A Year of Moving On
Small-town stylist perseveres through global pandemic brought close to home.
The B. Fancy Boutique in Bedford, Indiana, is a physical manifestation of the American conservative small town. Family photos, kitschy homestyle decor that reads “Live, Laugh, Love,” and a lively little Yorkie named Ivey Jane add to the homeyness of the shop.
In the back corner of the salon is a hair station run by a 6-foot-tall woman with a big smile, who hopes to make your life just a little bit better for the duration of your hairdo. Her name is Dana Pemberton.
It’s not apparent from her down-to-Earth charm and kind demeanor, but Pemberton went through the toughest of times in 2020. But 2021 has been a year of perseverance, a year of enlightenment, and a year of moving on.
COVID-19 has ravaged people across the country and all over the world in a way that has not been seen by any living generation. Globally, over 165 million cases and more than 3 million deaths have led to families being left in ruin, mass business shutdowns, and quarantines that are still affecting people today. Pemberton, has not been spared these heartaches — emotionally, physically and professionally.
Her professional world was turn upside down when COVID-19 became rampant in the United States. By May 2021, Lawrence County had one of the highest positive test rates for COVID, and one of the lowest vaccination rates. It was hard for her to get her clients scheduled; even her regulars were canceling appointments and isolating in their homes due to being in close contact with those who tested positive for the virus.
Dana is not the owner of B. Fancy Boutique, but she pays rent on her space and also has to purchase her own products. That money is only made back if clients show up for appointments. The financial strain of the pandemic got even worse when the boutique had to close down for six weeks by state mandate to limit COVID’s spread. Dana had to deal with disgruntled clients who had been loyal to her for years.
In the City of Bedford, many beauty shops were doing home visits, as well as creating do-it-yourself kits for hair coloring. Dana did not want to do this because it was a scheduling nightmare, having to travel to her clients, many of whom lived far out in the country.
Even once things reopened, booking had to be spaced out to accommodate COVID-19 state restrictions. One client in the salon at a time was not the same cheerful environment Dana loves, because clients were not allowed to bring anyone with them. Masks make conversation and haircutting that much trickier.
Despite the lost revenue, the financial aspect was not the most difficult part for her. In the early days of the pandemic, Pemberton remembers how much she missed seeing her clients.
“My favorite part of the job is making people feel good about themselves. This is something that makes people happy and I love to see them smile,” she said.
Her business losses were just the beginning of COVID’s toll on her family.
Her aunt Pat, who was battling kidney failure, came home to Knox County to be with her kids, Dana’s cousins, to enjoy the holiday. But Dana’s cousin Jimmy contracted COVID-19 on Dec. 10, and because of close contact, Jimmy quickly spread it to his sister Marijane and to his mother.
For Dana, this the a nightmare scenario she feared, having avoided any COVID-related issues in her family to that point. Jimmy was soon hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. Marijane was the next to be hospitalized. Their mother Pat was the last to contract COVID-19. Jimmy passed away on December 20, ten days after his symptoms began. Just 12 hours later, his mother passed away, unaware of the death of her son the day before. Marijane was the last one to lose her fight with COVID-19 on Christmas Eve. Just like that, the entire family was gone and Dana and her family were left in shock.
“It just didn’t seem real,” Dana says. “I was just thinking [when Jimmy got sick], ‘He’s 2 years older than me, he will pull out of this.’”
Dana always took the virus seriously, and strictly follows public health protocols.
Jimmy and Dana were, at one point very close as children, being so close in age. The one thing that got Dana through while at the funeral home and staring down three caskets all belonging to close relatives, was the thought of Jimmy and how he and Dana would constantly get into trouble for laughing and having fun when they were not supposed to be doing so.
“I was really dreading going in and seeing three coffins all lined up, but I got in there and all of my memories were just funny and another cousin and I just thought, ‘if Jimmy were here today he would be laughing.’”
The memories have given Dana solace in the months since. Getting back to work was the biggest medicine for her. Listening to others is therapeutic, but she still finds it hard to believe that of three of her family members are gone. Only one of the siblings in the family, her cousin Scott, got the virus and survived.
Dana’s rough times did not end with the new year. In February, Dana noticed pain in her midsection. After some reluctance, Dana went to her doctor.
“All women have aches and pains and I had not thought there would be a major problem,” Dana said.
After a visit and some scans, she learned a mass had grown in her uterus. Dana would need a hysterectomy that would cost her even more time away from her clients.
On a spring day more than a year in to the pandemic, Dana is healthy again. Clients that had to find another hair fixer have started returning to Dana’s chair.
On this day, middle school science teacher Linda Brammer wants Dana to fix some bad coloring that was done by a stylist during a visit to Florida. The woman her students call “Mrs. Brammer” smiled as she said, “Dana tends to fix my hair when I do something stupid.”
Brammer is grateful for Pemberton’s care not only with her hair, but also with the coronavirus. Brammer and her husband both have compromised immune systems from cancer treatment, and Dana’s chair at B. Fancy feels like a safe place for them in a community where many refuse to wear masks.
The middle school science teacher enjoys a glass of sweet rosé provided by the owner of B. Fancy, Bridget Mackey. Brammer lays back as her hair color dries and another familiar face arrives. His name is Rick Mitchell and he has been Dana’s client for just under two decades when she was just starting out. Mitchell came in for the same cut he’s had for nearly a decade — a short cut for the lingering hairs on the precipice of his balding head. But Rick is also looking for a conversation, like many of the patrons who seek a cut or color from Dana.
The visit for Brammer and Mitchell is a social highlight and a return to normalcy at the end of a dreary year. Dana, too, looks forward to a time when there is no virus. Her work will get her through until that time.
Familiar faces like Rick and Brammer coming in at the same time, a sign that times are changing back to before people had even heard of a COVID-19.
A client who is scheduled for 3 p.m. arrives 20 minutes late and looks to have just gotten off of work. This is the final client of the day and Dana, undaunted by the tardiness, speaks the same as she always does to her clients.
“What am I doing this time?” she asks.
“The usual,” replies the woman in scrubs, hopping into the chair, her feet dangling above the floor.
Dana grins and begins to mix the color. Dana weighs out a plethora of substances — blonde color pigment, development, and bleach. Then she remembers to ask, “Did you want the same color?” Dana says with a giggle.
Dana oftentimes starts to mix the color before asking because she is so used to the color that each of her clients uses. Assured that the color is the same, Dana gets out her roll of foil and begins to apply the white gooey coloring. She applies each foil sheet with ease while listening to her client talk about her day-to-day life as a home healthcare worker.
“I’ve never seen a home healthcare place that was so picky. I may as well be in the state surveyor’s office,” her client complains.
Color application takes 37 minutes and then a 30-minute drying period. In a chair under a dryer, COVID-19 naturally comes up. Dana goes back and forth with her client, telling stories as the weary healthcare worker sits back and enjoys the warm rush of air on her newly applied color. Dana’s personal experience does not come up, and that’s how she prefers it. This moment is about her client and creating a happy and relaxing experience at the B. Fancy Boutique.
It is at a moment like this where Dana realizes that she does not want to retire anytime soon. After all of the time away from state shutdown, family deaths, and her own medical problems, Dana knows she is right where she is supposed to be.
This story was produced during the spring semester in Comm409 Reporting II at Indiana State University.
