Incest Justin Thyme by Callicious

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Madge pulled their Buick into a parking spot in front of Jacqui's Salon at eight-fifteen, a little early for their eight-thirty appointment. Jacqui, who was just unlocking the doors saw them and waved for them to go on in. Susie suddenly was nervous about the appointment, for what reason she had no idea. For weeks now she had been going to school with a partially shaved head and scars in view and suffered through it fatalistically, but now that there was a chance for her to look normal again she was afraid.

Jacqui met them at the door with hugs and asked Susie, "Are you ready for your big day?"

"I guess," was the almost listless reply.

Jacqui took her hand between her own and caressed it softly. "Afraid?"

Tears sprang up in Susie's eyes as she nodded.

"I understand. Let's sit down and have a cup of tea and talk for a few minutes before we do anything with your hair. This is Jennifer, one of my stylists, and a cancer survivor, whom I've asked to sit in on this with us this morning."

Jennifer set down a tray loaded with a tea pot and the attendant condiments and small pastries. She set about pouring each of them a cup of tea and passed them around as Jacqui led them to a small table in the waiting area.

"I do a lot of work with cancer survivors, Susie," Jacqui said. "They all have the same reaction when they first walk into my shop, and I think I can tell you what is on your mind. Please tell me if I'm wrong." Susie nodded as Madge watched her, concerned. "You are thinking, 'I've gone weeks with my hair gone and have gotten used to it. Do I dare hope to look normal again? Is that about it?"

Susie nodded, still mute, and Jacqui nodded to Jennifer to speak.

"Susie, I know exactly how you feel. I've been there. When I had chemo for breast cancer five years ago I lost all of my hair, including my eyebrows. Jacqui, who had cancer herself twenty years ago knows how we feel, and she spends a lot of her time in the cancer wards of the hospitals encouraging women who are undergoing treatment."

Jennifer paused to look Susie in the eyes briefly before continuing. "I don't think there is much more humiliating and discouraging to a woman than to have her hair gone, or growing in patchy so she can't make it look nice." Susie nodded.

"I wish my hair had been like yours when I first came in to see Jacqui. When hair grows back in after Chemo it is like baby hair. It's really fine and hard to work with, kind of like the little feathers on a baby chick or else it is stiff and scraggly. Jacqui taught herself how to work with that fine hair and make it look natural and good. Still, it is often terrifying to women to make the attempt. Your hair on the other hand is mature. It's just short. Sure, she has to work around the scars, but she often has to do that with women who have had a brain tumor, and it is amazing what she can do. I promise you that you'll walk out of here feeling like the beautiful young lady you are."

"It is all a matter of mind-set. Maxwell Maltz wrote a book in the early seventies, I think, called Psychocybernetics for his plastic surgery practice because they had trouble believing they could be beautiful after what they had undergone. This is not as serious an issue as that, but that is the reason Jacqui has me talk with new clients dealing with something as traumatic as what you or cancer patients have undergone. You are a beautiful young lady, and when Jacqui is through you may wonder why you didn't wear your hair short all your life."

Jennifer pulled out a folio of pictures of her own head during and after chemotherapy, and then again after Jacqui styled her hair. Susie could feel the fear dissipate as they looked through the photos.

"I'm just a baby, I know. I just don't want Michael to be ashamed of me, or to think I don't look nice enough for him."

Jacqui laid a hand on Susie's. "My dear, that is the absolute least of your worries. I've known Michael since he was in diapers, and I've never seen a young man as smitten by a young lady as he is by you. You could walk out of here with your hair all standing on end and frightful and he would still think you beautiful, but we will do much better for you than that."

"You can really fix it so that I look human again when I go back to school Monday?" Susie whispered.

"If you fix it the way I will show you I'll bet you ten dollars you have at least one guy ask you for a date on Monday."

"It won't do them any good," Susie giggled. Jacqui was pleased at how quickly her spirits perked up. Often she and Jennifer spent an hour or more with a client before they were even in a position to start working on their hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At nine-thirty Michael couldn't wait any longer. He sat in front of Zeni's Jewelry waiting for her to open. He knew of course he was being foolish, but he really had nothing else to do with his time, other than to look at the materials for the UP, and there was no way he could keep his focus on something that for today was so mundane.

Just to find a way to pass the time he started making a list of things to do for the day. The first thing that came to his mind was to call the contractor his father recommended and make an appointment to take a look at the apartment in the old servant's quarters. Changing screens on his phone he quickly did a search for Richardson's Contractors and placed the call.

"Richardson's," was the terse answer on the second ring.

"Good morning. You were recommended to me for doing a remodel. When would be the soonest we could get together and take a look at the place?"