“Do you really want to talk about the disastrous Kool-Aid hair-color incident?” Gunnar had sworn to Eboni that he could use the lemonade Kool-Aid mixture to put highlights in her hair. It had taken four months for the garish orange color to disappear.
“No, but you used to make great leave-in conditioners and hair moisturizers. You could do that again.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Gunnar furrowed his eyebrows.
Eboni smiled before revealing her proposal. “You could make those products again and sell them here. The proceeds could go toward the center.”
“If I did it, I would use the money to help this place out first.” He shook his head. “That place doesn’t mean a tenth as much to me as this salon. I hope you understand that.”
Before she could answer, the back door slammed shut.
“Whew! It is too cold and I am too cute to have on all these clothes.” Shay did her trademark sway into the salon. As soon as she saw Gunnar, a smile sprang to her face.
The dark-skinned young woman stood almost as tall as Gunnar and had to be as big around as one of his legs. Her bright, white teeth gleamed against her dark complexion when she smiled. She rocked her standard short Afro puff trumpeting from the back of her head.
“Well, hello.” She sauntered to Gunnar, who didn’t move but did watch her. “Are you her parole officer, or did you hire security for us?”
“Shay, while Queen Elizabeth is in the hospital, her son has--”
“Son?” Shay split her attention between Gunnar and Eboni. “Since when does Miss Queen have a white son?”
“Three actually,” Gunnar offered.
“How can you not know that? She talks about her boys all the time. She has pictures of them in her office.”
“I just thought the pictures came with the frames.”
Eboni balled her hands into fists. “This is her oldest, Gunnar Wells.”
Gunnar held out his hand.
“Oh, no, honey. Any family of Queenie’s is family to me.” She embraced him in her slender, muscular arms. For good measure, or maybe she thought he would respond to it, she wiggled her backside.
Gunnar gave her a pat on the back and pulled away from her. Eboni hid her smile when he broke from Shay’s embrace. Most single men--and even the married ones--that came to the shop fell for Shay’s look and charms. Good to see one man holding strong…at least in front of Eboni.
“Gunnar, this is Shay Brownley. She does it all but really specializes in braids, twists, and natural styles.” Eboni poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip of the needed pick-me-up.
“Good to see we’re doing more for our customers than just relaxers and weaves.” Gunnar put his hand on one of the empty shelves.
“Our customers? What is he talking about?” Shay looked at both him and Eboni.
“As I was saying, while Queen Elizabeth is in the hospital, Gunnar has agreed to step into her spot.” Eboni would leave off the fact that Gunnar would be leaving like he’d done in the past.
Shay blinked as though she stood in the middle of a windstorm. “What? What? What? He’s going to be here?”
Eboni nodded.
“Just like old times.” Gunnar smiled.
“That’s going to go over like a lead balloon.” Shay grabbed her purse and strutted to her station.
“Why do you say that?” Gunnar followed her.
“Women like coming to a beauty salon to talk about you.” Shay pointed to him.
“Me?”
“Not you specifically. Men in general. How are they going to feel free talking about what guy stood them up or who is a bad tipper or which guy is a bad la--”
“Uh, he gets it.” Eboni had to cut her off before she got too risqué. “Tillman is here.”
“Oh, he doesn’t count.” Shay waved her hand. “Tillman has been here for a while. Anyway, how are women going to feel like themselves here? I hate to say it, but you might have to go.”
Gunnar crossed his arms over his massive chest. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Then you had better hide out in the office for the day.”
He shook his head. “I grew up here in this shop.” He walked over to the doorway that went to the play area for the kids. “See these notches? That’s where my mother marked my growth each year.”
“So that’s what those are. I thought some kid didn’t want to leave the play area and they were holding the doorframe.” Shay cackled as she started up her curling irons and flat irons. “Listen, folks are funny about their hair. You’re going to have to do a lot to gain their trust. Being Queen’s adopted son ain’t going to cut it.”
