Noisy No More

flash fiction by Caroline Pier

She was a spongy thinker, that was true. But finding a new hairdresser was never easy for anyone. After a long, unsuccessful search, she would stay close to her Latina roots and keep her mother happy. “You, such a fancy pants. An arm and a leg you pay! What for?” her mother had said. “Mateo does everyone’s hair!”

“Okay,” she smiled. “Okay already.”

She wanted a new look and laughed when she first saw him. To her, he looked savage. A savage that was older than dirt with eggshell blue eyes. Then there was the shabbiness of the shop, the Day of the Dead skull blinking on the door… all of it was jarring.

For the second appointment, he gave her an Italian Bob, a hairstyle from the sixties. “Like Gina Lollobrigida! You’ll get catcalls like crazy!” His eyes twinkled. He tousled and pulled at her loose black curls. “Shake your head. Again!” She started wearing red lipstick.