Page 24 of Loki's Luck

Thirteen

HALLE

“Oh, blue looks so beautiful on you, baby girl. Want to try the yellow dress?” I ask, holding up the beautiful dress Rae picked out.

At first, I took her to the shorts and pants section, but she saw all the dresses, and I couldn’t get her out of it. I laugh at her as she twirls around before nodding happily and taking the dress from me. I wait as she changes and watch the door. That’s when I hear a scoff behind me.

“You should really take her somewhere and get her hair fixed. It looks nappy and dirty,” some fucking bitch has the audacity to say to me.

“Excuse me?” I say, almost in a whisper. I must have heard the bitch wrong. No way did she say what I think she just said. I look back at the dressing room and see Rae has come out of the room with her head down and holding the front of her dress. I see the tears glistening in her eyes, and I know she must have heard what the cunt said.

“I said…” she starts again, but I’m on her before she can utter another word.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?” I yell in her face before grabbing her by the back of the hair and wrenching her head back. She squeals and flails, trying to get out of my grip.

“How the fuck would you even know what to do with her hair? You…” she starts to go off again, but I’ve had enough. Just when I’m about to body slam the bitch to the floor, Rae comes out of nowhere.

She pulls her leg back and yells, “Cunt Punt!” before bringing her leg forward right into the woman’s crotch. I should probably tell her not to use the word ‘cunt,’ but honestly, this woman deserved it. Who tells someone’s kid they have a nappy and dirty head? I fucking hate stupid people.

“Stop, let me go. I’m calling the cops!” the woman yells as I tighten my hold on her hair, and Rae wraps herself around the ladies’ legs. Then I feel someone pull me off of her and hold me back. I swing, but I smell Loki and know instantly I’m safe. I look down and see that Rome has a hold of Rae, who's fighting him, trying to get back to the woman.

“Thank you for getting these crazy people off me,” the woman harrumphs while straightening her clothes. “I will be pressing charges. Can you hold them while I call the cops?”

“What the fuck did this bitch do, pet?” Loki asks me, finally letting me go. I’m glaring at her, wanting to attack again, but I answer Loki first.

“She said Rae’s hair was nappy and dirty and that I didn’t know what I was doing raising her,” I tell him. Rome and Loki go deathly still before they slowly turn to the woman in question. Her eyes widen as she looks at Loki.

“Run,” he says simply and quietly. She takes his advice and makes a break for it, running right out of the store, leaving her cart and clothes in front of us.

“Lokiiiiii…… I wanted to pinch and bite her some more,” Rae whines. Loki looks down at her and chuckles, rubbing the top of her head. She looks up and smiles at him before turning to me.

“Does my hair really look bad?” she asks, and I can see the pain those words caused written clearly on her face.

“No, baby. Your hair is beautiful just the way it is, but what if we go to the salon and get them to fix it up a bit? They can teach me exactly how to take care of it and what conditioners and hair products you might need,” I suggest, smiling down at her.

“Really?” she asks excitedly.

“Of course. They’ll need to teach me, too. I know nothing about how to fix girls' hair,” Loki says, turning to Rome.

“What do you say, Rome? Want to get your hair trimmed and set, too, son?” Loki asks Rome. He shrugs and then looks down, but I can see the smile on his face.

“Come on, my babies, I know the perfect place.” We head to the counter, where the young girl behind us watches closely while she rings up our items. She must have heard the commotion earlier.

When we finish paying, well, Loki finished—he won’t let me pay for anything—we grab our stuff and then head back out to the car.

“Where are we going now?” Rae asks, bouncing up and down in her seat.

“There is a beautiful black-owned salon right down the road. We are going to see if we can get you in for an appointment today. If not, we will schedule something for later,” I tell them both. Rae looks excited, while Rome seems nervous.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I ask him.

“I don’t want them to make fun of Rae’s hair like that other woman did,” he says, scowling.

“They would never do that, baby. They understand how to treat and care for her hair more than I do. They will tell us exactly what we need to do,” I try to reassure him.

“And if they don’t, you remember what happened to that bitch in the store. Just think, this time, you and I will be there to protect Rae and Halle,” Loki says.

We speed down the road, pull into the salon, and hop out. I grab Rae’s hand and walk up the front steps, Loki and Rome following not far behind us. The bell rings over the door as we walk in, and I can tell by just the smiles on the ladies' faces when we enter that I’m going to like this joint.

---