My heart was beating so quickly in my chest. LONDON! ME!!
I was thrilled and frightened at the same time.
“Vidal”, was my voice cracking? “I can’t go to London?” It was a question, rather than a statement.
“Yes you can,CeCe. I’ve made all of the arrangements for you, your plane ticket is already ordered. You have to go get your passport tomorrow morning. I’ll do your clients for you, until you get to work. I want for you to leave this week-end.Beverly will meet you at the airport, show you around, introduce you to some key people, then fly here Monday. So you’ll have her for two days to help you to settle in. What are your concerns?”
Vidal come around from his desk and sat next to me on the couch. He took my hand in his, gave a gentle squeeze.
“CeCe, you are so talented,” His voice was low and gentle. “I want for you to have this training. It will be a huge stepping stone for you. What are you troubled about?”
“How long will I be there?” My mind was whirling. What about Sal?
“Can I bring Sal?” I couldn’t go months without seeing my son.
“You’ll be there for the Summer. London is wonderful in the Summer. I don’t think that you should bring him, but, you can if you must. Beverly will find a nanny for him.”
“Why do you want me to go? Who will manage this Salon?” The fear was taking hold. Vidal held my hand tighter.
“CeCe,” a chuckle rose from his chest, “Your my star stylist. Your terrific with hair coloring. I want for you to learn and develop more advanced techniques, so that you’ll be able to teach this staff, & we will be the best team in New York. I see very big things for you in this industry.”
” But, Vidal, I’ve told you several times, I’m going to law school. This is just my means to save money to pay for school.”
” Yes,yes, my dear CeCe.” He lite another cigarette. “I’m aware of your goals. I also know that your thinking of marrying that man. I’m thinking of a way that you can earn a lot more money, faster, go to school, and have your son live with you, WITHOUT, having to marry someone that your not in love with!”
I looked deeply into his eyes, and for the first time I saw the deepness of his friendship. There was genuine care in his eyes.
“Now, my girl,” he got up and walked to the desk, “Will you do this? Will you do this for yourself, your son, and, for me?”
There was a knock on the office door.
“Can I come in?”
It was Michele.
“Yes, come in Michele.” Vidal answered.
“Hey guys, are you joining us across the street?”
“We are coming right now.” answered Vidal has he winked at me. “Go ahead CeCe, I’ll close up. Meet all of you there in about half an hour.”
I stood up and walked to the door in a half daze. Michele asked if I was okay, & all I could do was nod my head. London. London! LONDON!!
“Well.” Michele was dying of curiosity. “Are you going to tell me? Do I have to stand on my head first?”
“I’m going to London next week.” Until I said those words, I didn’t believe I had heard Vidal right. I suddenly realized that I had decided that I would go. I had to go to my Mothers house & pack my son’s stuff tonight. I had to tell Sunny that I was going to London. I had so many things to prepare for.
“London?” Michele shrieked as she grabbed my shoulders & shook me. “How wonderful! Why? When & how long for?”
Michele’s burst of excitement allowed for my excitement to surface and suddenly I was laughing & crying at the same time. We were crossing the street when I remembered that I never cleaned up my station, and left most of my tip money in my drawer. I started to turn back, when Michele grabbed my arm, pulling me across the street.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I forgot my tips.”
“You don’t need them. I’ll pay for your food & drinks. You could pay me back tomorrow.”
“O’kay. Just go in my drawer tomorrow & take out what I owe you. I’m going for my passport in the morning. I have to get Sal & bring him also for his passport.”
“Your taking Sal? How wonderful? Can I come too?” She giggled like a little girl.

I was a warm early summer day in Manhattan. I felt exceptionally good today, went for my jog though Central Park, worked out at the gym for an hour, I felt like a new person. There were clients in the lounge waiting for Michele, Brad, & myself.
“Good Morning, everyone.” I yelled out with a wave of my hand.
“Agnes,” I walked into the employees lounge, “Would you mind getting me a cup of coffee, please?”
“Want it in here?”
“No, at my station,please,” As I slipped my smock over my dress, “And find out what my client is getting done, Shampoo her if it’s just a cut. Thank you Agnes”

As I walked out into the salon, Vidal gently reached out for my arm.
