Chapter 32
Constance felt like a film star in her new clothes, which she’d refused to get out of as Isabel wheeled her out of the shop. She gave a final wave to Tara who having snipped off the tags, promised to drop a brochure of the latest season’s fashions in at Sea Vistas.
‘Isabel, do you think we could call in at the hairdressers?’ Constance asked as they left the arcade. She was eager to complete her makeover before she was deposited back at Sea Vistas. There was no point in doing half a job. ‘Why don’t you freshen up your colour, dear or try something new. I think you’d look lovely with a nice bright blue; it will be my treat.’
Isabel laughed. ‘You’re the first person older than me that hasn’t asked me to let my hair go back to its natural colour. Come on, there’s a salon, over there. Let’s see if they can squeeze us in and then we can go and show off our new looks to Delwyn.’
So it was both women wound up sitting next to each other trying to keep straight faces while Jackie with the odour of a freshly smoked cigarette enveloping her, fussed around them. Constance’s hair was woven around perming rods, and Isabel’s was covered in tinfoil.
‘We look like visitors from another planet,’ Isabel whispered to Constance while Jackie busied herself squeezing some noxious smelling solution all over Constance’s head.
‘Cup of tea ladies?’ Jackie beamed checking under Isabel’s tin foil to reassure herself that nothing untoward was happening.
‘Oh lovely, yes please. Constance?’
Constance nodded and blinked, her eyes watering from the solution.
‘We both have milk and no sugar. Thanks, Jackie.’
‘Right, two teas it is then. You two behave yourself.’ She wagged a pink talon at them before clacking out the back.
Isabel rifled in her bag for her mobile. She swiveled her chair over to Constance’s and held the phone aloft. ‘Say cheese.’ Constance mumbled something close enough, and she clicked. ‘I’ve got to send this through to mum; it will make her day.’ She grinned as she uploaded the photo texting an explanation, before hitting send.
Constance nodded off in the hair salon, and Isabel hoped she hadn’t been knocked out by the perming solution fumes. She flicked nervous glances over at her now and then between leafing through a magazine. Jackie had woken her gently when it was time for her hair to be rinsed and Constance was quick to tell her she was entitled to forty winks given she was eighty-nine, you know! When it was Isabel’s turn, Constance clapped her hand in delight as her new colour was revealed. She’d felt herself flagging earlier but was bright as a button once more thanks to her little nap.
‘You look like a fairy from a picture book,’ she said, and argued with Isabel for two solid minutes over it being her treat. Jackie had settled the matter in the end by taking Constance’s EFTPOS card from her and telling them both she didn’t have all day.
Constance was sitting a little straighter in her chair desperately hoping the breeze wouldn’t get up and trifle with her hair. As for Isabel, she kept slowing her pace to catch glimpses of her new blue do in the shop windows as they made their way up to The Natural Way a couple of hours later. She loved it—they made a good team, her and Constance, she thought.
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‘This is a lovely surprise. The pair of you look fabulous. I love the hair Isabel and Constance you’re outfit is just gorgeous!’ Delwyn exclaimed as Isabel filled her in on what they’d been up to. The shop was empty, and Delwyn had been in the midst of unpacking an order when the two women called.
Constance was eager to be out of her chair; there was so much to look at in Delwyn’s shop. The days of gathering herbs down by the river banks were long gone, she thought glancing around at the laden shelves.
‘You picked the right day to call in. It’s always quiet on a Monday afternoon,’ Delwyn informed them. ‘I use the time to unpack my orders.’
Isabel wandered around the shop picking up different bottles and reading the labels, Delwyn and Constance were chattering nineteen to the dozen about the herbs that grew wild on Wight and their different uses.
‘You still haven’t popped into the Rum Den,’ Isabel interrupted inspecting a bottle of vitamins. ‘What do you use hawthorn for?’
‘It’s useful for high blood pressure,’ Delwyn said. ‘And I promise I’ll pop in for a drink later in the week.’
‘Good. Gosh, I love this place. The fact that stuff that grows wild can potentially help people is amazing.’ It was a different language, Isabel realized. The language of plants and herbs and all their different healing purposes was fascinating.
Delwyn and Constance smiled at each other. Isabel was a kindred spirit she just didn’t know it yet.
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Constance arrived back at Sea Vistas worn out. It had been a wonderful day, she thought, as Isabel fussed about returning the chair. She saw her up to her room before throwing her arms around her in a spontaneous goodbye hug. Constance patted her back awkwardly realising it had been a long time since someone had hugged her. She let Isabel settle her into her chair, and as the door shut behind her, she closed her eyes enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun streaming in through the window—a little siesta was in order before dinner.
Later, when the evening meal was done and the day was well and truly catching up on her, Jill had come to help her get ready for bed. She’d been taken aback at how well Constance looked and told her so. ‘A day out suits you. That great-niece of yours is a tonic.’ She’d winked and smiled, as she unhooked
