Something nice for Sam

The sun was shining onto the golden yellow leaves still waving gently on their branches.  Sam smiled and tilted her face up to catch the warm rays.  She just left the tax office, her federal and state returns in hand.  The preparer mentioned a post office down the street and she made her way over to the granite faced building.

Today was equivalent to accomplishment.  When Sam could check things off a list her morale boosted. She wanted to ride that wave all day and decided to do a little something nice for herself.  On the way to the post office, she saw a salon with an open door.  One of the hair dressers was laughing as the other danced in her booth area.  They looked happy and Sam stepped in.

Her dressers name was Georgia and she was older than the others.  She smiled genuinely and asked to take Sam's coat.  Sam was seated while Georgia looked over her hair.  She loved long hair and wouldn't dream of cutting Sam's locks short.  There would be some good grooming done with two inches off the bottom and a layered look.  Sam agreed and she was sent off to the washer.

A younger dark skinned woman took her back and asked her to be seated.  Her own hair was brown at the roots and got steadily lighter up into her curls.  It was twisted and springy and a good look for her.  Sam leaned back and let the magic of a hair washing relax her after a long week.  The younger lady washed, rinsed then conditioned and dried with a towel.  She offered Sam some tea and walked her back over to Georgia.

Georgia was a good hair dresser.  She could cut and measure and style while still keeping up with small talk.  She didn't pause when she told her stories and would make constant eye contact through the mirror to ensure i was doing well.  The chat was not too deep but engaging and Sam enjoyed laughing at her jokes and shared some of her her own experiences.  

When it was all done, Sam counted this as another accomplishment.  She hadn't had her hair cut in over a year.  She headed back home, perhaps to take a nap as she was up earlier that morning.  Of course, when she got home, she got her second wind, found some new clothes and headed right back out for the first time in a while.  She never went out on Saturday nights.

to be continued….

freewrite - who's the right one?

"He wasn't good enough." Todd said.  "You could do much better…"

She replied with a scoff and "Yeah? Like who?"

Todd grinned and winked.  Scumbag.

Nancy didn't have much luck with finding a partner.  The first needed someone his own age. The second needed a mommy replacement.  The third was passionate but required constant emotional care. The fourth wanted short freedom before he went off to fulfill his family duty.  The fifth seemed like the right one, at least for now.

But Nancy had a problem.  It was't until she had already invested time that she realized things weren't meant to work out.  Maybe it was due to her wanting things to work.   She would try with all her might until she had nothing left to give.  The weariness overtook her and she had to leave the situation or become completely crushed.

She was going to therapy for that.  A nice round lady with curly blond/brown hair listened to Nancy every week.  Steph was a good fit and listened empathetically to all of Nancy's stories.  There was never judgement but at times she called Nance out when she wasn't being honest with her or herself.

So Nancy heard Todd's comment and her heart began to sink.  Was she making the same mistake again? How could she tell?  Were the warning signs coming back?  She thought they might be.  Telling people that she was in a long distance relationship, making excuses of why she couldn't meet up for double dates, getting frustrated when promised a phone call and hearing nothing until the next day or two.

She couldn't tell if she was blowing things out of proportion.  Was she expecting too much?  He wasn't working, but looking hard for a job. This was the case in a previous relationship, but this was a little different.  She wasn't 'allowed' to go to his place.  Was she being too trusting?

Nancy smiled and excused herself from the dinner table.  She fought hard to keep laughing at the jokes they made while she walked toward the ladies room.  Behind the first door, then the stall metal she slumped against the wall and let her tears come freely.  It was so confusing, trying to be positive but not naive.  How could she tell what she should be doing?

Now her nose was running her eyes must be really red.  She blew her nose with toilet paper and started breathing deeply to regulate her heart.  Who would have thought these episodes couldn't be held back any more.  Smiling to herself, she jokingly damned her therapist for a good job and left the stall to wash her hands.

The mirror above the sinks showed her eyes were a little red as was her nose and cheeks.  After drying her hands she used the paper towel to wipe her face.  She wouldn't let the guys get to her.  They were just being silly and flirtatious.  If what they said bothered her that much, she had a lot more thinking to do on her current relationship.