Sylvie's Cowboy: Cinderella In Reverse

CHAPTER 12: THE RECOVERY

The following morning Silvie was on the telephone at the front desk in Clarice's Beauty World when an obese woman entered from the street. The woman wore a flowery yellow house dress and her hair was covered with a red kerchief. She carried a purse and a Walt Disney World shopping bag. Silvie thought the woman looked familiar.

The beauty salon vibrated with the hum of conversation, whir of hair dryers, and twang of country music. Nearly every chair was occupied by ladies in various stages of trim, wash, rinse, comb-out, roll-up, or blow-dry. The corner table in the reception area was mounded with house-and-garden, celebrity gossip, and style magazines.

Silvie looked like a beautician instead of like an investment banker, because today she was wearing a uniform and shoes borrowed from Clarice. Silvie greeted the familiar-looking obese visitor with a smile and a raised finger while listening to the party on the other end of the phone. When she turned from the customer to her calendar on the opposite side of the desk, Silvie's eyes passed across the photo of her puppy, Maude, in a silver frame standing beside the phone.

Silvie did a double take, twice comparing the dog's face with that of the obese newcomer. It was the same face. Silvie quickly placed the dog's photo face down. She turned toward Clarice and received a tiny nod of understanding.

Clarice waved to the customer and called, "Go on back and get shampooed, Maude." She sent Silvie a wink when she emphasized the name. "We'll be right with you."

Maude Stokes waved at Clarice and lumbered to the rear of the shop, where she disappeared into the shampoo room.

Silvie, on the telephone, said, "Okay, then, we'll see you next week. Regular time. You take care of that baby, now."

"And take away that filthy pacifier," muttered Clarice. "That's how they pick up every germ that comes along."

On the phone, Silvie added, "And Clarice sends her love. ... Right. ... 'Bye." She hung up the phone and scribbled something in the appointment calendar.

"You never tell 'em what I tell you to tell 'em," said Clarice from the first chair behind the desk, where she was rolling up a permanent wave on a red-haired woman.

"You never want me to tell them what you say you want me to tell them," said Silvie with a smile.

Minutes later, Maude Stokes emerged from the shampoo room, towel around her head, carrying a cup of coffee. She waddled to the empty chair beside where Clarice was working.

The red-haired woman smiled at Maude. "Well, don't just sit there, get 'em, out!" said the redhead. "We all know you're dying to show 'em, and you know we can't wait to see 'em."

Happily, Maude put down her coffee and delved into her shopping bag. She produced a photo album. "It was gorgeous," she drawled. "Sue Ann never looked so sweet."

A woman two chairs away, in the middle of drying her hair, shouted over the din of the dryer. "Are those the wedding pictures? I want to see those when you're finished."

Maude Stokes waved acknowledgment and handed the album to the redhead. Silvie retired to the back room to complete some chores there.

While Maude waited for the return of her prized wedding album, she looked at Clarice with the keen interest of an accomplished gossip. "Clarice? Think you and Walt will ever tie the knot?"

"We're just friends."

The redhead chimed in, "Saw his truck at your place last night."

Clarice tried to appear calm in front of the curious women. The rumor mill would churn into action the minute these ladies detected any emotion in Clarice's reaction. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about ... about me and Walt ... about us keeping company. ... I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything in front of Silvie." Clarice tilted her head toward the back room.