"Shit." I cussed once more. Ariel my assistant was having a hard time convincing me to cancel my salon appointment. Well on any normal day I would refuse, but today was supposed to be my first day on set since I came to town for work. Yes, I was an actress. A top one at that. That being said, there was no way I was going to show up to the filming site with my hair looking shabby. It could wait, no matter how late I currently was.
The van stopped and I stepped out, the November air hitting me harshly. I hated the beginning of winter and all that came with it. Too many bad memories there. I pulled my shades on and stepped my Jimmy Choos clad legs into the beauty parlour. 'Pristine Most' it was labelled outside, and it looked quite lovely. It's no wonder it was ranked number one in the country. That, or because there was an awful amount of celebrity clients. I recognized a few and man, I suddenly felt like turning back the way I came.
But...
"Oh my God! It's Martine Grossby." Someone whisper yelled from across the palour.
I could hear the hushed voices now. There was no way I was going to turn back now. In for a penny, in for a pound.
A hostess came to usher me to my booked quarter. VIP quarter. I could swear I heard my heels clicking even in the myriad of hushed voices, that's how quiet they gossiped. I mean everything evolved right, so why not gossiping methods too.
But I was a woman with no problems, like the press once put, so I didn't bother.
She came to a halt in front of a room and pulled open the door for me to step in. The walls were coloured in rich beige. One of my favourite. The marble floors looked exquisite but I was particularly in love with the warm glow of the room, the lighting and interior deco. It was all my taste. I felt a sense of deja vu for a second.
A voice cleared and I looked to see a familiar face, a musician whose ex I dated. Oops. Small world. The whole room just had four people, myself included. I knew them all, Space the bitch mad at me for dating her ex, a dark haired somewhat beautiful lady in the far end corner who happened to be a royal, there was also Alice Venterall who was a social leech and I mean leech. She was a well-known socialite.
I decided to sit far from them and wait for my own hairstylist.
I placed my bag on the dresser in front of me and stopped when I noticed a miniature painting, it looked familiar. This couldn't be happening, what was with the constant deja vu.
"Sorry for being late, my assistant says you've waited quite a while?" Someone pulled me from my trance. Shit. I knew that voice. I froze again.
Best be a joke.
I turned.
It wasn't.
Her eyes widened for a moment before dimming. She remembered me.
No wonder the nostalgia was uncanny. I'd been there before.
"How'd it go? Tell me you're in."
I frowned and shook my head.
"Failed again."
"Oh." She sat beside me on the ground.
"Maybe it's a sign, a message from God that I should quit dreaming of acting. Clearly someone doesn't have the talent." I sighed. The disappointment had pushed me too far this time. I wasn't going to try again.
"Rubbish!" She pulled my hands in hers, "I'm the religious one not you and I ain't even saying shit. Listen." Her eyes met mine. "You'll make it to that big screen, and you'll be as famous as you've ever dreamed. We both will."
She was encouraging me not knowing I had secretly given up. I'd lost the drive.
"Just like you wanna own that imaginary beauty parlour, yeah right." I scoffed but burst into laughter. She frowned.
"Oh come on, it fits. You an actress and I'll have a beauty parlour that'll be our own secret world where you can hide from the paparazzi and gossip about women." She said dreamily.
"Talking about palours, tell me you passed the audition for your make up contest." I suddenly remembered she had an audition too.
She smiled twirling a pair of scissors in her hand dramatically. "Of course I did." I screamed in excitement, finally some good news.
She was the dreamer.
I was too but unlike me, she always went for it.
I bit the inside of my mouth in anger, why did it have to be her? Of all beauty parlours I had to pick hers? Well I wasn't about to leave so she could think I'm still affected by her presence.
"Marty." She called softly but I ignored her, I turned back to look in the mirror. I couldn't bear to hear her call my name, I didn't even want to think about hers.
"I'm currently behind on my schedule so could you please hurry up?" That was my response. I reached for my handbag and pulled my phone out and my eyes swept over the painting again.
I had painted that. We both did. I still remember her complaining about her superb art skills on face but trashy when on paper or anything not face-like. I had decided to teach her and she ended up messing it up but she decided to keep it as a reminder of my patience and her trashy art skills. I blinked. The whole Parlour had been our design so trust me when I say it felt like hell being there but I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction.
I unlocked my phone and began to flip through Instagram while she began to work my hair. Her touch was still the same, like the times she prepped me before a job or an audition, except now I was paying her for doing her job.
Minutes dragged by.
Man I was losing my shit.
"There you go, all done." She announced.
I wasn't about to thank her. I grabbed my purse and stormed out of there but I could hear heels following me. She pulled me by the arm the same way she had that night and uttered the very last words I heard her say, "Marty let's talk."
So I played along like the good actress I was, repeating my very answer I gave her back then.
"Goodbye Valentina."
I pulled my arm from her grip and walked out.
There was no way I was going back there.
Ever.