Pistol

Chapter Twenty-One

The stylist smiled above Steph's reflection as she stared wide-eyed at the result. A smile nervously crept onto Steph's lips, and then turned into a mega-watt grin as she turned her head side-to-side to check it all out. "I love it."

The stylist clapped her hands. "Yay. I'm so glad. When you first said you wanted it aquamarine-green, I was like 'what?', but now I've seen it ... wow."

"It's perfect." Steph ran the loose curls through her finger-tips. Stage one—complete. Her phone vibrated a message across the small counter before the mirror.

"Come up to the front, and I'll get you fixed up. Are you okay for products?" the stylist asked.

Steph nodded as she opened the text. Her tattoo artist, Johnny, had replied to the query she sent while she waited for her colour to develop.

I can always fit you in, sugar. See you when you're done.

She handed her card over to the lady who manned the front desk, and typed a quick reply.

Finished up now. See you in ten.

"Have a great rest of your day," the woman crooned with a plastered smile.

Steph smiled in thanks, and quickly turned to hot-foot it out of the mall as she placed her card back in her wallet. Johnny's place was located over the main road from the shopping complex, so thankfully there would be no need to time another bus. Early afternoon sun dappled light through the branches of the giant pines that lined the outer edge of the car park. It struck her, as she pressed the button to cross the road, that she hadn't had a singular thought of Pete, or Cass for the last half hour. Progress. The pain of betrayal stung like a monster-sized bee in her side, but only time could heal such wounds. Steph only hoped that the post Cass had made about her wouldn't turn into a thorn that festered in her side.

She crossed the road, much to the amused stares of a couple of motorists. She could only imagine how her new colour caught the sunlight. Johnny stood to greet her as she stepped through the door of his shop.

"Hey, darlin'. I had a cancellation, so lucky for you, my seat is totally free."

Steph smiled at his eager body language as he swept through the parlour to clear his coffee, and bin the disposable paper that covered the arm of the leather chair. Johnny always had a kind of charm to the way he spoke, but it had never been an issue. The man was married, with two gorgeous kids that he shared photos of every time Steph came.

"How's the family?" She slipped onto the seat.

"Great. Malina has my nuts in a jar on the mantle still, but we're good." He rolled his eyes for emphasis, but Steph wasn't fooled. Malina sometimes helped in the shop, and the two of them were so in love still they could hardly keep their hands off each other. "What will you have today, Love?"

An innocent comment from Johnny, but the moniker slapped Steph upside the face as Pete's voice echoed the same thing through her head. Love. Thankfully, Johnny was oblivious to her almost-breakdown as he turned away to grab his sketch-pad, and pencils.

"I was thinking of a phoenix."

"Hmm," Johnny hummed. His hand flew across the paper. "Where about?"

"Back, high between my shoulders. I'll have to come back and get something else to blend it into the fairies."

"Not a problem." His pencil scratched across the surface of his sketch-pad. He paused every so often to look at the design, and then started again with equal ferocity as before.

Steph looked around the shop as he drew. She picked out photos on the wall which were new since the last time she visited.

"Here." Johnny spun the pad to face her. "What do you think?"