“Before you leave tonight, come to my office, CeCe!”
“Sure.” I continued to walk towards my client, who was now sitting in my chair. Her hair was being brushed by Agnes, but it wasn’t washed, so I knew that it was question & answer time. As I reached for my cup of coffee, I silently said a prayer that my Angels were there with me, as I did every morning when I arrived to work.
The day went by quickly & pretty much uneventful. All of us were busy all day, Josef & Brad did their catty bickering with each other all day, which kept clients & staff laughing constantly. Vidal spent most of his day in the office. He had cut back on the amounts of clients he would do a day, preferring to talk to business associates on the phone. He purchased a building in Queens recently, & was working with the contractors daily. Beverly was back in London, but would return to NYC, after school was out.
Michele had met a guy at Ammies about two months earlier, and she was head over heels in love. Maria, one of the manicurist got married last month, and announced that she was three months pregnant today. Of course Josef said something ‘nastily funny’ about that, which cause Maria to blush, & the whole salon to laugh out loud. I was ‘casually’ dating Sunny, which shocked everyone except Charles. Charles & I had become close friend since the incident with my shoulder. He knew that I was determined to get married now, & my reasons for this decision. He didn’t agree with me, which he stated often when we talked, but he was a good friend, & advised me when I needed him. Dating Sunny was comfortable. Not exciting, but, he was very kind & generous to me. I still never wore the bracelet, but Sunny never asked about it, which I was happy about. I assumed that he thought, at least I have it & in time, I would wear it.
All of us were cleaning up. We were planning to go across to the bar for burgers & drinks. I was starving, since I had to work though my lunch break. As I packed up my purse, Vidal stuck his head out of his office door.
“CeCe,” he called out. “Don’t forget, before you go.”
“Oh, I’ll be right in, Vidal.” I was walking to the lounge as I answered him.
“Is our CeCe in trouble?” Josef quirked around , almost like a ballerina, placing one hand on his hip.
“Possibly Josef. You never know with me.” I responded, with a twirl of my own, raising my hands above my head, imitating his motion.
“Oh, goodness,CeCe, you have no grace, it’s a good thing your pretty to look at girl!” reacting to my unbalanced twirl, & the both of us chuckled.

“What’s up Vidal?”
Vidal office was so pleasant. Very European style, but comfortable, & masculine.
“Have a seat,please,” He gestured with his hand to the sofa facing his desk. “I’ll be one second.”
I placed myself directly in the center of the sofa. This placed me directly in front of Vidal, so that when we spoke our eyes met straight on. I always disliked, when talking to a person, not to have direct eye contact. It was of my opinion, a deceitfulness in character, when engaged in conversation, the other party glances around your being, rather than talk directly to you .
Vidal closed the ledger.
“Good day today.”
“Yes,”
“CeCe, I’ve been thinking of this for awhile,” he reached for & lite a cigarette. I did the same thing & reached for the ashtray at the end of the sofa. ” discussed it with Beverly, & she agreed that I should speak with you about it.”
He was looking directly at me, those beautiful eyes, handsome face.
“What do you need?”
“I don’t need anything,” He smiled. I loved his smile. “I want to do something for you, & in return, you will be doing something for me, us, the salon.”
“For me?” I was intrigued, “What are you doing for me?”
“I want for you to go to London for the summer!”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I heard
“Right,” His smile got bigger, “Beverly will there one more week. We want for you to go there, you will live in our flat, our servants are there all year, so you’ll have people to help you with anything you’ll need there. I’ve already spoken to associates of mine, & you will be training with some of the best stylist in London. How soon can you leave?”

Christmas came & went, 1967 was three days away. Vidal has now given me full responsibility of the salon. He had casually mentioned wanting to open another salon in Queens, over the past few months, & now he has started to look for good property seriously.
I started to give Brad more responsibilities, since my clientele was so strong, especially for my hair coloring methods.
My relationship with my ‘Mom’, was still strained, but for my son, we called a truce. If we don’t talk to each other, then we can’t fight. I was allowed to take my son on shopping trips & outings again, thankfully. We always had such fun together, but, going home, the both of us would fall silent. I prayed that I would soon be in law school, with the promise of having my son live with me.
