handsome.
âLike having a man teacher for a change?â
âYeah,â I said again. I suddenly wondered if Dad had said something about me to her, or if he knew about my feelings for Mr. Davenport. Then I thought it was unlikely. I had never mentioned it to him, and even though Grandma had caught on, I doubted that she told Dad.
âIs he a good teacher?â Irene asked.
âOh, sure, heâs great!â I said enthusiastically. Then I realized again she was finding out more and more about me, and I hadnât been getting anywhere with my investigation of her.
âHow long have you been in business?â I blurted out.
âMe?â she said, surprised. âOh, about six or seven years now. Letâs seeâseven years in April! Golly, it doesnât seem that long to me.â
She rinsed my hair and sat me upright again.
âYou donât want a manicure, do you?â she asked.
I looked at my hands and quickly hid them under the apron she had draped over me. I would need to do something about my nails before seeing Mr. Davenport at the dance, but I would do it myself. I didnât want Irene to see what my hands looked like from playing basketball in gym class and messing around in my paints.
Anyway, I thought all that stuff about make-up and manicures was a little confusing, and I didnât want Irene to know how ignorant I was. The other girlsâ mothers helped them with such things, but Grandma wasnât up on the latest styles, and I had to be more observant than most girls to learn how to put myself together.
I watched as Irene put lotion and curlers on my hair and wound each one tightly to my scalp. She was very intense about it and seemed to be concentrating very hard.
âHow can you stand to do this over and over all day long?â I asked. âDonât you get bored?â
She gave me a surprised look in the mirror. âGosh, no!â she said. âI think itâs real creative, trying to help all different kinds of people look their best.â
âI never thought of it that way,â I said.
âWell, itâs just like any other job,â she went on. âYou get out of it just what you put into it. If youâre enthusiastic, then people like you and like what you do, and you have a good time, and itâs just that simple.â
Her enthusiasm numbed me, and I couldnât think of a thing to say.
âYou remember to tell your grandma hello from me,â Irene said. âI always thought she was such a fine person. Sheâs sure done a wonderful job of raising you since your momma died.â
I was going to reply, but Irene rattled on.
âCourse a girl your age would like to have a younger woman around once in a while I suppose, to help with clothes and make-up and hair and all that â¦â
She was watching me in the mirror as she said that, and I wondered how she knew what I had been thinking a few moments before. She couldnât have guessed; she was just making a brazen hint. I wondered if she had tried to use that line on my dad.
âNo,â I said, very cool. âGrandmaâs done very well by me. I donât think it matters what age she is.â
âWell, thatâs a wonderful thing to say,â Irene said, but she didnât sound particularly convinced.
I tried once more to launch my investigation.
âWhat do you do in your spare time?â I asked. âYou have any hobbies or anything?â
She looked a bit surprised at the question. âMe?â she said. âOh, gosh ⦠nothing special. I bowl once a week, and I love to dance,â she laughed. âLike to kick up my heels.â
I gave her a disgusted look which she couldnât see.
Then she did what I was dreading. She moved me over by the electric permanent machine.
âSo you do the permanent on this?â I asked apprehensively.
âYep, this is the monster,â she said, laughing.
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley