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some
siren decides she wants to suck my dick dry.’
    ‘It’s a good dick,’ I comment.
    He chuckles, his body shaking with
amusement, ‘you got two hours until you have to leave for the airport, you want
to get some shut eye?’ he pulls out of me, ‘or you want to clean up and explore
some more?’
    ********
    Thankfully, by the time I arrive back in
Krystal, the paperwork I had been waiting for had arrived.  I had my
social security number and the relevant licenses to work the salon, a way of
clawing back some of the unforeseen expenses I had faced when moving into
Ollie’s.  If I could earn some money while waiting for answers, it meant I
could stay longer. 
    Nate was still in Boston, having more to
investigate, but he had driven me to the airport and kissed me senselessly in
the car, before notifying me he would be back in Krystal mid-week.
    I spend the weekend preparing the salon
for opening on Monday morning. I hadn’t confided in anyone my intended plans
for the salon, in case there was a problem with the paperwork, and now wonder
if I should have put out some fliers to alert potential clients of my existence. 
    Krystal operated by word of mouth; I figured
that all it would take is to open the doors and offer an inexpensive
introductory price, and hopefully clients would come running.  Krystal
itself didn’t have a woman’s salon, so I would entice the women in with the
pure fact that I was on their doorstep.
    I appear at Ellie’s Sunday lunchtime,
craving some girlie company and good food, and knowing Ellie will satisfy that
hankering.
    ‘Hey, girl!’ She grins, as I enter the
doorway.  She comes forward and hugs me tight, ‘I’ve missed your funny
accent, how did the funeral go?’ She guides me to my table and sits opposite
me.
    ‘Sad, but okay,’ I nod, wondering whether
she was aware of Nate’s intention to join me.  ‘But best of all, it’s
over,’ I state.  ‘Thank you for your support El’s,’ I send her a heartfelt
smile.  ‘You have been so kind to me, and I want you to know how much I
appreciate your friendship.’
    ‘Jesus, girl, you dying or something?’
Ellie’s eyebrows raise to the ceiling.
    I giggle, ‘I mean it, thank you.’
    She waves a hand, dismissing my
gratitude.  ‘You hungry?’
    ‘Starving,’ I admit.  ‘What’s the
special?’
    ‘Meatloaf?’ she asks.
    ‘Fuck, no! Looks like dog food,’ I twist
my mouth disapprovingly.  ‘I’ll have breakfast if I may, pancakes and
eggs?’
    ‘Cheeky bitch!’ She calls, but smiles as
she makes her way to the kitchen.  ‘Soda?’
    ‘Diet, please,’ I call.
    ‘Light!’ she corrects me.
    ‘Jesus fuck, woman,’ I roll my eyes.
    Ellie giggles, ‘someone’s been around my
brother for an extended amount of time,’ she winks.
     Yeah, she knows.
    ********
    Monday morning dawns to a hot, humid day
in Krystal.  I am up at the crack of dawn, eager to begin the day.  I
dress in a short floaty, floral skirt, tank top and push my feet into my wedge
sandals before I prepare a breakfast of muesli and yoghurt. 
    I had called through an order to Ollie’s
supplier, but he wouldn’t entertain me as a customer until I settled Ollie’s
overdue account, which reluctantly I did.  I was beginning to haemorrhage
money just paying off a few of my brother’s debts, and it was now becoming
crucial that I bring some money in rather than continually pay out. I had a substantial
savings account, thankfully, due to the success of my own business, but that
would only last for so long.
    Anxiety curls in my stomach as I open the
doors to Ollie’s salon.  I put the flex sign on the pavement, or sidewalk
in the United States, and pull down the awning that covers the front of the
shop.  I’m set to go.
    I watch with baited breath as the town
begins to wake and people pass by curiously peering inside the barbershop. 
I wonder what they make of me opening my dead brother’s business.  
    ‘Morning Ma’am,’ the police