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Tales From Sha-Hair-Azad
By Najya Yasirah
The Bronze Goddess - Chapter 16
Kate was sitting in the shampoo bowl as Reyjah massaged conditioner in her hair. “So, what do you think of Antoine?” said Kate with her eyes closed. Reyjah looked at Sheila. Sheila met her eyes as she was rinsing her client. Kate had gotten her hair multi-lighted and was well on her way to getting it layered. “Ant’s a wild one…yeah,” said Reyjah flatly. “We’re going to this part tonight out in Beverly Hills.” She began rinsing Kate’s hair. “He’s taking care of my dress and shoes.” “Really?” said Kate. “That’s so sweet.” Reyjah turned off the spray and squeezed the excess water from her client’s hair. Sheila had already left with her client in tow. She grabbed a towel from the rack and dried Kate’s hair. She led Kate to her station. “You are now entering “Reyjah’s World!” she said excitedly. Kate laughed as she sat down. “Why are all of you so damn tall- trying to make me reach and sh…!” she scolded. Kate was laughing. “Let’s see, we need music…” She picked up the CD controller. “How about Nelly Furtado…yeah, baby.” She hit the ‘play’ button and Nelly began to sing. “You’re beautiful, that’s for sho…”Reyjah sang along as she always did. “I didn’t know your picture was in the paper,” said Kate pointing to the newspaper as Reyjah combed through her hair. “Girl, I didn’t either. And you know something, when we were in the bathroom, I noticed a lot of women were giving me all these dirty-assed looks.” Reyjah noted. That’s because Antoine’s slept with half of them, Kate wanted to say. “They were just jealous,” said Kate quickly as Reyjah began her razor work. “I mean, Ant is not my man, I just did the guy’s hair and we clicked.” ”He seems to like you, though,” Kate reassured. “He likes your company.” “Yeah, my company,” Reyjah muttered as she dropped more hair to razor. "Your colors look good, Kate.” “It’s all because of you,” she said winking. “So, how did you meet Deuce?’ said Reyjah. “Oh, man…my friends set me up with him, and I kinda fell for him,” said Kate. She didn’t want to discuss Deuce’s mishaps as a male escort. That would have given Antoine away. “Your so lucky , Kate,” said Reyjah sadly. “You found someone, I gave up, y’know. Tried to keep myself busy, get my mind off of love, didn’t need the hassle, didn’t need the heartache.” Kate nodded. “I understand that all too well. Guys freaked out when they found out that I had a prosthetic leg.” Reyjah dropped her jaw. “Are you for real?” she asked in her New York style. “Yep, state of the art,” Kate tapped her leg. She was wearing a pair of Calvin Klein dark denims, so the imprint could not be seen. “Do it, girl!” said Reyjah. After she finished razor cutting Kate’s hair, she ran her fingers through it. “It feels less heavy, which is good,” said Kate in approval. “It’s gonna look hot when I set it and comb it out. Deuce will not be letting you out of his sight, girl.” Kate laughed. “You are so funny, I can see why Antoine likes you so much,” said Kate laughing. Reyjah gave her a funny look. “What?” asked Kate. Reyjah pulled out her plastic container of purple, jumbo-sized Velcro rollers and began randomly rolling Kate’s long , newly layered hair. “Kate, yesterday he called for me…from a hotel room,” she said in Kate’s ear. “Reyjah, I’m sure it’s nothing,” said Kate. “Please, don’t sweat it.” Kate really hated lying. Reyjah was such a sweet young woman.
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Kate was under the dryer. The clock said 12:05. Reyjah was eating a grilled chicken wrap. She was contemplating about the phone call. She tried to rationalize, but she couldn’t. And the sales manager incident confused her, too. “Rey?” said Midori. Reyjah’s mouth was full of food. “There’s a delivery her for you.” “Delivery, what the…?” Reyjah wiped her mouth and followed Midori out of the lounge. Sure enough there was a man holding two large pink, gift boxes. “Ma’am, I just need you to sign these,” said the young man. “You are the girl in the paper aren’t you?” he asked. Reyjah nodded as she signed the sheet. “We got 12 orders today for that blue dress, my boss is very grateful to you, so she sent you some complimentary earrings,” he said, handing her both boxes. “Tell her ‘thank you’ for me.” She said, giving him a $10 tip. “Wow, thanks, you are nice,” he said as he left the salon. Reyjah picked up the boxes and took them to her station, Midori followed.
