CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and EIGHTY-THREE
(part three)

“Oooh! I like this song! Turn it up!” Noelle ran over to turn up the music.

“I promised you…” Noelle and Sissy sang together, “I promised you…”

Sandy put her hands on Sissy’s shoulders.

“I can’t cut your hair if you wiggle,” Sandy said. To her assistant, she said, “I need the same pink for Sissy.”

“You bet,” her assistant smiled.

“Is this too much?” Sandy asked.

“I love family day,” her assistant said.

Smiling, Sandy started cutting Sissy’s hair. The song Noelle loved permeated the salon. A man crooned about making all these promises to the woman he loved and breaking every one of them. Sandy smiled at Noelle and Sissy’s teenage resonance with the songwriter’s pain. Then she heard:

“Jer? Whatcha doin’ out here?” in Tanesha’s voice. Stunned, she stopped cutting.

“Nothing,” the man said and the song was over.

Sandy walked over to the stereo and turned it down.

“What is that song?” Sandy asked.

“It’s a new song from Jeraine,” Sissy said. “You know Auntie Tanesha’s boyfriend?”

“I know who he is,”Sandy said.

“They’re saying it was leaked to the radio station,” Charlie said. “But he has a concert tonight. I heard it wasn’t sold out until they leaked it locally. Just another bs ploy to get attention.”

“Did you hear him at the radio station?” Noelle asked. “They asked him about the song and he said, ‘What new song?’ I don’t think he knew.”

“Yeah, if I was trying to pump my fame, I’d say the same thing,” Charlie said.

Angry, Sissy spun her chair toward Charlie and the argument began. Noelle and Sissy believed in poor Jeraine. Charlie thought he was a fame whore. Nash and Teddy came from the back to join in. Hearing her siblings voices, Rachel gave a rousing scream.

Sandy went to the back of the salon to get Rachel and her phone.  With Rachel crying in one arm, Sandy dialed Tanesha. Her phone clicked over to voice mail.

“I know you’re hiding out today,” Sandy said. “But you’ve got to hear this song. Someone’s trying to screw you. Love you, T. Call me back.”

Sandy heard the salon door close and the kids stop arguing. Peeking out, she saw Aden standing in the doorway. His presence put a quick end to their argument. She went out to give him Rachel and a kiss.

“Ok, Sis,” Sandy said. “Let’s get this done.”

For the next few hours, Sandy worked on the kids hair. She was just finishing Aden’s shave when she realized she hadn’t heard back from Tanesha. She checked her phone. Nothing.

Tanesha was out of touch. Sandy made a quick call to Heather who confirmed that Tanesha had turned off her phone today to avoid Jeraine. Heather agreed to go to Tanesha’s Gran’s house and to call Jill.

Something was definitely up and her dear friend Tanesha was smack dab in the middle of it.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow…

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