Josef & Agness were shivering from the cold, watching me try to open the salon doors. It was so cold this morning in the city, with the wind stinging your face, making your eyes tear. The lock was frozen, & the key was getting jammed.
“Give me that”, Josef said gruffly, “I’m freezing to death, & your piddling with this!”
“Good, you do it”, as I stood back from the door.
“Now, now, children, play nice. Just get us in the damn store!” Agnes’ face was so red from the wind & cold.
Finally, the key turned in the lock. We rushed into the warmth of the salon, Josef went to the back to turn the lights on, the music started playing in the back ground. Agnes put a pot of coffee on, as I went to the safe to get the register cash. I was entering information into the ledger, when a burst of cold air swept across my face. I looked up, & there was Sunny, with that sideways grin on his face.
“Good Morning Sunny,” I tried to sound respectful, but indifferent.
I could see Josef walking briskly towards the desk.
“Hey, how are you man?” Josef placed himself cleverly between Sunny & me.
“Good, good,” replied Sunny, “I just wanted to speak with CeCe a minute.”
Josef looked at me, then walked over to his station, getting it set up for the day, carefully me & Sunny though the mirror.
“Is something wrong with your hair?” It looked fine to me, but I really didn’t care.
“The cuts good, He said, brushing it with his fingers. ” Did you open the gift?”
“Oh, yes,” I got up & walked over to my station, removed the box from my drawer quickly & walked back to where Sunny was standing, holding the box out to him.
His eyes looked at the box & back to me, with a puzzled look on his face.
“What’s this?”
“Sunny, I can’t accept such a expensive gift!,” Please God, I thought to myself, let this go smoothly.
“Yes you can!” His tone was indigent, & demanding.
“Sunny”, I lite a cigarette, & took a sip of coffee that Agnes brought over to me, “The gesture is very nice, but, I can’t accept a gift of that magnitude from a client. I appreciate your generosity, but, you must take it back.”
“NO!”, His eyes were ablaze. I almost got frightened for a moment, & was relieved to see Vidal walk thru the doors.
“Good morning everyone” Vidal yelled out, as he hurried to remove his coat in the back.
“You can’t do this to me, Cece,” His tone was full of anger. “I searched high & low for this to give you. Your keeping it!”
Vidal was now sitting in my station chair holding the cup of coffee that Agnes prepared for him, just watching Sunny & me.
“No, Sunny.” I placed the box on the desk in front of Sunny. “I cannot accept it & I won’t.”
This man raised fear in me now. I was not going to be forced to do anything, by any man, that I didn’t want to do anymore. I disliked feeling fear, especially, when it concerned a man. Josef & Agnes became silent. Vidal watched closely.
“Sunny,” I took a deep breath & swallowed hard, “I’m sorry to upset you, but, I think that maybe you should go somewhere else for your haircuts from now on.”
I hoped that I sounded strong. I hoped that Vidal would support my decision.
“Right, yes, I will go somewhere else! See you around, CeCe!” He turned, pulled the door open & left the salon, leaving the box on the desk.
“Josef. Take this out to him, please.” I motioned to the box. Josef ran out the door, stopped Sunny a few doors down, retuning with the box in hand.
“Said he never takes back anything he gives or says.” With a shrug of his shoulders, Josef placed the box on my station. Our clients were starting to come thru the doors. Another day, another dollar.

The snow was falling like a pure white blanket. I didn’t like the snow, but I loved to watch it come down from the sky, and cover the ground & trees, as if the heavens were purifying the land. It made everything look so clean, & the air had a crisp, clean fragrance.
Christmas was two weeks away. I was busier with my life than I had ever been. Brad, I recruited as my ‘personal’ assistant in the salon. Vidal had left for London with his family for Thanksgiving, to be returning the end of this week. Michele was in love again. Josef & Brad had a thing going on between them. Charles was flirting with anything in a skirt, as usual.
