Page 36 of My Husband’s Wife
Thirty-Five
Time ticks by quickly today at the salon.
Madison checks her messages. It’s probably because Eva is booked in for a trim.
Madison contemplates whether to go home and leave Orla and Tammy on their own but there are too many customers coming in today.
It wouldn’t be fair on them. She checks her emails again and almost lets out a happy shriek as she peruses the offer on the salon again.
The new owner will also keep the staff. She’s been honest with Orla and Tammy, and they’re happy for her, even though they’ll miss her.
Madison has already checked out small commercial premises around the area they’re looking at moving to, and there are some great opportunities.
This time, she wants to invest in a wellness centre, get something bigger and grander than the salon.
She wants a pool, a sauna and a yoga room, and she’ll have a worthy deposit and a winning business plan to present to the bank for the loan she needs.
Damn, Eva will probably be waiting. She finishes Kellis’s brows and shows them to her in the mirror. ‘I love them. Thanks, Madison, and I’ll see you again soon.’
Kellis has left and it’s just her in the treatment room on her own.
The panpipes play as she lies on the treatment table enjoying the calming vibes of the music and the scent of rose petals floating in a bowl of water.
After taking a few minutes to build up enough momentum to continue, she stands and leaves the room.
‘Eva, it’s so lovely to see you again.’ Eva is nervous too because she flinches as soon as Madison mentions her name.
After a bit of chit chat, she leads Eva to the third chair along.
The woman with the foils in her hair is still happily reading her Kindle as she waits for the colour to take.
‘I think we have you down for a dry trim, is that right?’
‘Yes, thank you,’ Eva replies.
Madison pulls a cape over Eva’s head and begins to comb and spray her tangled blonde curls.
The situation feels awkward since the cancellation.
‘Once again, I’m really sorry about letting you down, but we had to take the other venue when the cancellation there came up.
’ She asks Eva if she’s okay about it, and Eva reassures her that it’s all fine.
After a few minutes, she’s cut the fringe that Eva also asked her to do and she’s dried it straight.
She talks about her life and Madison mentions that her baby keeps her awake at night, all the usual banal conversations she has a million times a day.
Same conversations, different people. Madison wonders if she prejudged Eva a bit harshly.
She seems quite friendly and pleasant, not all confused and weird like when they had their meeting.
Theo’s reaction to her had maybe been due to his anxiety.
Madison finds herself opening up to Eva and wondering why she also felt uncomfortable around her.
‘After the wedding, Theo wants to move to Scotland. He said that was his dream. We’re looking at houses near Loch Ness actually.
We feel it would be good for the little one.
’ She pauses, wondering if what she’s saying to Eva is remotely interesting, but Eva looks keen to hear more.
‘It’s big progress for Theo. He’s been doing so well getting out and about, and I no longer feel as though we’re stuck here forever.
I have a buyer lined up for the salon. She’s a brilliant hairdresser so I know you’ll be in expert hands when you come again. ’ Madison knows she’s wittering on now.
Eva’s smile has turned into a frown. She’s staring in the same way she did during the meeting and, all of a sudden, Madison feels a nervous flutter in her stomach.
Why did she say so much and let her guard down?
Eva is still a little strange; she should have stuck to talking about something safe, like the weather but it was easy to get carried away.
It’s time to end this appointment and get Eva out of her salon.
‘Well, what do you think?’
‘I love it. Thank you,’ Eva replies, a more relaxed expression spreading across her face.
Maybe she imagined that Eva had been frowning, as she seems normal now.
She has a lot of scabs on the back of her head and a lot of missing hair.
Madison doesn’t see this a lot but sometimes a person comes in and it’s almost a cry for help, which is why she keeps the card of a good therapist at hand.
It’s actually Theo’s therapist; she’s been wonderful and patient with him so she recommends her to everyone.
She did after all recommend her to Theo after getting help herself years ago.
Maybe Eva’s frown was because of the state of her head and, for a second, Madison wonders what Eva could have gone through that would make her pick her scalp until it was raw.
‘I know someone who can help.’ There, Madison has said it. She chats away about how good the therapist is, and she is sure that Eva’s eyes are glassing over. Is she about to cry? Has Madison said too much or not enough?
‘Damn, I’m running late. I have to go.’ Eva drops some money on the counter and darts away from her.
Madison feels bad now. She runs to the door and calls out, but Eva ignores her and gets into the car and drives away.
She heads back into the treatment room and lies back on the couch, turning the panpipe music up.
It was like Eva wanted to say more, but what?
She decides to forget it. Eva is not her problem.
As her thoughts drift, they go back to the wedding ring that Theo claims to have found in their garden.
Love you forever . She also knows there was someone outside watching them, and then there are the calls and messages that Theo keeps receiving.
She should be looking forward to her wedding, but something is telling her to halt the plans.
Everything is moving too fast. She’s going to sell the salon.
They’re going to move. They have a baby.
Her heart begins to bang. All the calming music in the world can’t take away the worries that are brewing inside her.
Is it pre-wedding jitters? What if she’s making the biggest mistake of her life?
Orla barges into the treatment room, yanking her out of her thoughts. ‘That customer who just left was in an accident and it looks like Theo’s involved.’