False Alarm
The rain fell like a soft curtain, cutting the salon off from the noise of the street. Lara sat with her chin propped on her palm, waiting for her first client. Nico rocked back and forth in the styling chair, hands limp in his lap. Mia melted into the back of her chair, eyes closed. She yawned hugely, then let out a long, satisfied breath.
Lara raised the back of her hand to her mouth and lazily followed Mia’s lead. Nico tried to stifle his own yawn, but his face twisted into a grimace.
“Sorry,” Mia hummed.
“Damn it,” Nico muttered to himself. “I came in to place the order, and here I am zoning out instead.”
“Why don’t you use the inventory app?” Lara wondered.
“I’d actually have to keep up with it…”
“Pff,” Mia giggled.
“You can set it up so it tracks exactly how much of each product each service uses,” Lara went on, a note of reproach in her voice.
“That’s the thing. I should set it up.”
Mia straightened and turned her whole body toward Nico.
“Want me to do it? You know I love this kind of thing.”
Nico waved her off.
“I can’t be that lazy.”
“It’s not laziness,” Mia crooned. “You just don’t have the patience for it. I do.”
Lara rolled her eyes. Mia’s enthusiasm always brought a smile to her face. The receptionist thought Nico was a natural talent and couldn’t stop admiring him.
“Ugh,” a middle-aged man with disheveled hair stumbled into the salon.
Nico looked over his tousled hair, then glanced in surprise at the clock, then at Mia. His eyebrows drew into a stern line, his gaze hardening as the receptionist frantically clicked the mouse on the desk.
“One second,” Mia stammered, searching desperately for the client’s appointment.
Lara watched her flustered colleague with concern. It had been so long since she’d mixed anything up!
Meanwhile, the man turned uncertainly toward Lara.
“I… I’m so sorry,” Mia squeaked. “You’re not in the system. I really messed something up.”
“We’ll sort it out,” Nico said, rising from his chair. “Come with me, please,” he gestured toward the wash station.
The man’s lips parted slightly, but nothing came out except a faint whimper.
“Thankfully no one else showed up,” Mia stammered, her voice tight with shame. “Please, have a seat.”
The man looked at Lara desperately.
“I…” he faltered.
“So what are we doing today?” Nico jumped in to help.
The man swallowed hard.
“My feet…”
Mia recoiled. Nico stared at the man, baffled.
“Then you’d better sit with me,” Lara invited in a soft voice.
The man settled awkwardly into the comfortable armchair while Lara did everything she could to distract him from the awkward start.
“I hope I got the water temperature right.” She touched his knee lightly. “Should the massage be stronger? Or gentler? How do you like it?”
“I don’t really know,” the client shrugged, tilting his head slightly. “This is fine, the way it is.”
“Great. Then all you have to do is relax.”
A deep, tired sigh escaped him.
“I could use that.”
The sadness in his voice swept through the salon. Mia set down the phone. Nico paced aimlessly between the styling chair and the wash station. Lara watched the man’s weary face with a sympathetic smile.
“This rainy weather wears everyone down.”
“What’s worn me down is the last couple of weeks. If I’d known a date would cost me two teeth, I swear I wouldn’t even bother trying to find a partner. Eh…” he waved dismissively.
Lara, Mia, and Nico all flinched at once, as if they’d been hit by a jolt of electricity. Their eyes darted anxiously from one to another. The man couldn’t help but notice.
“You don’t believe me?”
He shifted uncomfortably. He looked, embarrassed, from Lara to the other two.
Lara leaned in.
“What on earth happened on that date?” burst out of her.
Mia and Nico instinctively leaned closer too. The man ran a hand through his disheveled hair. His mouth twisted into an ironic smile as he seemed to replay the scene in his mind.
“That woman…” he shook his head. “She’s like a nuclear explosion. I don’t even remember how we met anymore. Either through a dating app, or in my cab, on the job. Either way, we ended up on a date. And the way she swears… I don’t think she’s even aware of it. That alone should have been a warning sign.” He sighed. “Of course, I never listen to my gut, or to good advice. I asked her out. Then this woman spots some guy, tries to duck behind me — and mind you, she’s got to be six-foot-something — and shoves me with such force that I headbutt the bar. Ever had a tooth knocked out? Insane pain. And blood like something out of a horror movie.”
Mia couldn’t contain her curiosity.
“And then?” she asked, eyes shining.
The man seemed to only now notice that not just Lara but everyone else, too, was listening with bated breath. He turned toward the front desk in surprise, then threw up his hands, embarrassed.
“I got my teeth fixed…”
“And did she pay for it?” Mia cut in.
Lara shot her a sharp look. Mia shrank back into her chair, embarrassed. Nico cleared his throat impatiently, but didn’t wait around for Lara to give him the same look. He turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen. No one needed to know that he stayed camped right on the other side of the door.
Mia noticed, but she completely agreed with the stylist. They finally had to hear the whole story. They already knew the Vera-and-the-boob-ogling-dad version, but without the famous knocked-out-tooth cabbie version, the story felt incomplete.
“At first she didn’t want to. In fact, she came at me saying the blood had ruined her clothes. She even threatened me, with two gaping holes where my teeth used to be. Then, out of nowhere, one day she just paid for it. I’ll admit, I don’t mind, because the whole thing was so embarrassing it never even occurred to me to bill her for the dentist. Let alone report her. Honestly,” he added, blushing, “if she’d brought up the cost of her clothes one more time, I probably would have paid for that too, just to get rid of that woman…”