My visits to see my son were still very strained. There was no avoiding an argument with my ‘Mother’, & Andrew couldn’t or wouldn’t support my side at all. Sal seemed to be getting more quiet & withdrawn when I was with him. It disturbed me terribly, but, I didn’t know what to do about it. So, I did nothing, ignoring her remarks about how terrible I was, refusing to feed into her passion to force an argument. I wasn’t going to let her ruin my sons Christmas, so allowing her to rant & rave, keep some peace.
I was active in the anti-was movement now. Parents & young men called almost daily to find out about leaving this country. Mothers & fathers begging me to save their sons was heartbreaking. I felt good trying to help them, & if everyone really prayed for me, like they said they were, well then, I was a very blessed young woman.
Sunny was sitting in my chair, not saying very much as I cut his hair. His eyes almost never left my face & this disturbed me. I didn’t really like this man, & I was sure that he suspected that, but, he continued to flirt with me, & always asked me out after every haircut.
“Want to go for dinner tonight?” He had a huge smile on his face as he paid me for the haircut.
“Sunny,” I let out a deep sigh, “The answer is NO!” He was irritating me, & I just didn’t care if he never came back to the salon.
“Well, Okay.” He chuckled, “See you next month.”
He turned to leave, & then stopped.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” He removed a box, gift wrapped with a bow & card on it from his coat pocket. “Just a little token for being my favorite hairdresser.” Handing the box to me.
“Thank you.” Taking the gift from him. He finally left the salon.
Clients often gave us presents or envelopes with money for the Christmas holiday, so I didn’t think anything of it.
I walked over to my station, placed it in the drawer & lite a cigarette.
“You going to open it?” Josef had that mischievous grin on his face.
“Not right now,” My next client was in my chair.
“Maybe it’s diamonds, CeCe!” Michele got a kick out of Sunny’s determination. She thought that it was romantic.
” I doubt it very much. Don’t you guys have anything to do?”
“Oh, CeCe is getting pissy” Brad chirped in, stroking his raised eyebrow with his pinky.
We all burst into laughter, even my client. It was impossible to stay annoyed about anything in this place. The guys always had something funny to say or do, whenever a stressful situation happened. I was so glad to be working with is group of people. We always rallied around each other with support & genuine care.
At the end of the day, I was packing the gifts that I received from my clients that day, when Michele picked up the box that Sunny gave me.
“You going to open it?” Michele shook the box, holding it to her ear.
“Oh, o’kay, give me the thing!”
I ripped the ribbon & the paper off, quickly opening the box. Michele & I both gasped at the contents.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed. I held my breath.
Josef jumped out of his chair, & before I knew it, everyone was standing around me. I lifted the bracelet out of the box very gently. It was the most stunning diamond bracelet I had ever seem. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Man, you have to go out with him now, CeCe.” Agnes said.
“Yes, & I know what your going to have to do for him on that date!” chimed in Brad, with that queenie, mischievous smile on his face.
I was speechless. Michele but her arm around my shoulder. “Well kid, Your going to have to do something now about this guy!”
“I’m returning it to him. And asking him not to come to the salon anymore!”
“What? Are you crazy?” Michele was floored.
“Maybe, it’s not real diamonds.” added Agnes
“That’s right.” Joseph responded taking the bracelet from my hand, holding it up to the lights. “In that case, you just thank him for it next month, & forget about it. Take it to the jeweler up the block tomorrow & let him tell you.”
“Good idea. I’ll do that in the morning.”

Thanksgiving was upon us again. Richard, my favorite Vietnam vet was in my chair, going on & on about how the Government was lying to us about the war. How the administration wasn’t helping the vets with medical & emotional problems. I could smell the scent of pot on his clothes & hair, & it disturbed me. I really liked Richard. But he was so angry, & I really didn’t understand why.
“That’s why, I’m going to that rally tonight,” he was saying, “We have to educate the public about the truth!”
“Do you think your group will be able to?” I asked
“Well, we’re going to give it a hell of a try, CeCe. We need to get our boys out of that country. We need more people to drive the new draftees to Canada. There’s a lot of people that don’t want this war to continue, just not enough strength to fight the Government on it. We have to be more active, more anti-war. That is the important step to save our boys!”
“I heard that a lot of guys are going to Canada.” I was blow drying his hair now. “How are they getting there? How is that being arranged?”
