Chapter 6
Gary pressed the pedal hard. The car accelerated. The purr of the engine turned into a roar. He’d gotten the car the sport coupe partially because of its engine, it was a six-cylinder twin turbo and had a 7-speed manual transmission. When it picked it up, it picked up fast going from zero to sixty in four seconds. Gary liked that it was fuel efficient though. It was a top-quality race and street car that was more environmentally friendly than some of his others.
His first car had been a hatchback that he’d bought from his neighbor. The little civic CRX had taken him where he needed to go but it wasn’t an item of luxury. Gary had been able to finally start getting what he wanted during the first tech boom in San Francisco. He’d been riding high since.
The stereo in the car was loud and the music was clear. Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” blared out of the car. Gary thought of it was a vampire love song, it was about the power of darkness and love. He’d read once that Tyler, a welsh singer, was doing a musical on Nosferatu at the same time that she composed the power ballad.
Gary wasn’t a vampire though but he didn’t really feel alive. Despite the speed of his car and the luxury of it, it didn’t offer him any more thrills. It had once. When he and Joy were just coming up everything was so exciting. Now though, there was no challenge. Nothing invigorated him. Being back in the Bay area was nice but Gary also missed the taste of late night burritos after going out to the bar too late and getting too drunk and having to work the next morning too early. Instead he would go to the Michelin restaurants by the pier.
Joy and Gary had had a silent meal at the Boxing Room. The menu attempted to balance Cajun and Creole indulgences with dishes like the spicy sweet fig and arugula salad with spiced pecans and pan seared goat cheese. There were the classics of course as well, fried alligator and gumbo, and tender roasted duck. The dining room had high ceilings and an airy dessert list including an angel food strawberry shortcake.
The silence of their meal had been broken by perfunctory statements and questions.
“What are you getting?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“I’ve had that here before.”
“The restaurant is too loud.”
“Do you really want to eat here.”
The type of dialogue that had become worn and routine with their marriage.
Meeting with Kalyn had been a fluke, something out of the norm. She was everything that he was not and that he used to be. She was hard working, driven, passionate about her job. She was dedicated. Gary could tell.
Kalyn was also attractive in an unsculpted way. She had a raw beauty that Gary found attractive. It had been an impulse to kiss her and even more to hook up with her but he’d been whisked away by passion. It was a fire that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Joy and Gary rarely had sex. She rarely initiated these days. He had a lingering suspicion that she might be cheating on him but he hadn’t cared enough to inquire and or to search that hard. When he occasionally reached out for her in bed she turned away. Her body as frozen and hard as her silicone breasts. Yes, they could be pliable but they were hardened, much more firm than when he first met her.
The two had really struggled to get where they were. Joy had worked long nights as a waitress and bartender while he coded and worked on various projects during the day. They had clung together during their time of struggle. It was them against the world. Now they were on top of the world and they had grown apart. Their struggle was what kept them together. Without a struggle, there was nothing to bind them.
He hadn’t been thinking of where he was going but he found himself in front of the salon. Joy hadn’t stepped foot into the salon after the first day and it had been nearly a week. He’d had his secretary inquire about the shop. Kalyn and Mel were still there handling business, but Deborah had left.
His phone buzzed.
“Hello,” he answered.
“Where are you,” his secretary said.
“I’m over by the salon. I was thinking about checking in,” Gary replied.
“Why? Isn’t that Joy’s project. I don’t understand why you’re so interested in that place.”
“It’s Joy’s but I don’t know if she’s handling things that well.”
“Well it’s going about as well as it did under that woman Deborah.”
“What does that mean,” Gary asked.
“The salon gets customers but isn’t capitalizing on them enough. They are having a terrible time of their books as well. I went through them a little. It’s a mess,” the secretary said.
“Maybe I should take a look,” Gary replied.
“Maybe you should go to the meeting that is scheduled for you.”
“Boring.”
“Everyone wants to see you,” the secretary said.
“They just want to take photos of me. Have me say something enlightening about their start up and give them some empty platitudes that come off as expert business advice.”
“Well you did pull yourself up by the bootstraps,” the secretary said.
“How can I give anyone advice when they don’t even know how to put on their own shoes.”
“In your next life, you can be a shoe salesman but in this one are you going to the meeting or not.”
