think just might work.
“Hey, Nick. I’m Mason,” I reach over to shake his hand, and
Nick smiles at me with a hint of surprise.
“Yeah, I know who you are. You’re Barb’s boy,” he says, and
I cringe inside a little, hoping like hell he’s not one of my mom’s conquests.
“Yes, sir. That’s me,” I say, half-squinting, and holding my
breath, waiting for the lecture on my mother, or worse—me, and what a
douchebag I am.
“You were good over at Dusty’s the other night. You planning
on playing there again?” I’m pretty sure Nick notices my huge sigh of relief,
but I don’t care, because I also notice that Max has stopped swaying.
“I do. Next weekend, in fact,” I say, looking to Avery next,
and making a mental note of her lip tucked nervously in between her teeth.
“I’ve got a few more songs I’d like to try out.”
“Good, I’ll be there with the wife. She loved your show,”
Nick says, his eyes darting between Avery and me now. I manage to give him a
silent shake of my head before he asks if we’re together, so he lets it pass.
Thank god, because I think that would pretty much do Avery in for the day.
“So, I was thinking, Nick. I probably need a haircut, too,”
I say, and Nick is nodding in full understanding. Avery’s eyes are wide with
surprise, and I take this opportunity to wink. I’m proud when it makes her
blush. “You know, it’s what you do, when you start something new. And now that
I’m playing at Dusty’s, I probably should look my best.”
Nick takes my lead perfectly and pats the seat next to the
one meant for Max and invites me to sit down.
“Max, you mind if Mason gets his hair cut too?” Nick asks,
and Max shakes his head no slightly.
I see his eyes shift to my feet while I step up on the seat, and he leaves them
there while I work my way into my chair. Nick fluffs the cape out next, shaking
it out to lose the wrinkles, before swinging it around my body and fastening it
around my neck.
“So, what are we getting?” Nick asks, scissors in his hands.
Honestly, I hadn’t thought things through this far. I wasn’t planning on
cutting my hair for a long time—I sort of liked the length. But…this was
more important. And I was coming to terms with the fact that I was going to be
in Cave Creek longer than I originally thought, so my hair would probably grow
back by the time I hit the road again.
I look to Avery, prompting her to help me answer
this—I wanted whatever Max was getting. Her eyes are still wide, but she
curls the edges of her lips slightly when she starts to speak, and I swear I
can feel my heart kick at the sight of it. “An inch off the top, and shorter on
the sides,” she says.
My hand runs through my hair one last time on instinct,
almost like I’m saying goodbye. “Yeah, that’s right. I’ll have that,” I say,
noticing that behind Nick, Max has now climbed into the seat. I tilt my head to
Nick so he notices, and when he looks back at me, his smile says it all. Thanks.
Avery hasn’t said a word about my shorter hair, but I caught
her looking at it in the mirror during the drive home. I decided to ride home
in the back, next to Max. He let me, and I felt sort of honored by that. He
showed me some more details of the music program he was working on the other
day. Since the last time, he had composed an entire song. The instrument
choices weren’t the best, but the intricacy of the song he built was
impressive. Every rhythm and count matched perfectly, and it made me wish I
could get a real guitar in Max’s
hands.
Max’s blonde curly locks look nice, and I’m glad Avery let
Nick style things for the kid. She mentioned that he’s starting school, and I
know from the small bits from Ray that she’s nervous about it. Max walks ahead
of us up to Dusty’s, eager to get inside and count out the candies he earned
from finishing his hair cut.
I start to talk at least a dozen times, but I choke on my
words every time, so I just
Rebecca Brooke
Samantha Whiskey
Erin Nicholas
David Lee
Cecily Anne Paterson
Margo Maguire
Amber Morgan
Irish Winters
Lizzie Lynn Lee
Welcome Cole