Page 73 of Fighting a Riot

“Hey, Fred,” Yak said.

A man with jet black hair and traces of silver in his sideburns turned our way. At a glance, I figured he was at least five years older than Yak. His eyes were such a dark brown, they almost seemed inky black. He was probably as tall as Yak, but not as built and he didn’t have that air of being ready for a fight. In addition to his faded jeans, he wore a dark blue-gray t-shirt featuring the Stone Temple Pilots logo.

He smiled so big at us, it made his eyes seem to narrow. “It’s about time you brought her around.”

Opposite Fred, a tall slender woman with turquoise hair swept around her station.

She looked up and grinned at Yak. “Long time no see, biker bro!”

“Hey, Sydney. My girl, Nora, needs a great haircut. Fred said you had an opening.”

Her eyes cut to Fred and back to Yak. “I do… though that ‘opening’ was something Fred forced.”

I glared up at Yak. “You didn’t have something to do with that, did you?”

“He doesn’t tell me how to run my business, lady,” Fred said. “She cleaned up her floor. You sit down in her chair.”

Sydney put the broom away and Yak introduced us before I planted myself in her chair. She wrapped a cape around me and ran her hands through my hair. “What are we doing today?”

A closed-lip smile curled my lips. “I guess a pixie cut since the chemo is going to make it fall out very soon. The nurses said between two to four weeks after my first round… and that was four weeks ago.”

Her eyes caught mine in the mirror. “Chemo?”

I nodded.

She backed away and stepped into the middle of the salon. Out of the blue she started throwing punches at the air.

“What’s the problem?” I asked Yak in a low voice, but it wasn’t low enough.

“What’s the problem?” she repeated. In the mirror, I watched her prowl toward me. “The problem is a great woman like you getting freaking cancer!”

I shook my head. “I’m not great. I’m just a regular woman.”

“Nope. You’re anything but regular.”

One of my brows drew down. “You met me two minutes ago.”

She rested her hands on my shoulders and tipped her head at Yak. “Yeah, but I’ve known him half my life. Nobody has made him smile like that before.”

“Shut up, Syd,” Yak muttered.

Fred chuckled. “She speaks the truth, man. Shoulda seen him last month when I clipped his ponytail.”

Yak frowned. “Should have just taken her to a Great Clips.”

“You take that back,” Sydney said.

I laughed.

Yak smiled at me.

I didn’t know if it was different from other smiles, but it was glorious.

Thirty minutes later, Sydney spun me around in the chair. “Not to brag, but this may be the best pixie cut I’ve ever done.”

I grinned. “I’ll take your word for it, but you should put it on your Instagram or something if you really think so.”

Sydney’s eyes slid to Yak. “You’re cool with that?”

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