Free Color Me Bad: A Novella by Sharon Sala Page B

brought Patty for her appointment. But for the past six weeks, Preacher Clymer had been a no-show.
    The first trip Patty June made alone seemed of no consequence to anyone, especially Patty June. The second one she was a little bit miffed but made all kinds of excuses. After that, she hadn’t mentioned his name again.
    But when she arrived alone today, Ruby could almost feel her anger. The little preacher’s wife hadn’t said a word to anyone from the time she walked in the front door. Ruby knew better than to ask what was wrong.
    Then the bell jingled over the door.
    “Hey, Patty, excuse me a sec,” Ruby said, and headed for the front of the shop as a tall, leggy redhead walked in.
    “Bobbette. Long time no see,” Ruby said.
    “Hi, Sister! I haven’t been here in a while. I moved to Chesterville after Daddy died.”
    “Well, I’ll say! I didn’t know that,” Ruby said. “How can I help you?”
    Bobbette batted her fake eyelashes in double time and held out her right hand.
    “Can you believe it? One of my nails has popped off. Makes my finger looked naked. I was wondering if Mabel Jean had time to put on a new one.”
    “That’s acrylic, right?” Ruby asked.
    “Yes. I tried silk wrap once but I didn’t much like them. So can she fix it? I have a hot date and I don’t like to keep my honey waiting, if you know what I mean.”
    “Ooh, so you’ve got yourself a fellow, do you? What’s his name?”
    Bobbette giggled. “I never kiss and tell. So can Mabel Jean work me in?”
    “She’s across the street eating lunch at Granny’s. Why don’t you run over there and ask her?”
    “Thanks, Ruby. See you in a bit.”
    Bobbette Paulson made a quick exit as Ruby went back to Patty June.
    “Sorry for the wait,” Ruby said and picked up the hair dryer, then caught the pissed-off look on Patty June’s face.
    “Is everything all right?” Ruby asked.
    Patty countered with a question of her own. “Sister, can I ask you a question?”
    “Sure.”
    “How do you feel about fornication?”
    Ruby blinked. “Excuse me?”
    Patty lowered her voice. “How do you feel about people who fornicate with someone other than their spouse?”
    “Oh. You mean cheat? Sleep around? You’re asking me? Girl, that’s why I’m not married. My old man cheated on me for a year and I didn’t know it. Might never have known it if it hadn’t been for our next-door neighbor’s kid. He asked me who the blond lady was who came to my house every Tuesday and Thursday, which happened to be the days I went in to work early. Can you imagine?”
    Patty’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I can imagine. What did you do?”
    “I left him, that’s what.”
    “But what did you do to him ?”
    Ruby frowned. “Nothing.”
    Patty’s face turned a bright shade of pink.
    Ruby blinked. “Is everything okay?”
    Patty’s mouth pursed tighter than a miser’s fist. “Why, everything is just fine, and thank you for asking.”
    “Okay, sure,” Ruby said. She grabbed the hair dryer and the vent brush and started styling Patty June’s hair.
    A few minutes later the door jingled again. Ruby looked over her shoulder, but it was just Mabel Jean coming back with Bobbette.
    “So, Patty, is the economy affecting the collection plate on Sundays?” Ruby asked.
    Patty didn’t answer. She was staring into the mirror, her gaze locked on the two women sitting at the manicure table behind her. Every time Bobbette tossed her long red hair and laughed at something Mabel Jean said, a nerve twitched at the corner of Patty’s eyes and her lips clenched a little tighter.
    Ruby knew that look. It was pure, unadulterated hate, and that’s when it hit her. What if the reason the preacher had been absent for so long was because he was cheating on Patty? And what if Bobbette Paulson was the hussy he was banging, and Patty June knew it?
    All the hair stood up at the back of Ruby’s neck. If this was so, the fact that they were, by accident, suddenly sitting in the same