Free You and Only You by Sharon Sala Page A

hospital, and when she’d gone over that evening after work to say hi, Carol had said he was asleep. Lily had tried again last night with the same result, and this time she knew Carol was as uncomfortable lying as she was getting the rejection. She wouldn’t go back. She knew when she wasn’t wanted. She just didn’t know why.
    As she waited at the corner for traffic to pass, she heard the rumble of T. J. Lachlan’s hot-rod engine and turned to look. The lure of new territory was still there, but not as appealing as it had been. She needed to be okay with Mike more than she wanted to see if she could attract a man. But she couldn’t fix anything when she didn’t know what was broken, and Mike wouldn’t talk to her. All she could do was focus on changing her attitude, and hopefully her social life would change with it.
    When the shiny black truck passed by the corner, she looked away. She didn’t want anyone’s attention. She just wanted her headache to go away, and the beauty shop was the best place to make that happen.
    The bell jingled as she walked in the door.
    Ruby waved at her from the shampoo station.
    “Come on back, girl! I’m ready for you.”
    Lily hung up her coat, dropped her purse by Ruby’s styling chair, and sat down in front of the shampoo bowl.
    Ruby fastened a cape over her clothes and patted her shoulder.
    “Lean back, honey, and we’ll get this pretty hair washed in nothing flat.”
    Lily sank backward like she was sliding into an old footed tub full of bubbles, took a deep breath, and then closed her eyes. The water was warm on her scalp. Ruby’s chatter was going in one ear and out the other, which was fine. Most of what she said was information and didn’t require a comment.
    When she squirted shampoo on Lily’s head and began to work it into her hair, using long, steady strokes to scrub it clean, Lily felt like crying. Logically, she knew it was because the tension was releasing in her neck and shoulders. But when Ruby actually began massaging her scalp, tears welled. She sniffed as she fumbled for a tissue to wipe her nose, unaware that the tears were already rolling down her face.
    Ruby was shocked. Not once in all the years she’d been doing LilyAnn’s hair had she seen her exhibit real emotion of any kind. Then she remembered how rattled Lily had been at the hospital after Mike’s accident and immediately thought something must have happened to him. She leaned down.
    “Honey, what’s wrong? Is Mike okay?”
    Lily began swiping at her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Sister,” she mumbled. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I guess I’m just tired.”
    Ruby didn’t push the issue, but she didn’t think that was it at all. She finished the shampoo and rinse, then moved Lily back to the styling chair and worked some setting gel into the long, silky strands. Without saying another word, she grabbed the blow-dryer and brush and got down to business.
    LilyAnn felt numb. She was only vaguely aware that the last customer was gone and that Mabel Jean had followed Vera and Vesta to the back room to grab a little lunch before their next appointments showed up. She wouldn’t look at herself—couldn’t look at herself without wailing, so she stared down at the toes of her shoes instead.
    Ruby noticed the tears hanging on LilyAnn’s lashes. She could almost feel her sadness. She liked her a lot, and when something was wrong in Ruby’s world, she had an overwhelming urge to fix it.
    “Listen up, girl. We’re alone, so talk to me. Is something wrong with Mike?”
    It was the word “Mike” that did it. Lily covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
    Ruby’s heart skipped a beat. “Honey. Is it Mike? Did he get worse? What’s happened?”
    “No, he’s not worse. He’s mad at me, and I don’t know why.”
    Ruby stifled a huge sigh of relief. “Well, bless your heart. What happened?”
    Lily was sobbing loud enough that it brought the other three women out of the back