Accordance (3 page)

“Oh, it’s ok, honey. It’s California. Everybody has one and those that don’t wish they did.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at the receptionist’s too frequent use of the word ‘honey’ when I barely knew her.

“So where are you from, honey? That accent is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Um...thanks?” I was sure there was an insult in there somewhere. “I’m from Tennessee.”

“That’s a long way from home.”

“Yeah.”

Then she was shoving me towards another lady with dramatic eyebrows and completely white hair.

“Now, Moon will take care of you over here, starting with a buff.”

“Moon?” I asked before I could think better of it.

“Yes, Moon and you are?” Moon asked as she stared at my disaster of locks with her mind blasting all kinds of offensive words.

“Maggie.”

“Maggie,” she repeated and grimaced like it was painful. “How quaint. Let’s get you in the chair.”

“Can you fix my hair?”

“I do skin, not hair. Sit,” she ordered.

I sat. She leaned me back all the way flat and began to buff my arms and hands with a sugary smelling gritty substance. It smelled heavenly. Like brown sugar and figs or plums. She buffed and polished with vigor in silence as the oriental style music played over the loudspeaker. She had candles lit in every corner and the lights were dim but it didn’t change the fact that she was scrubbing off the top two layers of my epidermis. It wasn’t hard to make sure I was alert so as not to drift off to sleep.

“You have really great skin,” she said matter-of-factly as she started on my legs. “Usually I get woman who’ve spent eleven hours a day baking in the sun and feel like leather.”

“Thanks.”

“Just making a statement. All right, you’re done. Let’s rinse you off and then I’ll take you for your mani\pedi.”

Mani\pedi. I groaned and sent Caleb a message to his mind. I could see what he saw as he sat in his comfortable chair in the waiting room with two other men watching reruns of ‘Dirty Jobs’.

Ooooh. You are in so much trouble.

He chuckled in my mind as I was carted from one room to the other. They sat me in a high back chair and stuck my feet into scalding hot blue water that fizzed and bubbled. It felt like it was singeing flesh.

Are you not having fun?

If being tortured constitutes as fun, then yes.

He laughed harder.

I somehow doubt that. You need to get out more, Maggie.

I
am
out. Are you bored out of your mind?

Nope. I love ‘Dirty Jobs’
.

Boys.

He laughed again.

You’re so funny. Just have fun, Maggie. Relax. This is supposed to be our stress free bubble. Remember?

But they haven’t even fixed my hair yet.

Maggie
, he chastised.
I’m ordering you to relax. Enjoy it. It’s all the rage. You are not letting me have any fun at spoiling you.

Does that mean you’ll stop trying?

Nope. I’ll just try harder.

I sighed and decided to play along with a big fake enthusiastic tone.

Fine! I’m having such a fantastic time! Seriously, just wow. Who knew boiling the flesh from my bones was so. Much! Fun!

I heard his laugh from where I was sitting, his real laugh, from the other room. I bet those guys in there thought he was nuts.

That’s the spirit!

I’m not trying to be ungrateful. I really appreciate all this, I do. I’m just not one of those girly girls. I’m sorry.

You are exactly who I want you to be. I love you.

Love you.

A big man with metal rods through his lip and eyebrow with black hair and green spikes finished up my toes and fingers and sent me to have my eyebrows waxed. Once that painful and mentally scarring experience was over I finally was brought to a woman to get my hair fixed. She was tall and slender with big hips accentuated by her spandex lime green pants and gold high pump heels. Her hot pink button blouse matched her earrings and her completely silver hair was short and shorn at an angle to hang from her forehead over on eye. I wasn’t sure if it was Hollywood fashion or not but to me...she just looked insane.

“Come now, dear. Let’s see what you have for me,” she beckoned and sat me in the chair. She turned on a mini spotlight of sorts that shone right on me and frowned. “Did you do this to yourself?”

“No ma’am.”

“I am not your ma’am. You may call me Isla. Now, what do you want; Funky, Goth, Chic, Retro?”

“I just want you to fix it without taking off anymore than you have to. I really liked my hair before and don’t want anything crazy. Just make it look normal.”

I seriously doubted her grasp of normal.

“Normal,” she repeated, “fine.”

She got to snipping and brushing and spraying. I closed my eyes to the array of disastrous movements I knew were taking place. Would Caleb not like it? Would he be ashamed to be seen with me? What would my dad say? And then I figured it really didn’t matter what anyone thought but me and I hated it without even seeing it.

So I sat through all her ministrations silently and still as a church mouse. She blow-dried it and I felt her pulling and tugging. And then...

“Alright, you can look now.” My eyes peeked open and I gasped in pleasant surprise. It looked fantastic! It was under my chin in length and she’d kept my waves loose and hanging around my face and across my forehead. Yes. It was short. But it was cute too. And it grew on me instantly. “You like?”

“Yes. I do. Thank you so much. It looks great,” I said as I stood and ran my fingers through it.

“Pleasure. The receptionist will see you now. Go, see.”

I scrambled as she shooed me away and thanked her again as I left. The receptionist had someone there already so I made my way around the bamboo partition to the little waiting area to Caleb. I saw him at the same time he saw me. He smiled emphatically ecstatic.

“Ah, Maggie,” he said sweetly and got up to meet me. “You look so gorgeous. You didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Thanks,” I said and tussled the strands of hair by my chin. “It’s really short.”

“Not that short.” He pulled it back for me like it was going in a ponytail and showed me I could still put it up if I wanted to, barely. “See?”

