The first thing Nora noticed was the weight falling onto her lap.
A thick lock of chestnut hair landed against the black salon cape, curling beside her wrist. For a moment, she stared at it without understanding. She had expected small pieces, the kind that dusted the floor after a routine trim.
This was long enough to wrap around her hand.
She picked it up.
“I said one inch!”
Kelly lowered her scissors and looked at the hair as though Nora had pointed out a loose thread.
“You needed a change.”
Nora turned toward her. Kelly stood beside the chair in a teal shirt and black apron, her blonde pixie cut perfectly arranged.
“My wedding is tomorrow!”
Kelly shrugged.
“Then he should love you anyway.”
The salon seemed to go quiet around them.
Nora looked down at the severed lock again. The ends rested against the mustard neckline visible above her cape. She remembered fastening that blouse before leaving home. Thinking she would wear something cheerful for the last ordinary errand before her wedding.
Now her fingers were shaking.
“Put the scissors down.”
Kelly sighed.
“I haven’t finished.”
“Put them down.”
Something in Nora’s voice finally made her comply. She placed the scissors on the trolley.
Nora touched the side of her head. The section Kelly had cut ended near her jaw. The rest still reached well below her shoulders.
She had spent months choosing a wedding hairstyle. A low braided arrangement, soft around her face, with a small comb that had belonged to her mother.
There was not enough hair on one side to make it work.
“Why did you do that?”
Kelly glanced toward the reception desk.
“You’re making this bigger than it needs to be.”
Nora carefully placed the lock back on her lap.
“What exactly did you think would happen?”
Kelly did not answer.
For the first time since sitting down, Nora looked beyond her own reflection and noticed a phone mounted beside Kelly’s station.
Its camera was pointed at the chair.
