Unexpected

  Chapter 2

  SCISSORS

  One Saturday morning I took a walk into town for a haircut. Upon finding that my usual hairdresser had a queue a mile long in his shop, I decided to walk around browsing through the other shops in the mall. Where I came across a ladies hair styling salon and was surprised to find it was empty. The hairdresser was sat in what looked like the most comfortable chair in the shop, sipping a cup of coffee while reading a magazine. In the past, I had always chosen to have my hair cut by the male members of the trade. Therefore, the question of a girl to do the cutting had never crossed my mind. Somehow I had always thought that the male stylists would know just how I would like it cut.

  The sight of an empty shop was an invitation to enter and to try it for the first time. It only took me a couple of seconds to make up my mind to give it a go. As I entered the shop she looked up at me and nervously I asked if she cut men’s hair. To which she laughed and told me that of course she did, adding that men made up almost fifty percent of her clientele.

  With that, she got up and pointed to chair in front of the mirror asked me if I would like to sit down. She then proceeded to ask how would I like it cut, and offering to get a book of styles to show me if I was interested. There were a few photos on display being tucked into the edge of the frame around the mirror. After a quick glance I pointing to one of them and I told her that was the one I felt would suite me.

  As I looked towards the mirror and washbasin in front of me, I could see a nametag that informed the customers that the stylists name was Lynn. Lynn is it I asked she nodded her head. While she was cutting my hair, she talked freely around the usual subjects that hairdressers do, that included the weather and how was work this week. Then all too quickly she was finished and I was being brushed down. She then held a small mirror up behind me to see if I was happy with the result, which I was. The conversation suddenly changed as she asked if she knew me. I told her that I did not think so. I then pointed to one of my posters that was still in her shop window, and told her that I was the guy who was still looking for my girl friend. She then bombarded me with several questions and before I knew it, we were talking like old friends. As the shop salon was still empty, she asked if I would like a cup of tea. We then spent the next fifteen minutes talking as I told her all about my plight. I brought her up to date in only a few minutes, mainly because there was just nothing more that I could tell her. It had been a truly fruitless year in the information gathering stakes. The only people, who had made anything out of me I said with a smile on my face, were the shoe shops. I continued telling her that I had worn out at least three pair during my travels. She laughed and for the first time in nearly fifteen months, I found myself laughing along with her.

  The atmosphere changed dramatically as a customer entered the shop, while Lynn’s first reaction was to ask me back for a drink with her later after work. Before I knew it, I was accepting her offer and agreed to return at 5 pm, before she shut up shop.

  For some reason, I found myself getting very excited at the prospect of seeing Lynn again. Although at the same time deep inside I was beginning to think that, I had betrayed Anne. Upon reflection, I was aware that Lynn was the first female I had sat down and talked to in almost fifteen months. Surly Anne would understand if she were here.

  5 pm seemed to take an eternity to come around as I ticked off the minutes in my head. Then as promised, I walked into Lynn’s shop dead on time, to be greeted with a nice smile and a cup of tea. It seems that she had anticipated my return and was prepared for me. She even confided in me that she had rushed her last customer in order that I would not have to wait for her.

  I found it very easy to talk to Lynn and we soon fell back into the same sort of subjects that we had spoken about earlier. It was only then that I realised the name of the salon as I looked up and saw it above the door, it read, 'Don’t spare the Scissors'. I found myself laughing, something I had not accomplish for a long time. Maybe it was Lynn's company that was helping to cheer me just a little, I did feel at easy talking to her. After I had gone over a few small points that I had forgotten to tell her earlier in the day. I turned the spotlight on to her and asked where she lived and was there a man in her life.

  She nodded her head and added that it was not serious, and that he only came round for her when there was nobody else to take out. He wanted to move in with her and was always wanting to borrow money from her. Therefore, she was always very weary of him, thinking that he was only using her. Then one day she had almost given in as she had asked him to sit down with her and sort out his finances. It turned out that he was in debt to the tune of almost twenty thousand pounds. He had creditors coming out of his ears. There was no way that she was going to end up financing his life style. So they had not moved in together and since then, she had been trying to use him.

  On the odd occasion that she wanted to go out or be accompanied to a party, well he was at least good for that. I found myself laughing again only this time uncontrollable, knocking over the cup of tea that stood on the coffee table. She told me that if I went out the back where it was a bit more private I could take off my Jeans and she would dry them for me. Something I did and to her credit, she was discrete and that no hanky panky took place.

  Over the next few weeks, we got to know each other quite well, arranging to meet on a few occasions. Lynn would also offer to help me if ever I wanted to visit a new site to put up some new poster of Anne, which I was still doing whenever possible. She found it satisfying to know that she was helping in some way, and I do mean helping. In fact, since Anne’s disappearance, Lynn had been the only person who had helped, the only person who did not think that I was off my head, or guilty of her disappearance. In fact, I owe it to her that I did not finally go insane over the whole affair.

  Before long our meetings developed into a romance as Lynn finally got rid of her money hungry boyfriend, and I promised not to mention Anne’s name so frequently. Which I thought was nice, after all, she was not asking me to forget her completely, just to allow Lynn into my thoughts a little more often.

  I suppose it was inevitable that eventually we would want to move in and live together. That was a hard one because Lynn did not want to move into a house that contained most of the memories that Anne and I had experienced together. I talked her around by using her old boy friend’s story, of how he was after what little money she had. I managed to convince her that if she were to move in with me, she could keep her money, leaving me to worry about her wanting to take mine. Little did she know that by that time I was virtually surviving on a hand to mouth existence.

  The relationship just grew from there, into something wonderful. I did find myself however comparing Lynn to Anne, but that was only to be expected in those early weeks, special when we visited those places that were special to Anne and me. However, because we were having such a wonderful time, very slowly Anne was being placed further into the back of my mind. The good thing about the whole affair was that never once did Lynn ever have a bad word, for the slow way in which I was letting go to those old memories. She was wonderful and just like a nurse in a rehabilitation unit, she nursed me along slowly never thinking of herself.

  Occasionally at weekends and in the evenings I would go with her to the shop where I would sweep the floors and just generally clean up the place. Over a short period of time I got to know most of Lynn’s customers on a first name basis, it being the first time for a couple of years that I had actually spoke to the opposite sex on a regular basis. I found that I liked it and did not try to hide the fact that they did appeal to me once more. Mind you, it did not go any further than that, as I had truly fallen in love with Lynn. In fact our relationship blossomed so much that at one time marriage was even mentioned, and that had only happened with Anne on one occasion.

  One Saturday morning I visited Lynn and I was just tidying up the magazines and dusting for her. When I noticed that a few of the small posters that she had stuck in the window
were looking a little worse for wear, and peeling around the edges. I suggested that I take some of them down and just generally clean up the area. It was only after I had started pulling some of them down that I realised that the worse looking one was actually Anne’s disappearance flyer. Unaware that Lynn was watching me at the time I made a decision that it had to go, after all it did not look good for all of the customers she was trying to attract. For the first time in over two years, I did not feel like replacing it, I had some with me but it did not seem right. This whole affair was forever with me and it was pushing Lynn into the back ground all the time.

  I stood there for a couple of minutes just staring at the blank spot on the window. Then knowing that I had finally made the right decision, I turned to walk away but found myself staring into Lynn’s eye. She had quietly walked up behind me wondering what I was doing. Upon realising, she placed her arms around me and gave me a great big hug and a kiss. I then returned the loving gesture, and for a few moments, we were locked in a wonderful moment. Unfortunately, the doorbell broke the spell as a customer entered the shop. Do not let me stop you I am