Clandestine Affair

Chapter 5

Yvonne stepped out of her car the next day and walked towards the Pearl Beauty Haven salon which Tafida had suggested. She had come here hoping that he won't know so that he wouldn't gloat about it that not only had she followed his advice, she had also visited the salon he had suggested.

The salon looked great from the outside and she was hoping the inside won't be disappointing. As she made her way towards the double doors, they automatically slide apart and closed after she had walked in. The inside looked large and beautiful and was occupied by several women who were getting their hair done. Three sat before the mirrors, having their hair made while five were under the dryer and apart from two who were busy with their phones, the others were flipping through magazines. To her left, two women were getting their finger nails and toes done, while to her right in a corner, four women had makeup artists busy on their faces. It was as if the salon had different sections all in one big room.

Yvonne was not surprised how busy the salon was, today was Saturday after all. She noticed that every employee in the salon had on the same tshirts bearing the name and logo of the salon. It was like a beautiful uniform worn on any colour of jean trousers. As Yvonne admired the place, a young woman who was not in uniform approached her and Yvonne gave her a curious look. The woman looked familiar but Yvonne couldn't recall where she had seen her before.

"Good morning Madam." The lady greeted her with a warm smile that partially showed her pearly white teeth. "You are welcome to Pearl's Beauty Haven. My name is Tabitha and you are?"

"Yvonne." Yvonne smiled back. "This place seems very busy this morning, will I get someone to attend to me immediately or will I have to wait till one of your employees is free?"

Tabitha glanced around and said, "You are in luck. One of our employees is not occupied yet. What will you like to do? Braids? Fixing? I can see that you have got such a beautiful long hair."

Yvonne gently ran her fingers through the ends of her hair and answered: "Thank you but I actually came here to treat my hair. I think it's breaking."

"Oh, that's no problem. I can also see that you have a mild dandruff problem." Tabitha said, stretching on her toes to quickly glance at the top of Yvonne's head.

"Really?" Yvonne asked in mild surprise then added: "Then I'll like to be attended to right away."

"Alright... Please come with me." Tabitha gestured for her to follow then led her to a corner where there were several lounging seats made with a small sink at the top. "Please sit down." Tabitha gestured nicely and when Yvonne sat down, Tabitha draped a neat towel over her shoulders and told her to lie backwards so that her head leaned into the gap that led into the sink. "Just sit still, my employee will join you shortly." Tabitha stated and left.

Yvonne felt relaxed. The AC felt good on her skin and she had a good view of one of the televisions mounted on the wall in front of her. The music channel on the screen which was Hip Tv was playing a count down of music videos. Rema's latest song had just ended and a new video of Fireboy's 'Scatter' had come on. Yvonne liked the song and the clown theme made it so unique among other Nigerian music videos. As she tapped her foot to the rhythm of the song, she continued to enjoy the music video while wondering why she spent less time with her TV at home. Soon, she felt ten fingers slide smoothly into her hair and she sighed, relaxing the more as she concluded that whoever she had been waiting for, had finally come to attend to her.

"I have always wanted to run my fingers through them from day one." She heard someone say above her.

Recognizing the voice, Yvonne gasped and jolted up to a straight sitting position. Turning around, her eyes widened now when she saw the least person she had expected to see today- it was Tafida. Yvonne rose to her feet now, keeping a safe distance between them as she said in a tone of surprise mixed with contempt. "You!"