17. LOVELY SURPRISE

DAISY

My hair had always been styled by my mother and she had hated how much effort it took to deal with my thick curly mess. So I was hopeful today as I sat in the car.

“ Hi guys, do you know where I could get my hair braided?”

“Yeah, I have a cousin downtown,”

I smiled, excited for my first experience in a salon.

Thirty minutes later I was sitting in a chair downtown with nothing but laughter filling the room. Three women were around me, extensions flying everywhere. My head tipped this side and that as they pulled my hair for dear life. My head was already throbbing and I wondered how I would sleep but my excitement kept me seated in the chair, laughing now and again.

My driver and guard were at different ends in the salon, eating their hearts out while my guard’s cousin poured one story after another of how they grew up. Their household seemed to be filled with laughter and mischief. It made me reflect on my childhood. I was always on the farm, always listening and being a go