The Man Who Was Standing Wrong
Mia coughed a few times, her face contorted with disgust, then yanked the salon door shut with more force than necessary. She stopped herself from slamming it, but she couldn’t hide her irritation. From behind the pedicure station, Lara craned her neck to see who was smoking outside near the entrance.
“Vera?” she said, surprised as soon as she recognized the tall, wiry silhouette. “But she doesn’t even smoke.”
“Only when she’s absolutely losing it,” Mia said, raising an index finger.
The corner of Lara’s mouth dropped.
Right.
It happened rarely, but every now and then even Vera—whose default state already involved excessive swearing—got rattled by something more upsetting than men staring at her chest.
Lara instinctively slowed down.The later she had to endure the incoming hurricane of profanity, the better. Because avoiding it was never an option.
Nico’s scissors froze for a second too. He searched for Mia’s eyes in the mirror. The receptionist gave him a conspiratorial smile, then took a few deep breaths herself.
Besides, they owed it to the customers inside not to expose them to one of Vera’s spectacular meltdowns—even if everyone in the salon adored her.
While Lara slowed down, Nico sped up. If luck was on their side, the salon would be empty by the time their loud-mouthed regular stormed in and took over the place. Mia’s knee bounced with nervous energy. Please don’t come in yet. Please let everyone finish first.
As soon as Vera finished her cigarette, she peered through the glass door. Her mouth twisted. Then, visibly annoyed, she lit another one.
*
“Finally,” she groaned as she lowered herself into the comfortable armchair.
She eased her foot into the bubbling warm water with a sigh of relief. She filled her lungs, then slowly exhaled.
“You won’t fucking believe how deep in shit I am.”
Mia practically flew out from behind the reception desk to hear better. Nico sat cross-legged in one of the styling chairs, gently rocking back and forth as he waited, barely breathing, for Vera to finally begin.
“Come on already,” Lara said impatiently, forgetting her role entirely.
“I had a date yesterday with a taxi driver.”
“Oh, that’s nice!” Mia blurted out enthusiastically, because Vera and men usually existed in a permanent state of warfare.
Vera did not look enthusiastic. She stabbed Mia with a glare.
“Oh really? You think that’s nice?” she asked with venomous sarcasm. “Then listen carefully to just how fucking nice it was.”
Heat flooded Mia’s face. She dropped her eyes. Her head dipped too.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
Vera shrugged.
“So anyway, I went out with that asshole. Because yes, apparently he is an asshole. We’ve established that now. He took me to dinner at some rundown dump. Honestly, that should’ve been my sign right there. I should’ve called it quits and gotten the hell out,” she huffed. “But of course this idiot hadn’t booked a table, so we had to stand off to the side at the bar. You can imagine how thrilled I was, standing there like some abandoned broom handle.”
She paused for dramatic effect.
“And then, for fuck’s sake, Chest-Staring Dad walks in. You know. That one. The not-so-ugly one. I told you about him.”
The corner of Nico’s mouth twitched.
“And I got so startled I shoved the taxi guy away from me.” She sucked in a breath. “But apparently this moron wasn’t standing like a normal human being. No. He was standing all… floppy. Like a fucking dish rag. Jesus Christ.”
Nico leaned forward but didn’t dare interrupt.
“So he lost his balance…” Vera continued, “…and smashed his face straight into the fucking bar.”
Nico threw his head back and burst out laughing.
“Don’t fucking laugh!” Vera shrieked. “He broke two teeth!”
Mia and Lara slapped their hands over their mouths at the exact same time.
The same question sat on both their tongues:
Dear God… how hard did you shove him?
But neither of them was brave enough to risk Vera’s wrath.
“So now the bastard’s suing me,” Vera finished.
Impatiently, she flung her foot onto Lara’s knee. Lara hissed.
“Sorry, baby, didn’t mean to.”
There wasn’t a trace of regret on her face. Frustration and anger had taken up all available space.
“But… why is he suing you?” Mia asked carefully.
“Because I told him I wasn’t paying for his replacement teeth.” Vera threw her arms wide. “What the fuck am I? A charity?”
“Could it maybe be because of the shove…” Lara ventured gently.
“You’re not seriously about to start with that bullshit about me being responsible for those two pathetic little teeth flying out of his mouth?” Vera stared at her. “That doesn’t happen to someone with healthy teeth and basic balance. Seriously, for fuck’s sake! Go shove somebody a little. Do they fall over and knock their teeth out? No. Exactly.”
Nico glanced at Mia, then at Lara. The three of them exchanged tiny nods. Vera was not in a state where reason had any chance whatsoever. And provoking her further seemed like a terrible idea.
“Do you have a lawyer?” Lara asked evenly. She had to know.
Vera shrugged.
“What for? They’ll laugh him out of court.”
“I see.” Lara nodded. “Still, if—”
“Don’t bother, baby, but thanks.” She paused, thinking. “Actually… now that I think about it, I should be suing him.”
Nico looked up.
“For what?”
“He completely ruined my outfit,” Vera snapped. “I was wearing a silk blouse. Silk. Do you have any idea how much a high-quality silk blouse costs?”