critters have beady eyes, and were pecking at the ground, pecking, pecking, always pecking, and then they looked up at me and started chasing me. Thankfully, I woke up.” Annie shuddered at the thought.
“Were they fast runners on their teeny, tiny feet? Better watch out, those chickens are going to get you,” she teased.
“Any word from the kids?” Annie changed the topic, after giving Charlotte a smile. She knew her fear was a silly one, but she didn’t get to choose which irrational fear she ended up with. She enjoyed sharing it with Charlotte though, and could take a ribbing well enough.
“They’re still pushing to get me into an assisted living facility near them! Can you imagine? I’m not that old, but the way they talk you’d think I’d have one leg into a grave already.” Charlotte shook her head, frustrated with the thought. “Don’t rush me, you know?”
“Sorry that’s still going on. Don’t they realize how active you are? You could outrun half of this island , as often as you’re moving around.” Maybe if Charlotte’s kids saw her more often, they’d see how spry she was. Annie couldn’t picture Charlotte in an old folk’s home, unless she was in charge of running the place.
“But I’m old , as they call it. So, apparently once you hit sixty you cease to function and you’re ancient and brittle, according to my children. They worry I’ll fall and break a hip or something. I told them, well, maybe I will. But then I’ll just go get it fixed.” Why couldn’t her children be blessed with common sense?
The chimes jingled on the door as Trish, the other stylist, came in. “Morning,” she waved, and then went back to a terse conversation on her cell phone. She had a client coming in shortly and needed to prep the color for her hair.
Annie finished with Charlotte and said good-bye as Trish’s client made her way in. The mood changed from cheerful to stormy, as if a shadow followed the woman wherever she walked. Annie welcomed their customer and went to let Trish know that Patsy had arrived.
The appointment book was growing barren now that September was partially over; most of their business came during the busier summer months. Gaps in time allowed her to take her dog, Pip, out for walks. During the summer she was forced to use a doggy day care, as there was barely time to breathe, let alone eat lunch or walk a dog.
Before Trish could make it to Patsy, the older woman was already complaining. It was her specialty. It wasn’t the fun, sarcastic type of complaining that friends did together, it was bitter and nasty, and in her mind, everyone was out to get her. “Just you watch, one of these days I’ll bite the big one,” she’d say, “and it won’t be an accident.” Her voice was laced with gravel from years of smoking, and the weathered lines around her lips exaggerated the fact that she’d puffed one too many cigarettes.
Trish calmed the woman as best she could. “That’s ridiculous, Patsy, you’re a robust woman in her eighties. Don’t you think if someone was going to off you, they’d have done it by now?” Trish shook her head and pulled a cape onto her, preparing to color her client’s hair. Mostly they toned down the shades of gray and white so it blended better. She’d outgrown the need to go back to a younger version of her hair color.
After discussing local politics, the newest promotion that everyone was talking about that was splashed across the newspaper headlines, and whining about her “useless” son who welches off her, she finally settled into silence.
Trish applied the color and let it set, giving the woman a magazine to flip through while she waited. She turned to Annie and rolled her eyes. They’d both be happy when her appointment was over.
“We’re heading over to Uncle Buck’s tonight , if you want to join us.” Annie mentioned to Trish.
“Oh, I’d love to, but I have a date,” she said, fluffing her blond hair. “Rich is
“Were they fast runners on their teeny, tiny feet? Better watch out, those chickens are going to get you,” she teased.
“Any word from the kids?” Annie changed the topic, after giving Charlotte a smile. She knew her fear was a silly one, but she didn’t get to choose which irrational fear she ended up with. She enjoyed sharing it with Charlotte though, and could take a ribbing well enough.
“They’re still pushing to get me into an assisted living facility near them! Can you imagine? I’m not that old, but the way they talk you’d think I’d have one leg into a grave already.” Charlotte shook her head, frustrated with the thought. “Don’t rush me, you know?”
“Sorry that’s still going on. Don’t they realize how active you are? You could outrun half of this island , as often as you’re moving around.” Maybe if Charlotte’s kids saw her more often, they’d see how spry she was. Annie couldn’t picture Charlotte in an old folk’s home, unless she was in charge of running the place.
“But I’m old , as they call it. So, apparently once you hit sixty you cease to function and you’re ancient and brittle, according to my children. They worry I’ll fall and break a hip or something. I told them, well, maybe I will. But then I’ll just go get it fixed.” Why couldn’t her children be blessed with common sense?
The chimes jingled on the door as Trish, the other stylist, came in. “Morning,” she waved, and then went back to a terse conversation on her cell phone. She had a client coming in shortly and needed to prep the color for her hair.
Annie finished with Charlotte and said good-bye as Trish’s client made her way in. The mood changed from cheerful to stormy, as if a shadow followed the woman wherever she walked. Annie welcomed their customer and went to let Trish know that Patsy had arrived.
The appointment book was growing barren now that September was partially over; most of their business came during the busier summer months. Gaps in time allowed her to take her dog, Pip, out for walks. During the summer she was forced to use a doggy day care, as there was barely time to breathe, let alone eat lunch or walk a dog.
Before Trish could make it to Patsy, the older woman was already complaining. It was her specialty. It wasn’t the fun, sarcastic type of complaining that friends did together, it was bitter and nasty, and in her mind, everyone was out to get her. “Just you watch, one of these days I’ll bite the big one,” she’d say, “and it won’t be an accident.” Her voice was laced with gravel from years of smoking, and the weathered lines around her lips exaggerated the fact that she’d puffed one too many cigarettes.
Trish calmed the woman as best she could. “That’s ridiculous, Patsy, you’re a robust woman in her eighties. Don’t you think if someone was going to off you, they’d have done it by now?” Trish shook her head and pulled a cape onto her, preparing to color her client’s hair. Mostly they toned down the shades of gray and white so it blended better. She’d outgrown the need to go back to a younger version of her hair color.
After discussing local politics, the newest promotion that everyone was talking about that was splashed across the newspaper headlines, and whining about her “useless” son who welches off her, she finally settled into silence.
Trish applied the color and let it set, giving the woman a magazine to flip through while she waited. She turned to Annie and rolled her eyes. They’d both be happy when her appointment was over.
“We’re heading over to Uncle Buck’s tonight , if you want to join us.” Annie mentioned to Trish.
“Oh, I’d love to, but I have a date,” she said, fluffing her blond hair. “Rich is
Similar Books
