Birthright

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lava is a small town. There's only one salon. Being that it is the only one, it's usually pretty busy. I was hoping we could work Jaren into our two-person appointment. We found a parking space with enough cover to allow Jaren to get inside the salon without too much embarrassment.

"Hey there, birthday girl," a voice said from behind the reception desk. Like I said, Lava is a small town; everyone knows everyone.

"Hi, Tiffany," I said. I'm not saying I come here every week to get my hair done, but I've been here enough to know which chair is the best in the place.

"I've been saving it just for you, hon," Tiffany said as I walked around the reception desk and headed for my chair. "I've got one here for you too, Tia. Close enough to Elizabeth so you can talk about how great you look."

Tiffany looked over at Jaren. "A boyfriend who actually comes into the salon for moral support? Which one of these ladies do you belong to?"

None of us said a word. Tiffany could tell right away that there was a little tension in the salon. I needed to break the tension. "He's not a spectator, Tiffany, he's a participant."

"Well, I have to tell ya, honey. I had an appointment for the two of you. If you want..." She paused and aimed a questioning glance at Jaren.

"Jaren," Jaren supplied.

"If you want Jaren to get the treatment, he'll have to take the little chair," Tiffany stated.

Jaren took off his jacket and reluctantly moved to the small chair on the other side of the salon. This could work. With Jaren in the cheap seat on the other side, Tia and I could talk about, among other things, Jaren. He seemed to take everything in stride, even sitting next to Mrs. Kensington, my retired third grade teacher, who was under a hair dryer, eating licorice and reading a two-year-old People magazine.

And the adventure began. The salon was filled with the smell of shampoo, hair dye, and the sounds of scissors, dryers, and gossip. My hair was styled with curls at the bottom and highlights all over. Tia's hair was trimmed with curls too. Jaren's hair was cut much shorter. I actually like it. I thought bringing him here was a joke on him. The joke was on me. He looked hot, and that wasn't supposed to happen.

Once all the hair was done, it was time for the nails to shine. Jaren clearly had no interest in a manicure, but seeing that he rained on this girls' day out, we weren't going to give him a choice. In an attempt to avoid a reputation for being complete sadist, I told Jaren he could skip the pretty pink polish and just get a cut and buff.

When the fingernails were done, we moved to the toes. We let Jaren sit this one out. The three of us just sat and talked. I got lost in the conversation. I think it was about high school and college. My thoughts were on Jaren and how much older he looked. It seemed wrong, and I didn't know why. Obviously, I was in love with Josh, not with his exactly identical, yet somehow older, twin.

Before my imagination got too carried away with thoughts of showing up on Jerry Springer, Tia's stomach spoke up to let us know it was time to grab a bite to eat. "Sorry about that," she said with embarrassment. "Okay, you caught me. I skipped breakfast." We just stared at her. "What? I wanted to make room for cotton candy."

We left the salon in search of food. We drove up to the park and left the car there. For a small town, Lava has several good restaurants to choose from, and most are within walking distance. That's how the tourists do it. When they are not in the hot pools, the big swimming pool, or tubing down the river, they are walking from store to store or café to café.