We need to find you a man, Magda Crossley.’
‘I’m more than happy to wait for the right one to come along,’ she replied. ‘Until then, I can just live vicariously through you.’
‘Of course you can,’ sang Sophia, dancing around the room.
She was in the throes of young love, and Magda couldn’t ignore the pang of jealousy she felt.
The door to the salon closed behind Sophia as she stepped inside. She smiled at Cath when the stylist looked up from her appointment book. Situated behind her desk, she closed the thick black book with a shriek and flung her hands in the air in delighted surprise. The noise seemed awfully loud in the quiet salon and Sophia couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Hi, Cath. How are you?’ She made her way towards the desk, feeling warm inside at Cath’s familiar face, which was beaming at her.
‘Sophia! It’s been too long, doll.’ Cath, who had known Sophia since she was a young girl, rushed out from behind the desk, lunged towards her and enveloped her in a massive hug before taking a step back to frown at Sophia’s hair. ‘Far too long, it seems.’ She didn’t look impressed, and lifted a strand of hair before eyeing the wispy ends as if they were about to bite her. Sophia felt an old memory begin to resurface.
‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ Sophia looked at the two boxes of hair dye in her hands. They’d got them from the chemist’s on the way home from school, and now they were in Sophia’s bedroom, about to open the boxes and get started.
‘Of course it’s a good idea!’ Magda bounced on the spot. ‘Look how cool they are! We’ll look like a couple of pop stars when we go to school tomorrow morning. Everyone will want to copy us.’ Magda winked.
‘But won’t we get sent home or something? I mean, when I said hair dye, I meant normal colours. But I’ve got pillar-box red, and you’re about to turn your hair bloody purple!’
‘Oh, Sophia. Stop worrying. This is exciting. Don’t you want to stand out? We’re going to look ace. The girls will be so jealous of us.’
Sophia eyed the box in her hand. ‘Hmm…’
‘Right. That’s it. No more time to think about it. We’re doing this right now.’ Magda tugged on her hand and pulled her out of her bedroom and down the hallway to the bathroom. Magda shut and locked the door behind them. ‘Who’s going first? Me or you?’
Suffice to say, their moment of glory when they’d got into school the next day had lasted only until they’d stepped into their classroom. The teacher had gasped and they’d both been sent home, not allowed to return until their hair was back to normal. They’d laughed about that for ages. Sophia swallowed. It was that bloody invitation. It was bringing it all back to her. She focused on Cath.
‘It’s not that bad, is it?’ She suddenly felt self-conscious and wished she’d made the appointment to have her hair sorted out sooner. It was the same old story though. She’d intended to, but had just never found the time or forgotten.
‘Nothing your old Aunty Cathy can’t sort out. It’s a good job we’re not busy. Come on, take a seat and let’s sort you out, girl.’
Cath led her to an empty seat and, as she began to snip away with her scissors, asked Sophia how her parents were. ‘I tell you, I couldn’t believe it when I heard they’d left. They’d always seemed pretty settled to me, your folks. Happy and that. I was quite surprised when they went through with it. I suppose I thought they’d pull out at the last minute but they didn’t. Off they went. I was so shocked.’
‘You and me both,’ said Sophia. ‘But they’re both very happy in their new home and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? I think you can grow tired of a place if you’re there for too long, and perhaps that’s how they were beginning to feel here. They lived here for forty odd years so it’s understandable in a way.’ She shrugged. ‘Still, they’re not too far away for a visit off me and Esther. I think they like having that distance between us, you know? We’re not in each other’s pockets but they’re still there, if we need them.’
‘I understand. I suppose it’s more of an occasion when you and Esther go to see them, rather than popping in and out all the time. Lift your head up for me, sweetheart. There we go, perfect.’ Cath snipped some more. ‘And what about you, Sophia? Is there a man on the scene yet? Anyone special in your life?’
‘Not yet,’ replied Sophia. ‘Honestly, I don’t feel like there’s room in my life for a man.’ Her thoughts turned to Michael. ‘What with working at the post office and looking after Esther, there’s barely time for me to just be me, never mind adding a man into the mix. Not sure how I’d find the time to entertain one.’
‘Well, that’s no good, is it? What about that online dating malarkey? Have you thought about giving that a go? It’s quick and simple. Thinking about it, I could set you up on a date with my grandson Simon. He’s about the same age as you. Good lad too. He’s on the lookout for a woman, tired of the single life now. He works full-time, takes good care of himself, and tells a cracking joke or two. What do you reckon?’
Sophia was trying her best not to cringe. Being set up on a date by Cath was a bit… much, wasn’t it? Simon sounded nice but she didn’t know him. He could be anyone. Still, Cath was a genuine woman and if she said he was an okay guy then Sophia trusted that he was. What was she even thinking of here? ‘I’m not too sure… Like I said, what with Esther and work, it’s tricky too organise anything that…’
‘Nonsense. You know as well as I do that you’re making excuses. Why? You’re a gorgeous, young, independent woman, Sophia. I bet, if you put yourself out there, you’d have a line of men waiting to take you out. Come on, give it a whirl. See what happens. I promise you he’s nothing out of the ordinary. Just a genuinely nice guy who I know would enjoy your company. Go on, make my grandson’s day!’
As her name suggested, Sophia Good was a good person at heart, and now she felt as if she couldn’t turn down Cath’s offer without insulting her in some way. She wriggled uncomfortably in the seat and chewed her bottom lip. She caught Cath’s persuasive gaze in the mirror and felt herself cave immediately. ‘Okay. Fine. Let’s do it.’ Perhaps it was time to add a little excitement to her days, after all? It would be nice to have something to look forward to.
‘Really?’ Cath waved her arms in the air in celebration. ‘Fantastic! Oh, he’ll be chuffed to bits, and wait till I tell him what a cracker you are. He won’t be able to believe his flipping luck. Once we’re done here, I’ll take your phone number and text it across to him.’
Cath continued cutting Sophia’s hair while wearing a massive, almost manic, grin and Sophia wondered what on earth she had just let herself in for. She’d only popped into the salon for a quick cut to tidy herself up a bit. Now, thanks to her inability to say no to people, she’d be leaving with a date lined up for some time in the very near future with a man she had never even met.
*
By the time she’d dropped Esther off at school the following morning, Sophia had already heard from Simon. He seemed eager to meet her and had been texting her non-stop ever since the first message had arrived the previous evening while Sophia had been cooking Esther’s dinner in the kitchen. She’d frowned at the unknown number when it had popped up on-screen, until he’d signed the message off with a friendly ‘Simon x’. The conversation