Eboni knew the adopted tag would get to Gunnar. Seeing his jaw flex clued her in that her assumption had been dead-on.
“Nice to meet you, Shay.” Gunnar turned and headed back to the office.
“I mean for real, Eb.” Shay pulled on Eboni’s arm and lowered her voice. “Does he seriously think he’s going to come up in here and be like Queen?”
“I did warn him that the salon now is not like the salon was back in the day.” Eboni had to give the man credit. He’d put himself out there more than she had expected.
Eboni thought she heard a squeak from the back area. Sunlight streamed through the doorway that separated the back of the salon from the front working area. Within a few seconds, Tisha crept into the salon.
The slight woman walked with her head down as though unsure of her own steps. She constantly pushed up her black horned-rimmed glasses, which probably slipped down her slender nose because of the position of her head. The flowered dress she wore and the pale blue cardigan sweater swallowed her tiny frame. When she got to her station, she took off the ice cleats from her black orthopedic shoes.
“Hey, Tisha. Another wild night?” Shay poked the light-skinned woman in her side with the silver end of her rat-tail comb.
Tisha flinched and mumbled something.
Shay put her hand to her ear. “What did you say?”
“I was home all night,” Tisha said in her version of a shout, which sounded more like a loud whisper.
“Leave her alone. Not everyone is like you.” Eboni nudged the statuesque woman with her elbow.
Eboni noticed a look of horror cover Tisha’s face before the woman grabbed a can of hairspray and sprayed it in front of her.
“Intruder! Intruder! Call the police!” Tisha managed to scream as she jumped from side to side.
Eboni looked over to where she’d sprayed the hairspray and saw Gunnar standing in the doorway of the office.
“Put the can down. He’s not an intruder.” Eboni took the tall, light blue aerosol can from her hand and returned it to its spot on her station. “Tisha, this is Gunnar Wells. He’s Queen Elizabeth’s son. He’s going to be filling in for her while she’s in the hospital.”
“Hi, Tisha.” Gunnar smiled and extended his hand just as she dropped her gaze to the floor and turned her back on him.
Eboni walked by Gunnar to get more coffee. In a whisper, she said, “Don’t mind her. She does great hair but she’s painfully shy.”
Gunnar nodded. “Anyone else showing up?”
The back door slammed open again. Tisha jumped at the sound.
“Whooo, man! It ain’t fit for man nor beast out there.” Tillman strutted into the salon.
The husky man had only started working there within the last six months. Elizabeth had said she wanted to diversify the salon and had offered him a job as a stylist, which had surprised Eboni.
Tillman looked like he should have been a football player. He kept himself in pretty good shape. Eboni thought he would hit on the clients. So far, Tillman had behaved himself.
“Gunnar, this is Tillman. He’s sort of our jack-of-all-trades. He does hair, nails, waxing. Whatever.” Eboni pointed to the man who took off his heavy leather jacket and placed it on the coat rack by his station. “Tillman, this is--”
“Gunnar ‘Guns’ Wells! As I live and breathe.” Tillman held out his hand and brought Gunnar in for a half hug.
“You know this man?” Shay asked as she leaned against her station.
“You don’t? He’s only the undefeated mixed martial arts champion. He kicks some serious butt. I saw that fight with The Shark this past weekend. Actually, I missed it. I saw him when he laid that punch on you.” He pointed to Gunnar’s eye. “Then I blinked and it was over.” He laughed hard.
Gunnar gave him a slight smile and nodded. “My mom had called me before the match and said she was in the hospital. I had to make it quick so I could come home.”
“What a coincidence. Queen is in the hospital right now.”
Eboni punched Tillman in the arm. “Queen is his mother. Do none of y’all listen to her when she talks about her children or even go in her office to see the pictures?”
“I would remember seeing this cat’s picture.”
“She has pictures of me as a teenager with shorter hair.” Gunnar jutted his thumb over his shoulder to his mother’s office.