“We have an ‘under ground’ group that receives calls from these kids, or from the parents of these boys, begging us to take their sons to Canada. The ‘group’ makes arrangements to pick the guys up somewhere, it’s a bunch of boys in a van or station wagon & we drive them to Canada. The parents or the boys donate some money to cover gas & expenses for the group. It’s strictly volunteers doing the driving there & back. I do it once a week. But we need more people to help us. These guys are from all over the country, & we can’t get them out of here soon enough.”
“Wow,” I was removing the cape from around Richard. This is such a undertaking I was thinking to myself. “Isn’t that illegal, Richard?”
“Yes, but if it’s done carefully, it’s doable. I’ve been doing it for a long time now. Even got to know some of the guys at the border stop.”
Richard pulled two fifty dollar bills out of his pocket & handed them to me. When I looked down, I saw that he slipped a folded piece of paper with something written on it between the money. When I looked up, he winked at me, saluted & left the salon. I slipped the paper into my jean pocket with my tip, & went to my next client.
It wasn’t until the end of the day, when I was counting my tips, that I read the piece of paper.
“CeCe,” it was in Richards hand writing, ” Here is the address of our meeting place tonight. I’d love for you to come & listen to what is really going on in our country.. Meeting starts at 7PM, we serve coffee & dough nuts. I’ll look for you there. Bring a friend if you want. The more people the better. If you can’t make it, I’ll see you next month for my haircut. Your devoted client, Richard.

The year of 1965 was nearly to a close. It had been a year of political unrest & frustrations. North Vietnam was trying to overtake South Vietnam. The U.S. sent Military advisers & then more soldiers. Over 200,000 American troops were in South Vietnam. The war that ‘wasn’t going on’, was now admitted to be real by the government. Anti-war protests were starting up in masses in practically all of the colleges, draft dodgers were fleeing to Canada, & the racial unrest in the country was at an all time peek. Malcolm X, was assassinated, which caused more racial conflict.
We were cleaning up after a very long, busy day at the salon. The doors were locked & Josef was telling Charles, how he could ‘change his life’ for the better, jokingly, if Charles would ‘experiment a new lifestyle’ with him. This was an ongoing joke between those two, & I personally loved the batter between them. Josef, with his, lash batting, wrist flipping, hand on the hip pose, & Charles with his ‘macho’, womanizing attitude, caused the most hilarious scenario, all of us enjoyed.
“Gentleman!”, Vidal held up his hand to Josef & Charles, “May I interrupt this flirtatious moment, please?”
All of us turned to Vidal.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you ‘love birds’, but I need to speak with all of you for a minute.”
The shop was suddenly still.
“Ladies back there,” Vidal motioned to Agnes, Judy, Maria & Lisa, our two manicurists, “I want ALL of you to hear this!”
We all gathered around Vidal.
“Due to this war, & the racial conflict going on in this country right now, I’m asking all of you to please, do NOT, give your personal feeling and/or beliefs to your clients, should you be engaged in a conversation about these subjects. Politics & religion is off limits.”
“Vidal”, Michele spoke up, “Everyone is talking about that stuff!”
“Yes, I know. Listen to them, nod your head in understanding, BUT, do not express your beliefs or feeling on these topics. At best, it might cause a friendly argument, at worst it WILL cost you a customer, may cost ALL of us customers, since we can hear the different discussions going on at other stations. But, for yourselves & each other, keep the conversation neutral.”
“But, Vidal,” I spoke up, “I’m against this war & so are all of us. I think that the Blacks have a right to equality in this country.”
“Good, CeCe, but don’t express your beliefs to the clients. We have some very powerful, & rich clients that come to us. Their beliefs & power is much stronger at the moment than what we have. I’m not saying not to talk about these subjects with them, everyone is talking about it. I’m just asking all of you, not to express to the client your personal beliefs & feelings. Some of these people feel President Johnson is right for keeping the war going, some don’t. Some feel that the Blacks in this country should still be slaves & some don’t. These are very powerful issues. Don’t allow your feeling about them ruin your career, & that is what I fear could happen to some or all of you. Being ‘Black Balled’ right now is not the wisest thing to do. So, guys & gals, protect yourselves & each other. With that said, Beverly is across the street, who ever wants to join us, I’m buying drinks & dinner.”