“Yeah,” I said as he released it and ran his fingers through it instead. I shivered and smiled in shy embarrassment. “So, you like it? It’s ok, really?”

“I love it. You look more...grown up.”

“Thanks.”

“Do
you
like it? Are you happy?”

“Yes. I do and I am.”

He ran his hands down my arms.

“You are really soft and sweet smelling for someone who claimed to have been tortured.”

I laughed and pushed his chest a little playfully.

“It was torture. Next time, you come back with me.”

“Next time?” He leaned forward closely. “Are you saying you’re going to let me spoil you again?”

“We’ll see.”

“Hey, that’s progress as far as I’m concerned,” he said grinning and took my hand to tow me to the receptionist to pay.

I balked when she said my total.

What! Did we just buy a used car I didn’t know about?

He laughed and covered it in a cough as he gave her his credit card.

Spoiling doesn’t come cheap, my love.

Caleb...It’s too much-

Don’t start that again. I thought we were making headway here?

That was before I realized you’d have to sell a kidney to get me a haircut.

Maggie, Maggie. Money is just paper.

To you maybe.

He smirked and signed his receipt and we got in the Jeep and headed to the beach house. Bish and Kyle were in the den, playing video games together.

“You two aren’t supposed to leave without me, you know,” Bish spouted, not taking his eyes from the screen. Kyle screamed in battle rage and Bish yelled back as his avatar was decapitated. “Oh! Come on, man!” He threw the controller to the couch cushions. “Yes? I’m waiting patiently for an excuse,” he said all smart elect like as he stood and turned to glower at us. But his glower soon turned to surprise and then a small smile. “Maggie? What did you do? You look...gorgeous.”

“That’s what I said,” Caleb spouted happily.

“You cut your hair?” Bish said and came to stand in front of me. “Why? I mean, I like it but, why?”

Kyle glanced at me over the couch back and did a double take. I immediately blocked his thoughts.

“I just wanted something new.”

“Well, you got it, really.” He let a few strands run through his fingers. “It looks really good on you, kid.”

“Thanks. Ok. How about some supper now? I’m starving,” I said trying to steer the thought process away from me.

“Well,” Caleb said. “I started supper but it burned when I was...I forgot about it I guess when we were getting ready.”

Crap. Was it because of me?

It’s ok.

“I’ll order a couple pizzas,” Caleb said.

“Better order a few. I’m starved,” Kyle said, coming to stand beside me. He turned to look at me and smiled. “You do look really great.”

“Thanks. I’m just glad they could fix it.”

“Fix it? What do you mean,” Bish asked quirking a curious brow.

“Uh...just that it was so damaged. They did some treatments on me.”

“Is that why you smell so good,” Kyle said and circled me. He smelled my hair from behind. “Mmmm.”

“Kyle, stop.”

“What?” he said innocently.

I turned and looked him in his eye. My gaze didn’t waver. I pleaded with him silently and saw him soften.

“Please, Kyle. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

I saw him about to speak but Caleb returned so he sighed and went back to the couch. Bish shook his head at me.

“Ok. Pizza will be here in thirty minutes or it’s free,” Caleb announced.

“What kind did you get?” Kyle asked, back to playing his game.

“Four: one pepperoni, one pineapple ham, two with everything.”

“Did you get one everything with no black or green olives? Because Maggie hates them,” Bish volunteered.

“I can pick them out, Bish. It’s ok,” I assured and gave him a funny look.

“Actually,” Caleb started and threw his arm over my shoulder. “I got one pizza with no olives. I knew you hated them.” He kissed my temple and smirked. “So Bish,” he turned to him and nodded his head toward Kyle, “what do you say we kill each other?”

“With pleasure,” Bish said but his smile was playful as they both made their way to sit by Kyle. Caleb threw himself on a huge brown suede beanbag and Bish sat in the club chair. “Set us up, Kyle.”

“Oh, yeah!” Kyle yelled animated. “I haven’t whipped you in Halo in too long, my friend.”

“In your dreams,” Caleb rebutted and looked to me. “Maggie, you in?”

“I don’t know how to play.”

“Come here.” He scooted back a bit and beckoned me to him. I sat between his legs and he wrapped his arms around me to show me the controller. “You can watch me this time and then we’ll add you next go round. K?”

“K.”

I wasn’t about to complain. I had the best seat in the house. They played for a while and then I heard the doorbell. I whispered to Caleb that I’d get it and he muttered a response but was so into the game, I may as well have not been there. I laughed under my breath and grabbed the money he’d set aside on the table to give the delivery man. I opened the door and saw a guy, about seventeen, maybe eighteen.

“Hi. $27.50.”

Well helloooooo pretty lady.

“Here you go,” I said and tried not to roll my eyes.

“Need change?”

I got some change for you.

“Nope, thanks.”

“Hey, is Caleb here?”

“Uh...yeah. Hold on.”

I took the pizza, placing it on the table and did roll my eyes as I heard his next thought.

E
ven better from the back.

“Caleb. The delivery guy wants you,” I called.

“Huh?” he asked still not looking at me.

“He asked if you were here.”

He placed the game on pause and looked pensive.

“Oh. It’s probably Chris.” He went to the door and I didn’t follow but I stood where I was. I could hear their thoughts anyway. I didn’t need to be close.

“Hey, man. Long time no see,” Caleb said and they did some strange handshake, bumping fist and snapping thing. “So is Zeke home from school?”