CHAPTER 6
The Ringo Effect
Getting on with it ain’t always easy
CHAPTER 6
When Dahlia calls and makes an appointment finally to have her hair done, Randee, her stylist for many years, offers to come to the house as he’s done several times in the past. But Dahlia knows she can’t stay locked indoors forever. She insists on coming to him.
It’s a crisp and sunny fall morning. Halloween decorations are in the windows of small businesses all along East 79th Street, including Randee’s. Their window display is a tasteful collection of pumpkins, autumn leaves and small bales of hay.
The salon is buzzing with activity. Randee and all four of his stylists are busy trimming, blowing out, curling and applying color, while directing customers in and out of shampoo stations and from under hair dryers. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed with Motown oldies piped in over the sound system and chatter coming from every corner of the long, narrow space. A 70-inch television is mounted in a nook overhead, streaming Whoopi Goldberg and THE VIEW. The sound is muted but the captions feature is on.
Work stations are lined up like soldiers, each with a sleek black styling chair facing a well-worn red brick wall. In front of each chair is a full-length mirror mounted on the wall and surrounded by…