Halloween was almost upon us. I was on my way to my moms apartment to pick up Sal & take him to buy a costume. This is his first Trick or Treating & I was excited about taking him. I still had the key to her apartment, so I just let myself in. As I opened the door, I watched as my mom kicked Sal in his back. The poor boy was curled up on the floor, crying out, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry mommy.”
“What the hell?” I screamed, pushing her away from him & picking him up into my arms. “What are you doing to him?”
“He disobeyed me!” her face was blood red, & spit shot from her mouth as she spoke. “He’s a damn brat. He has to learn that when I say something, he MUST do it!”
My son was holding onto my neck, trembling, while his tears were dripping down my neck. I thought that I was going to be nauseous. I tightened my hold on Sal, & rocked him in my arms.
“Let me tell you something,” I wanted to smack that look on her face right off. “You don’t kick him. you don’t hit him. You don’t ever do anything to Sal like that again!”
“Who do you think your talking to?” Her voice was defiant & loud. Sal hugged my neck tighter. “That’s my son. As far as everyone knows around here, he’s my kid. I take care of him. I stood up nights when he was a baby, walking him, washing diapers, taking care of him.”
“Mom, that has nothing to do with it. I couldn’t live here anymore with you & daddy. You know why. If I would have stayed here, something awful would have happened.”
“Aach,” she waved her hand in the air to brush off what I just said, “That’s all a lie. I don’t believe anything that you said. I know none of that stuff is true. Andrew loves me. Besides, your the one that left the baby with me. That proves to everyone that you don’t want him. You live in the kitchen of hell, hanging out with those people, doing God knows what everyday. Your not a mother. You don’t know what sacrifice is! You’ve never wanted that boy. I need him! Now, put ‘My’ son down & leave this house.”
” You know, your a bitter old woman, full of meanness & hatred. I’m taking Sal shopping for his Halloween costume.” I was putting Sal down from my arms. He had stopped crying, & I was brushing his hair back from his face.
“You will do no such thing!”, she pulled Sal by the arm over to her side. My son started to cry again, & I could see the fear in my little boys eyes.
“What are you doing mom?” The swiftness of her action took me by surprise. “I told you yesterday that I was taking him shopping today.”
“I don’t want you with him. You won’t take him out or shopping any more unless I’m with you, understood?” Her face was alarming. Her eyes showed a hatred that I hadn’t seen in many years, but was all too familiar with.
“Mom, I’m taking my son out today.” my voice was calm, but my nerves were screaming.
“No!” she held her body straight up, shoulders back, in full defiance. “Now, get out of my home. Get out & don’t degrade my home again.”
I walked toward Sal & she pulled him behind her body. Her eyes were cold.
“Let me say good bye.”
“You can say it from there!”
“I want to kiss him good bye mom? Let me kiss my son, please” Now I started to cry.
“I told you, he is My son. you abandoned him & that’s what I’m telling the whole family. No! You cannot kiss him or anything anymore. Out, get out!
Sal was crying again, watching me cry. I wanted to strike out. I wanted to grab my baby. I wanted to scream. I turned around to the door, turned back to my son, threw him a kiss as he quietly whimpered & made a little kiss face, & pulled the door closed, knowing that I had to leave today. I had to go now! My heart was beating so fast in my chest. I was clutching my fists. I have to get back home quickly. If I stayed another minute, I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life. I waved down a taxi, sat back in the seat, & let the tears come.

Sunny strolled over to my chair, as if he had nothing else in the world to do. I on the other hand wanted to get finished with him as quickly as possible.
“How is everything going,CeCe?”
“Fine, thank you, & you?” I draped the cape around his neck as quickly as possible, picked up my shears & comb, starting to section his hair off. We chatted about general stuff, how fast the summer went by, where he went on vacation. I told him about my trip to Italy, & how beautiful it was. The holidays coming upon us. Thankfully, the cut was dried & finished before I knew it.
“Same price?” he asked, handing me a hundred dollar bill at the desk.
“Yes.”
“Keep the change,CeCe.” Smiling, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Why doesn’t he leave?
