Free The Turning by Erin R Flynn

hair.
    “Oh dear, that’s why I get paid. You do nothing, Kelly.” Greg tried to chastise me but I saw the big grin on his face. I smiled back and apologized gracefully. “Besides, I don’t get women often with all this gorgeous natural blonde hair. And today I get to play with it and make you look even more beautiful. Makes a man love his job.”
    “All the hair won’t be a problem, right? I’ve had some, um, issues in the past,” I hedged, not wanting to insult him.
    “Not at all, chickie, you are in good hands. They only hire the best stylists here. What kind of problems did you have?” He raised an eyebrow at me in the mirror and I could tell he had the perfect personality for the job… A little gossip at heart.
    I told him and Eric about my disaster before senior prom. I had gone to a well-known salon to get my hair done. I guess the girl was a little newer and an hour into her working on my hair she started crying and saying she couldn’t do it.
    “Do what?” I had asked her. She told me she couldn’t finish my hair, I just had too much. Greg and Eric busted out laughing, they had to hold their sides they were hooting so hard. Nicole had heard this story before, but she was still sitting there with that goofy grin she gets when she finds something funny.
    “So what happened? I would have punched the bitch,” Greg declared very seriously and he wasn’t lying.
    “They sent over another girl who specialized in long hair. She did a fantastic job, but she had to undo everything the other girl had done and do it all over again. I was there for about three hours and had to race home and barely made it to my friend’s house in time for pictures.” That had been a crazy day in general.
    I remember having a pretty good time, but I wasn’t much of a partier, and it wasn’t like the proms you see at the movies. “I did have the most gorgeous dress. I actually hated it at first, but it looked great on me, and it was the only one left in my size. I figured it was fate since my mom and I had been looking for hours and we saw this one right as we were about to give up.”
    “Well, did your hair even look this good for the prom?” Greg asked me as he spun the chair around to face the mirror. What he had done was amazing! About half my now curly hair was pulled up and clipped with these sparkling clear rhinestones that hung down from them. The other half was left down so it almost gave the illusion that my head was a waterfall of hair. It was absolutely gorgeous.
    “Not even close, Greg. You are fantastic !” I turned to look at Nicole, and she looked unbelievable as well. Her hair was shorter than mine, and it was all pulled up into some kind of pattern with little pieces hanging down. “Holy shit, you look great, Nic. Eric I deem you a genius as well.” I reached for my purse and pulled out my wallet, but before I could even grab any money, Greg interrupted me and put his hand over mine.
    “Mr. Grady already gave us a very generous tip and was very specific that this was his treat. But thank you, Kelly, you really are such a sweetie. I can see why he is so enamored with you. If I was straight, I might try to steal you,” he chuckled, giving me a wink.
    I laughed a little, stood on my toes, and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Greg. Thank you really doesn’t cover it, though, for making me look model worthy for once in my life.” I quickly grabbed one of his business cards and a pen. “But here is my number, if you ever need anything medical, you call me.”
    “No shit, you’re a doc?” he asked, his eyes going wide.
    “Yes, Nicole too. Thank you again.” I smiled at him and Eric and gave a little wave as I called Kevin to tell him we were ready. I thanked Samantha again as we were walking out the door, and she had me sign a card saying which services we’d just had.
    I offered to pay, but again I was told Mr. Grady had already handled it. Kevin pulled up just as we walked out of