Chapter 5: The Amount of Money You Spend on a Haircut is Usually in Direct Correlation with How Nice the Result Is!
Sitting on my couch in my living room, I’m texting Sam while waiting for my friends to come over. Both my roommates are out and my friends were supposed to be here half an hour ago. Finley is sitting by the window next to a plant and he’s playing with a dead leaf that’s about to fall off. It’s mid-November but there’s no snow yet. I’ve never liked the month of November, it’s cold and grey and nothing happens. It’s a weird, bland and boring month between Halloween and Christmas where everybody seems to be celebrating their birthdays (blame it on Valentine’s Day!). I’ve been to 3 birthday parties since the beginning of November and I have another one this weekend in Ottawa; it’s my nephew’s birthday. Sam actually offered to drive me there. Since her grandma lives in Ottawa, she’s going to take this opportunity to go see her at the same time. I didn’t want to offer her to sleep at my sister’s house because I didn’t want to put pressure on her to meet my family, but I have to admit I would like her to be there this weekend. Sam and I haven’t really talked about us yet, if we are dating or not. I don’t necessarily want to be officially in a relationship with her, I mean we just met, but I would like to hang out more, go on more dates, kiss again… In the past, I’ve always jumped into relationships really fast. There was never an in-between period, where we would get to know each other before officially dating. It always went from 0 to 100 in like a week! Even though those relationships were not bad ones and I was happy with these girls, maybe the relationships would’ve lasted longer if we had taken our time. I don’t want to do the same mistakes with Sam, because what’s the point of making mistakes if you’re not going to learn from them, even if you only learn after the third time. I also don’t want to wait around for her to meet someone else or think I’m not interested enough. I know myself, I get invested a lot, and I get attached very fast. That’s probably my biggest weakness relationship wise.
The doorbell rings as I’m lost in my thoughts about Sam and where we are going. Finley jumps on the floor, his tail finally knocking down the dead leaf in the motion. He half runs to the door and sprawls on the rug so the visitors can pet his tummy the second they walk in. I open the door, and Tristan and Jenny walk in. They start telling me how the metro stopped and they were stuck in there for a good 10 minutes, and they completely forget to pet the cat. Finley gets up and walks away, not very pleased with my guests. As he walks away he looks at them over his tiny cat shoulder as if to say, “Is that what you call manners?” Tristan and Jenny haven’t taken their shoes off, but the bell rings again and Ryan walks in. We all look at him for a moment and then crack up with laughter. He got a haircut since the last time we saw him and he looks like a pageboy. He gives us a deathly glance and we all try to stop laughing.
“My neighbour has been studying at a hairdressing school… He said he could cut my hair for 20$. Worst mistake of my life!”
We all burst out laughing again! This time he laughs with us…
“This is why I always spend a lot of money on haircuts!”
I ruffle his hair and he giggles like the little boy he looks like. We all go sit in the living room, taking out our notes and my computer to work on our presentation. We work for a full five minutes before Tristan and Jenny start cracking jokes, which is a record! We sidetrack from our task, like always, and an hour later we still haven’t done any work. Another five minutes of work and we’re ordering a pizza. It takes the whole afternoon for us to get at least a decent amount of work done. When it’s the four of us together, we just can’t be serious! It’s not possible! We sidetrack again and they start asking me about Sam.
“So, did you guys kiss?” Tristan asks, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Yes, we did.”
I take a sip of my beer and don’t say anything else. I like how my short answers make them curious.
“Where did you kiss?” Asks Ryan.
“On a piano bench,” I answer, smiling to myself.
As I recall the memory, I can’t help but smile. The way her lips felt against mine, how she was smiling when she pulled away from me, how her hand never left mine after that kiss. It makes me feel all warm inside.
“Are you going to see her again?”
“Tomorrow. She’s picking me up to go to Ottawa.”
“A night out of town! Already?” Jenny wonders.
“No, we’re just doing the road together. She’s going to see her grandma and I’m going to my sister’s place.”
“I’m sure she’ll come running to you in the night!” Says Ryan, his eyes looking out the window dreamily.
He sighs.
“I asked this guy out last week.”
“You did?” We all say at the same time.
“Yes, and then I brought him homemade jam.”
We all stare at him in silence, blinking, with our mouths open. The chorus of laughter explodes once more in my apartment and this sweet pageboy’s cheeks turn bright red, but we’re still laughing.
“You are such a sensitive soul, Ryan!” Says Jenny.
“I believe I am!” He sighs, half-laughing.
***
She pulls up on the sidewalk at the bottom of McTavish. I run to her car and open the passenger door.
“Do you want to put your things in the trunk?” She asks.
“I’ll put it all on the back seat.”
I put my bag and my nephew’s gift behind my seat and go sit in the front next to her. I close the door, shutting off the noise of the world. Now alone with her, I feel my stomach jump inside me. When people talk about butterflies, it always makes me laugh. I don’t feel butterflies; I feel like there’s a rocket launching from inside my stomach! It’s a lot stronger than butterflies.
“Hi,” she says, her eyes finding mine and locking my gaze into hers.
Her lips turn into this wonderfully beautiful smile and it makes me smile too.
“Hi,” I say.
She leans in, placing her hand softly on my cheek. Her palm is warm against my skin, it makes me want to close my eyes to appreciate this warm touch even more. She pulls me to her, her lips finding mine with ease. She tastes like lemon cake and dark coffee. Her scent envelops me like a warm blanket, and I find myself wrapped in cinnamon and the familiar smell of rain. Her kiss makes my head spin, my legs tremble and my heart flutters like a small bird trying to take flight inside my very own chest. She pulls away, leaving my heart pounding and putting a smile on my face that I hope will never go away.
“Shall we go?” She asks.
I nod, incapable of saying a single word. She smiles mischievously, like she knows the power her kiss had on me, and slides her hand into mine, intertwining her fingers with my own. She never lets go of my hand, from Montréal to Ottawa.
***
I’m playing with my nephew on the living room floor. He opened so many presents today that he doesn’t even know what toy to play with anymore. He’s very proud to show me with his hands how old he is turning: 3! I made his birthday cake earlier, a coconut and banana cake with little Smurfs on top. His name is spelt with candle letters and I’m very excited for him to see it.
We just finished dinner and my job is to entertain him until the candles are lit and the table is ready. The lights turn off and everybody starts signing: “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Caleb! Happy birthday to you.” I pick my nephew up in my arms and carry him to the table. My sister sets the cake in front of him and he looks at it with such joy and excitement that it makes my fight with the coconut icing 100 times worth it. He blows on his candles and we all clap! I play with his curly hair while he jumps up and down in his chair, waiting for his piece of cake. The doorbell rings right then and my sister, Callie, goes to open the door. A second later, her head appears behind the wall that leads to the entrance.
“Elliot, it’s for you.”
Frowning, I leave my nephew’s side and make my way to the front door. Right there, in the soft falling snow, stands Sam. She’s shivering in the cold and her eyes and cheeks are all red like she just cried a lot. Her smile is gone, the sparkle in her eyes have left, and it makes my heart ache to see her hurt.
“Can I stay here tonight?”
I can see her eyes clouding with tears again. I grab her hand and pull her inside.
Image obtained from:
http://media.victoriaadvocate.com/img/photos/2011/08/20/free_haircuts_08…