“Can I take you out sometime?” His eyes were serious & for the first time I noticed just how dark brown they were.
“Thank you Sunny.” I smiled at him, hoping that I looked sincere, “But I have a firm rule against dating clients.”
“Oh?” His voiced lifted with surprise. “Why is that? You must get asked out all of the time!”
“Well, you see,” I responded with a little blush,”When you date your clients, then they expect free haircuts while your seeing them. So that’s a lose of income for both me & the salon. Then when you stop seeing them, they stop coming to you for their haircuts, & that’s another lose of income for me & the salon.”
“Oh,” Sunny responded frowning. “Your more interested in the money & work then.”
“I guess you can say that.” I surprised myself that I told this man my true reasons for not dating clients. Maybe, it would turn him off & he would stop coming to the salon, I thought to myself. Michele & Josef were glancing over at me, so I knew they heard what I had just said.
Sunny shook his head slightly, smiling at me. “Well, I expect that your going to be a very wealthy woman some day.”
“I’m already wealthy,” I was being snippy now, but he was getting on my nerves.
“Good, good.” He started walking towards the door, stopped & turned to me. “But one day, you will go out with me!”
He turned & left the salon. I stood there another moment, watching him hail a taxi. The nerve! I couldn’t wait to clean up & go across the street for a drink. What an unusual day!
Beverly showed up with the clean-up crew. All of us were exhausted from all of the activity from the day.
“I’m going across the street for a martini.” I announced to everyone.
“Me too.” said Josef.
“Me three”, chirped Agnes.
“Us five,” shouted Vidal, as everyone burst into laughter.
Vidal held the door open as all of us strolled into the bar.
“Hey, Sasoon Gang!” George greeted us, “Usual for everybody?”
When I got home that night, feeling more than a little tipsy, I thought about Sunnys’ statement to me. Yes, I was ‘almost’ wealthy, yes my career & money was a huge part of my life. I’ll be twenty one this coming Spring, & I’m making more money than I ever thought of making. I make about four hundred dollars a day in tips alone. I’m paying my mothers rent & living expenses, I make sure that my son wants for nothing. I’m happy where I’m at! My next goal is to go to law school & have my son live with me. As I crawled into bed, I smiled. Yes! My son living with me.

Fall has arrived! Today was the first anniversary of the salon opening, & Vidal was having food catered in. We set up tables to display all of the goodies. Magazine reporters & camera men were coming in & out. Josef was putting on his best performance, with his little flipping of his wrist, but for some reason Brad was not happy about all of the fuss.
“What’s wrong with Brad?” I whispered into Charles ear.
“Not sure. Ask Aaron.”
My next client walked in, so I went over to her & gave her a hug. “How are you, Eileen?”
” Great, CeCe!” She walked over to the client changing lounge. I lite a cigarette & waited for her to come out.
“What’s all of this?” Eileen asked, motioning to all of the activity.
” Our first anniversary. What are we doing today?” as I started to brush her hair.
Eileen has been a client of mine since Brooklyn. We’ve become really good friends & over time have shared a great deal of our personal lives with each other. Eileen was a real pretty girl, but didn’t see herself that way. I hated that for her, so I worked extra hard on her hair styles & advised her often on make-up & clothes.
” I’m thinking of a perm,” she said with a smile,”What can you do for me, CeCe?”
“That’s great. I know exactly what I want to do. It’s a dramatic change. Are you up for it?”
“Yes,yes! I need change in my life right now. My love life has hit an all time low. The only one that I’m sleeping with is my cat.”
We laughed out loud together. We were both in the same boat. I motioned her over to Agnes.
Camera men & reporters were interviewing everyone that they could. Cameras flashed all afternoon, music playing all of the current hits, clients getting a little tipsy, enjoying the catering, everyone was in a party mood. Michele was sneaking a drink in the back. Brad was still quiet, but did allow some photographers to take his pictures while he worked on his clients.
Three hours later I finished Eileen’s hair. She looked beautiful. I kept it long in the back with large round ringlets falling around her face. She had beautiful blue eyes that sparkled, & the ringlets fell right at her temples to accent her eyes. I also added a few highlights around the frame of her face, so it seemed to glow.
