside was a necklace with a sterling silver butterfly pendant. Her hands shook, causing the necklace to sparkle even more. “It’s too much.”
“Nonsense,”
Miri said and reached over to help Sarah put it on.
Sarah
looked down at the pendant and beamed. “I’ve never had anything so beautiful. I don’t know what to say.”
Miri
smiled. “Just say thank you for the millionth time and promise me you’ll take the RV hair world by storm.”
“Oh, thank you
, Miri. I will!” She flung her arms around Miri’s neck and the two women embraced in a tearful hug across the center console.
“Keep in touch and call me the second you get there
, okay?”
“Okay
, I will.”
Miri
pulled back and gave Sarah’s shoulders a squeeze. “You’d better go. You don’t want to miss your bus.”
After one last hug, Sarah got out of the car.
She walked into the terminal with a bittersweet feeling in her gut like she’d just lost her best and only friend. In reality she had, but she was embarking on an exciting new adventure. Her life.
Chapter Two
Meh-he-co
The hot Mexican sun beat down on Dwight Hammond’s head and shoulders. Sweat trickled down his thick neck and slithered down his spine. God, he hated the heat. Then again, he hated most things. Booze, drugs, women and his Datsun pickup being the only few exceptions.
At 6’
1”, 280 pounds, Dwight was an intimidating man. If not for his size, then for the permanent scowl that had taken up residence on his face since he’d been brought into the world fifty plus years ago.
He adjusted his ball cap over his scruffy
graying hair and walked across the street to the payphone. He liked the cantinas south of the border, but he couldn’t get cell phone reception for shit.
He
picked up the phone, punched in the number and pressed the sticky receiver to his ear. The phone rang and rang and finally his son, Troy, answered, sounding like a grizzly bear awakening from hibernation.
On the long list of things Dwight hated, Troy was near the top. He was as good-for-nothing as every other human being Dwight had crossed paths with in his life.
The only reason Dwight tolerated him was because he was his son. Blood was thicker than water, but thank God for alcohol.
“Troy,” he barked into the phone.
“Pop?”
Dwight pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
“Who the fuck else would it be?”
“I
dunno,” Troy mumbled.
“
Everything okay up there?” Dwight hated to leave Troy in charge at home, but his trip to Mexico couldn’t be avoided. The drugs didn’t smuggle themselves. If only he could trust Troy to do the work for him, Dwight would be back in L.A. emptying a bottle of whiskey down his throat instead of baking out in the blazing hot sun.
There was a long pause
and Dwight feared the connection had been lost. “I said, is everything okay up there!” he shouted into the phone.
“Yeah,” Troy finally answered not sounding one hundred percent sure. “I was just
…uh, takin’ a nap.”
Of course he was. Naps and consuming large quantities of junk food were Troy’s only pathetic claims to fame.
“Listen,” Dwight demanded. “There’s been a change in plans. Instead of driving back tonight, I’m gonna stay down here for a couple a weeks.”
“Okay,” Troy answered, sounding only partly interested.
“
That means
I need you to keep an eye on Sarah for two more weeks,” he clarified. “Do you understand?”
“Yeah,
yeah, I got it, Pop.”
Dwight would have brought Sarah to Mexico with him, but she was of more use to him at home where she could work and at least bring home a paycheck. Despite her blatant ungratefulness, he’d been kind enough to let her work outside the home. She should be thankful she even got to see the light of day and that he didn’t keep her locked up
twenty-four seven.
“You’ll need to make sure she goes to work and doesn’t do anything stupid like run off, okay?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Troy!”
Dwight shouted. “This is
important
.”
“I know, I know,” Troy said and started crunching on something.
Christ, couldn’t he go two seconds without eating?
“Put her on the line
,” Dwight snarled. Just because he was a hundred and twenty miles away, he didn’t want Sarah forgetting
he
was the boss. Although he liked to think so, Sarah wasn’t as dumb as she looked. She’d outsmarted him before and there was no guarantee the little brat wouldn’t do it again. Dwight kept her on a short leash and expected Troy to do the same. Give that girl an inch and she’d take a whole freakin’ mile. Worthless, ungrateful brat.
S
arah had lied to him on many occasions and had several failed escape attempts under her belt. She’d even tried calling the cops on him once. Luckily Dwight had friends down at the police station to nip that little fiasco in the bud.
Come to think of it, ever since
Dwight had taken her in and given her a place to live, Sarah had been trying to find a way to escape him. What a selfish bitch. Fortunately, he’d swiftly put an end to her shenanigans and his fist had made it crystal clear that she wasn’t to cross him again. Now he just needed to drive that point home with Troy.
“Put who on the line?” Troy asked.
“
Sarah
, you numbskull! Lemme talk to her.”
“Um
…okay.”
Dwight heard shuffling and then a long sigh from his idiot son.
“I, uh, I don’t see her, Pop.”
Dwight grinded his teeth and resisted the urge to rip the phone from its
metal cord. “Well, where is she then?”
“I think she must have gone to work.
Yeah,” he added sounding a little more certain. “She’s probably already left for work.”