The Porsche came up to the salon. He could see Kalyn inside. She was busy cutting a middle-aged woman’s hair. Mel was there as well, sitting in the empty salon chair waiting for customers.
“Tell them I’m not feeling well,” Gary replied.
“Okay. Your life, your decisions.”
“I’m the boss.”
“That you are,” the secretary said hanging up.
Gary drove around the block and wondered if he should actually go in or not. He wanted the salon to be a success. The way it was going now though it would just be a sinkhole for Joy and Gary, not that the loss of money really mattered that much. It was a drop of water in the ocean.
He parallel parked the car and got out. It was sunny out and the day was getting late. The sun would be setting soon and the salon would be closing in another hour or so. He wasn’t sure if he should say anything to Kalyn. They hadn’t talked and she hadn’t taken his card.
Walking around the block to the salon only took a few minutes. He was standing in front of the door. He took another breath and walked in.
“Hey Gary,” Mel said.
Gary looked at Mel. He hadn’t met her before but she knew who he was. Kalyn must have talked about him. He squinted his eyes at her.
“Hey Mel,” Gary replied. There was no use pretending he didn’t know her. He’d had his secretary ask for a little information on Kalyn’s coworkers as well. Gary put out his hand for Mel to shake. She took it and gave him a firm handshake. He looked over at Kalyn. She nodded her head.
“Hey Gary, how’s it going,” she said.
She was busy cutting a middle-aged woman’s hair.
“Yeah pretty good. Has Joy been around,” Gary said.
“Not really,” Mel replied. “We actually need more supplies and what not. Are you the one that we should talk to about it?”
“What do you need?”
“More shampoo, conditioners, and some other supplies,” Mel said.
Kalyn looked at Gary. She wasn’t sure what to say so she said nothing. She felt a nervous energy from him and felt ill at ease. Mel was handling things fine so Kalyn didn’t say anything. There was tension in the room though.
It didn’t help that Gary was well dressed. He was a fit guy and his clothing helped flatter the muscles of his body. His pants were snug around his ass and then comfortably dropped down. He was wearing a casual Fred Perry polo making him look smart. Kalyn appreciated that his hair was done well. He had taken the time out to comb it, something that most men didn’t do.
Gary wasn’t sure what to do himself. He’d come in almost on a whim. No, it was more than a whim it was a magnetic attraction. He couldn’t say anything to Kalyn and for the first time in a long-time Gary was tongue tied. He looked over at Kalyn. She was well dressed and her blouse helped define the beautiful curves of her body. The blouse was cut slightly low so he could spot her ample cleavage and she was wearing jeans that helped define a wide and attractive ass.
“Well. I’m going into the back to do some paperwork,” Gary said. “I assume there’s a list of suppliers and inventory back there.”
“I think so,” Mel replied. “Deborah was taking care of it all before so I’m not one hundred percent sure what is going on with it all.”
“Okay I’ll take a look,” Gary said. He walked into the backroom. The salon had a small office in the back that was to be used for paperwork and doubled as a storage room. Deborah had rarely used it, one of the reasons why the salon had been going under.
Kalyn watched him walk away through the corner of his eye.
“Woo. He a fine piece of meat,” Mel said. “I’m not really into all that muscle, but it sure does look good on him.”
Kalyn blushed.
“Is he the owner,” the woman in Kalyn’s chair said.
“He’s the owner’s husband,” Kalyn replied.
“Hmmm… Married. That’s too bad,” the woman said.
“Honey you only live once,” Mel said. “YOLO!”
The woman in the chair smiled. “I’m not sure he’s my type. Although I wouldn’t mind trying.”
“You two are terrible,” Kalyn said.
“Are we? Are we really that bad,” Mel said with a wink.
Kalyn rolled her eyes and focused at the task at hand.
Gary, meanwhile, was going through the paperwork in the back. Deborah had set up a basic accounting system and the books were structured well but just hadn’t been filled out. Since she’d left Mel and Kalyn had been doing the paperwork but hadn’t entered anything into the accounting system. He busied himself filling out the excel spreadsheets and then began ordering supplies. It felt good to have a purpose and a job. He didn’t feel so aimless and he liked the thought of helping the salon, and Kalyn.