“Can I take your picture, Miss?” One of the photographers asked Eileen
“Ah, yes, o’kay,” she looked up to me & I smiled, nodding my head. “CeCe, you have to be in it also. You created this masterpiece.”
“Yes, of course,” He said,”My name is Sam.” as he stretched his hand out to shake Eileen’s.
Sam took about two dozen shots of Eileen. I was in about six of them, but he had her posing all over the salon. He was making her laugh, & she was as giddy as a school girl, with all of the attention he was giving her. I later saw her give him her phone number. I was thrilled. Sam was a nice looking guy, seemed to be taken by her, or at least flirtatious.
The day went by quickly, with the reporters, camera men, & clients going in & out. It was about an hour before closing time. I was in the employees lounge eating my dinner & having a drink.
“CeCe,” Judy leaned against the doorway, “Your next client is here.”
“Thanks Judy. Just tell them to change & have a seat. I’ll be out in five minutes.”
“O’kay.” She went out to the salon area.
As I walk out to the clients waiting area, my heart dropped. It was ‘him’! ‘Oh my God’ I said to myself.
“Hi Sunny,” shaking his hand, “Are we doing the same cut?”
“I love it CeCe,” holding my hand too long, “Can you do it again?”
“Sure can! Go tell Judy to shampoo you, & I’ll see you at my station.”
Joseef winked at me through the mirror, while Michele gave me an encouraging smile. The end of a very hard day, & this is what I have to deal with.

Friday nights were always crazy at the salon. Clients coming in late because of traffic or getting stuck a little later at their office, always ran our bookings late.
Agnes was great with keeping the clients shampooed & processed, plus she trained Judy really well. Agnes also knew which clients tipped better than others & made sure those were the ones she shampooed.
I turned to call over my next client to my chair, & looked into the eyes of the man from Ammies.
“Have a seat here please.” I tried not to show that I recognized him. “My name is CeCe, what is yours?” as I reached my hand out to shack his.
“Hi CeCe,” he took my hand in both of his, “I’m Sunny.”
I quickly removed my hand from his hold. “Well, what do you want to do with your hair?”
Sunny looked into the mirror & ran his fingers through his hair quickly. “I think just a shaping would be fine, but, on the other hand, I might like something a little different.”
“That’s a dangerous thing to say to her,” Michele commented.
“Well, I think I’ll leave it up to CeCe.”
As I brushed his hair & made suggestions, Sunny nodded, asking about up-keep, etc., staring none stop at me through the mirror.Finally, I sent him over to Judy for a shampoo.
“Isn’t that the guy from the bar?”
“Yes!”, I answered.
“He’s so cute.” remarked Josef.
“Well I don’t like him. He gives me the creeps! I don’t like him coming to this shop.”
“Well, honey,” Josef brushed his eye brow, ” If he could afford a sixty five dollar hair cut, then be cool. Or ah, you can pass him on to me.” There was the flirty queen again. The three of us laughed.
As I cut Sunnys‘ hair, we chatted about the war, civil rights. He told me that he was a printer for a major company downtown, single, but divorced with a son, that lived with his mom in another state. I got the feeling he was trying to impress me, which wasn’t working. I didn’t know why I didn’t like him, but my stomach was in a knot until he was out of my chair.
I motioned to my next client to give me a minute, as I plopped myself into my chair, lighting a cigarette.
“What do I owe you, CeCe?” as he was approaching my chair.
“It’s sixty five dollars, Sunny.”
He handed me a hundred dollar bill. “Keep the change.”
“Thank You!” as I walked over to the desk, where the register is.
“Do you remember me?” Sunny asked.
“No” I lied, “Have I done your hair before?” I hoped that my voice sounded normal.
“We met at the club downtown about a month ago. I sent you white roses two days later. Did you get them?” His eyes were smiling, but his face wasn’t.
“The roses,” I responded, “They were from you?” pretending to be surprised. “They were beautiful.”
“Good, I’m glad.”
There was an awkward pause. I motioned for my client to come to my chair.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your haircut, Sunny.” I started to drape the client in my chair.
“I’ll see you again soon, CeCe” he said as he left the salon.