Free A Spring Affair by Milly Johnson

pulling the other push door, before finally and correctly pulling the pull door and entering.
    The receptionist was a very tall girl, spaghetti-thin with hips that a child would never get through in a million years. She smiled in a far friendlier way than Lou would have expected in such a pricey establishment and said, ‘Do you know, everyone does that. I don’t know why they don’t get doors that swing both ways.’
    She gowned Lou up and led her to a chair which was pumped up so her legs dangled, and then the Angel Gabriel appeared behind her and started weaving his hands into her hair.
    ‘Hi, I’m Carlo,’ said a voice rich in bolognese sauce.
    He was front cover magazine-stunning with dark colouring, a pencil-line of black beard and spiky, platinum hair that shouldn’t have worked, but did to great effect. He had lips that were pink and looked very soft and kissable. To boys or girls or both, she couldn’t tell. Maybe he swung both ways like the doors should have done. He was far too young to fancy, but she could easily appreciate his gorgeousness. For a split second she imagined that she was his mother. What would that feel like? To look at a boy as beautiful as this and know he wasyour son? It threw her a little because she hadn’t had thoughts like that for a long time.
    ‘So, what are we doing for you today?’
    Sending me to sleep if you carry on doing that much longer, thought Lou, as he played with her hair and studied her in the mirror.
    ‘I don’t know, to be honest. What do you think? I’ve had this style–well, forever…’
    Carlo stared at her reflection in the mirror, and then obviously inspired, he reached for a colour chart. After a lot of page-turning his eyes locked on a loop of dyed hair.
    ‘What do you think?’ he said.
    Lou gulped.
    ‘Trust me,’ said the Italian Angel Gabriel.
     
    Two hours later, Lou was watching as Carlo snipped at her hair in much the same wildly extravagant way that she used to when playing hairdressers with her dolls. Lou watched him wide-eyed with horror in the mirror, remembering all too well those end results. Her mother went nuts at the sight of Bald Tiny Tears.
    ‘Relax!’ said Carlo. ‘You will look fan-tas-tico!’
    Her eyes strayed to the detached snippings by the base of the chair. Clumped up together they looked like Dougal from The Magic Roundabout .
    Carlo spun her around so she couldn’t see the finishing touches he was making. He fluffed, he sprayed, and when he twisted her back to face the mirror, Lou’s eyes widened like a startled owl’s. Then her lips curved into a smile.
    ‘I can’t believe it. You’ve made my hair actually look longer!’
    ‘It was too heavy before–you really needed those layers and a good cut. I know you wanted to keep your length but it was pretty scraggy for the bottom four inches. And it’s much lighter up top so you can achieve some volume now. What do you think of the colour? Not so frightening now it’s dry, huh?’
    Lou examined the effect of the chilli-pepper orange heavily highlighting the front of her auburn waves, with just delicate touches of it at the sides. She felt trendier and looked younger than she had done in years. Why on earth had she ever stopped having her hair done? She used to love the feeling that was skipping around inside her now, that only a hairdresser could give.
    ‘I absolutely love it!’ said Lou.
    ‘It brings out the colour of your eyes,’ drawled Carlo sexily. ‘My, they’re so green. Mamma mia!’
    Sod being his mother, now she wanted to snog him. That voice! He could have been reciting a shopping list and she would have started dribbling. She wanted to dip some focaccia in him and eat him all up.
    Her hair was heavily sliced at the front and flicked round onto her face, with choppy layers at the back. He’d even managed to sex up her blunt fringe. It made her want to go out and buy a new outfit. Sod it, it was her birthday–she would go out and buy a new