“What the…” Reyjah held a beautiful, bronze satin cheong-sam. The neckline was mandarin with an asymmetrical opening of blue, crystal buttons. It even had a long train for walking. “It’s got blue flowers on it!” she declared. “its soooo pretty.” “look at your shoes,” said Midori opening the other box. “Oh my, blue Jimmy Choo’s!” said Reyjah in shock at the blue crystal open toed shoes. “With three inch heels! Do it!” said Midori. Kate came in from under the dryer. “It stopped,” she said to Reyjah. “Look, what Ant got me, for tonight!” said Reyjah. “These are your earrings, they were in the shoe box,” said Midori handing her the blue crystal hoop earrings. “Wow, you are going to look so exotic, tonight,” said Kate as she sat back down in the hydraulic chair. Midori went back to the front desk. “Are you convinced, now?” asked Kate as Reyjah began unrolling her hair. “Reyjah smiled. “Okay, I just don’t want to assume things,” she surrendered as she dropped more rollers into the container. Her cell phone rang. “Excuse me Kate,” she said. She pulled the phone from her hip and held in between her ear and her shoulder. “Hello?” she said. “Did you like my surprise?” “Yes, I did, and the shoes, too. Thank you.” “I should be thanking you, Bellissima, remember, at 8:30, I’ll be waiting at your door.” “Okay, Holla!”
She put her phone on her station. “Was that him?’ asked Kate when Reyjah began distributing grooming cream into her strands. “Yep.”
“Thank you so much, Magdalene,” said Antoine. Magdalene rolled over. “I should be thanking you, thanks to that blue dress, my sales have gone up. Antoine was silent. They lay in a huge, presidential suite. It was getting to the point where he imagined that every woman that he slept with was Reyjah. “The sex was awesome, honey,” said Magda. “That was the best you’ve ever done.” “Thanks,” said Antoine unfazed. Magda rose up from the bed and began putting on her clothes. Antoine went into the bathroom. “I really like your new haircut, Antoine,” said Magda from the bedroom. “Thank you,” said Antoine from the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. He splashed water on his face. Unfortunately, guilt was not something that you could wash off. When he returned, there was $2500 on the bed. That made $10,000 for that one day. Antoine sighed deep. “Damn,” he said.
“I love my hair,” said Kate running her fingers through it. The different shades of strawberry, auburn, and blonde brought out her freckles. The reduced the flatness and gave it more volume. She admired it in the mirror. She looked at Reyjah. “You know, you’re good, right?” “Only when I’m told,” Reyjah joked. Kate hugged her. “We have got to hang out, sometime,” said Kate as they walked to the reception desk. “Sure, I gave you my cell number, just hit me up.” Kate nodded. She gave Reyjah a hug and she was out the door. “Okay, Midori, who’s next?”
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Reyjah studied herself one more time in the mirror. The bronze and blue dress screamed the perfection of her figure. Her hair had been parted in the side, and slicked back into a tight chignon. Her makeup was outstanding. Her eyebrows had been arched higher. Her eyelids were black and her creases were dark bronze. Derrick had lined her eyes with black liquid liner for a cat’s eye look. Her lips were glossed with a bronze lipsheer. She heard a knock at the door. Grabbing her blue wrap and purse, she ran down the stairs. She could feel the earrings as they brushed against her cheeks. When she opened the door, she saw a chauffeur. “Miss, Bennett?” he said. “Yes,” she said confused. Antoine appeared from inside of the limo. She almost fell to the ground. He was wearing a burnished gold formal suit, which brought out the tones of his skin beautifully. The chauffeur took her arm and let her to Antoine. They faced each other, not knowing what to say. “Hey, buddy!” she said nonchalantly, giving him a hug. They lingered against each other. “You look fantastic,” she said, pulling away gently. She touched his hair. “You’re gonna need to come back, soon,” she winked. He let her inside the limo. After getting in and closing the door, he stared at her. She looked so glamorous. The dress was sleeveless, so once again were bare shoulders were boasted. The color was so good against her complexion , making her look golden brown. He touched her shoulder. She turned to look at him. “Nervous,” she said. “I’m really nervous.” She looked out the window. She wasn’t in New York in a taxicab anymore. Reyjah wasn’t the teenage waitress, bussing tables and doing doubles just to help her parents. There was sand and ocean for miles, when it could be seen through the smog. Even in the moonlight, it seemed like the sun never set in Los Angeles. “What are you thinking?” asked Antoine. “Just thinking how this place is so different from New York,” she said. Antoine took her hand. “In New York, the people don’t give a damn…but here, it seems like they actually appreciate you…at times,” she smiled. She laid her head on his shoulder. “You had a good day at the salon, today?” he asked, stroking her forehead. She made him feel so meaningful with her little affections. She closed her eyes, “Yes, I did. Three new clients, told me that they were all very good friends of yours…thank you, Ant.” “You’re welcome, Bellissimma,” he said softly. He kissed her on the forehead. His lips were soft against her skin. He trailed down and kissed her on the nose, just when he was close enough to her lips, the limo hit a speed bump. Reyjah jumped, her eyes flying wide open. “We’re here,” said the chauffeur from the front intercom. Damn, thought Antoine.
Tales From Sha-Hair-Azad - Chapter 17