Tillman pointed to Gunnar. “Man, I can’t believe you’re here. So what are you doing at the salon?”
“He’s filling in for Queen while she’s sick.” Shay shrugged and turned to her station.
“Okay, okay. Welcome to Press ’N Curl.” Tillman nodded and went back to his area.
“I thought men working here wouldn’t work out.” Gunnar stared pointedly at Shay.
Shay took her time turning back to him. “People know Tillman. He grew up around here. He’s like everybody’s little brother.”
“I grew up here.” Gunnar pointed all around the salon. “I grew up in this neighborhood and I grew up in this salon.”
“I’ve been here for the last five years. Where have you been?”
The question stopped him cold.
Shay pointed at him with her rat-tail comb. “Hey, since you’re a big celebrity and all, maybe you could do a commercial or print ad or an interview to drum up some business around here.”
Gunnar shook his head. “Not going to happen. Not my thing.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do an interview.” Tillman looked at his reflection in the mirror behind his station. He looked over at Shay. “He’s not a hype man like them other MMA cats.”
Shay snickered and shook her head. “Great. He’s about as functional as a paperweight.”
The backdoor opened again, and this time Monica lumbered inside. The short, heavy woman didn’t stop when she looked at Gunnar. She made it to her seat at the receptionist area, plopped herself down, and turned to the group.
“Who is this? Health inspector?” She pointed to Gunnar.
“Queen’s son.” Tisha spoke a hair above a whisper.
“MMA champ, Guns Wells.” Tillman pumped his fist in the air.
“Gunnar.” He approached Monica’s area and extended his hand.
She accepted it but gave him a suspicious stare. “What are you doing here?”
“Filling in for Queen while she’s in the hospital.” Shay sat in her styling chair and swung her high-heeled booted foot back and forth. “The great white hope is here to save us.”
“Hey, don’t do that.” Eboni wagged her finger at Shay.
As much as she didn’t want Gunnar there, she wouldn’t stand to have him ridiculed because of his race.
“Is this everyone?” Gunnar asked again.
“This is it.” Eboni walked toward the front door to unlock it.
“Before you open the door, I just wanted to say a few things. Just one second.” Gunnar ducked back into the office.
Eboni hurried to the area to find out what in the world he had planned. “What are you doing?”
At that moment, she caught him without a shirt. He had his back to her. The muscular expanse of flesh had her imagining her fingernails clawing it. She chewed on her lower lip as she continued watching him get dressed.
He slipped on a black T-shirt and tossed his other one into a gym bag. “Had some dust on the other one.”
Eboni smiled and nodded, unable to speak after that show. He ushered her out of the office and closed the door behind himself.
“As I was saying, I wanted to thank you all for working so hard for my mother while she’s recovering. In case you hadn’t heard, she was supposed to have a stent installed yesterday, but they found additional blockage in another artery.”
“So what does that mean?” Shay asked.
“They’re going to do bypass surgery. Double for sure, but may be triple if they find more problem spots.”
Shay and Tillman covered their mouths in horror. Tisha barely lifted her head to look at him.
“I’m going to assume my mother’s duties while she’s gone. So look to me as you would look to her.”
“You going to get your nails painted like Queen?” Shay laughed so loud Tisha jumped at the sound.
Gunnar smiled. “Funny. I also wanted to propose something.” He glanced at Eboni before continuing.
Eboni felt her eyebrows draw together at his unexpected announcement. The brief stare started her heart. She put her hand to her chest and looked at the other employees to ground herself.
“The Oceanfront Community Center is in need of some money to make necessary repairs. What do you all think about opening the salon on Mondays and have all the money made on that day go to the center? Are you all in?”
The room fell quiet. Gunnar hadn’t mentioned this plan to her before springing it on the group. Unexpected anger bubbled in her gut. Then Shay broke the silence with her cackling laughter.
“You are too funny. Open up the salon so that we can make some money. I have a client coming in a few minutes.” She scratched the inside of her Afro with her pinkie nail.
“So you don’t want to do it?” Gunnar crossed his arms.
“If it’s not paying my bills, I’m not paying no mind.” Shay shook her head. “I’m not coming here on my day off to work for free. Are you crazy?”
“Yeah, man. Sundays and Mondays are our weekends. We work here Tuesdays through Saturday. I like my weekends.” Tillman shrugged.
Tisha glanced up, mumbled something and turned around.
When Gunnar brought his attention to Eboni, she hoped he caught her genuine surprise. “I’m going to unlock the door, and then you and I need to talk.” She walked to the door. “Let’s open.”
Once Eboni unlocked the door, she stormed to the office and waited for Gunnar. He followed right behind her, closing the door for privacy.
“What was that out there?” Eboni asked.
“What? Didn’t you want some support for the center?” Gunnar felt an intense headache stabbing the middle of his forehead.
“Yes. Support. What you did was so halfhearted, you practically dared them to accept it. You might as well have laughed with them.” Eboni crossed her arms over her chest.
“I need some air.” Gunnar grabbed his coat and swung the office door open. He stomped outside.
“Where is he going?” Monica asked.
“He needs some space.” Eboni strolled out of the office.
“Damn, the first customer hasn’t even come in yet and he’s already bailing.” Shay shook her head. “Didn’t think he would last. No one can fill Miss Queen’s shoes. No one.”
Eboni felt no need to go after him. She’d made the center her baby. He didn’t care about it…or her.
Her sensible side whispered in her ear that his plan had been solid. Had the employees been on board, they could have raised a lot of money.
As she started to walk by Shay, the woman grabbed her arm and pulled her close to her.
“So what’s the story?” Shay asked under her breath.
“What do you mean?” Eboni shrugged out of her boney grip.
“Are you and Gunnar hitting it?” Shay punctuated her question with an obscene thrust.
�
��No.” Eboni shook her head. “We did date when we were in high school. Then he left.”
“Without you?”
Eboni nodded, feeling no need to rehash that old story.
“Honey, he’s got to be a millionaire now. Are you going to go after him again?”
Eboni shook her head. “Too much drama from our pasts. Too much for me to get over.”
“So you wouldn’t be upset if I went after him, right?”
Eboni regarded Shay for a moment. She imagined Shay and Gunnar together and her stomach compressed. Why would she even care if Gunnar dated someone else? She assumed he’d done that and more in the ten years since he’d left.
“Be my guest.”
Shay smiled as a customer walked into the salon. “I’m going to have that man wrapped around my finger, toe, and eyelash before I’m through. I can’t believe you’re willing to let him go. White or black, he’s fine. He needs to get rid of that ponytail, but other than that, he’s hot. He’s got a great body. And, again, he’s probably rich. What else do you need?”
Eboni didn’t tell her misguided coworker that commitment meant everything above all of the superficial items she’d mentioned. Instead, she took a step to the side to let her customer get to her. “I thought you were seeing someone else?”
Shay waved her hand at her. “I can handle more than one man. Don’t worry about Miss Shay. Or is that jealousy I hear?”
Eboni shook her head. “Whatever.”
Gunnar Wells had his own agenda. Eboni wouldn’t get fooled again.
* * * *
Gunnar had managed to walk down the street about half of a mile to a corner store he used to go to when he was a teenager. Except for being dirtier and smaller than he remembered, the convenience store looked the same.
He took a deep breath as he thought about the fact that not everything had changed. This store still had its candy aisle in the middle. Then and now, Gunnar figured out that they situated the candy that way so that little kids wouldn’t be tempted to steal…like he had.
Gunnar walked into the store, thankful for the lack of customers inside. He poured himself a cup of coffee for the long walk back to the salon. He paid for the drink with a twenty-dollar bill. When the cashier tried giving Gunnar his change, he walked away.
The Look of Love Page 7