Bruising Honey

The bell jangled as the salon door opened. Honey looked up from her station and glanced at the clock. Twenty more minutes would have seen her locking the door and heading home. She pasted a smile on her face as a short brunette walked to the counter. "How can I help you?"

"Um," the girl glanced around the salon. "I need a," her eyes dropped to her hands. "I need a manicure!" She held up her hands, displaying ten ragged fingernails.

"Pick a color," Honey sighed. The girl needed more than a manicure. Her frizzy hair stood out on end around a face devoid of make-up. A cotton shirt clung to her plump curves while a pair of faded jeans sagged off her hips. She clutched her oversized bag and an envelope in one hand.

The girl glanced around again, catching Honey staring. She reached her hand out blindly and grabbed a color, thrusting it towards Honey.

"Viola Violet?" Honey questioned, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Um. Yeah. I like purple."

Shrugging Honey gestured toward a chair while she collected the tools of her trade. The sooner she got this duckling out of here, the sooner she'd be able to go home and see Todd. The last few weeks had been a dream; Todd in her bed every night and at her breakfast table every morning.

Lifting the girls hands, she set them in a bowl of warm water before grabbing a fresh towel from the shelf beneath her station.

"So your name's Honey?"

Great. A talker. Keeping the smile pasted on her face, she replied, "That's what my mama called me." And what's on my nametag. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Kristi." The girl's eyes darted around the room. "It's quiet in here."

"I was about to close up. You made it just in time." Honey took one Kristi's hands out of the water, starting to work. "When's the last time you had a manicure?"

"I've...uh...never had one." Honey glanced up in surprise. Kristi's jeans may be faded, but she'd recognized the logo. If this girl had never had a manicure, it wasn't because she couldn't afford it.

Kristi shifted in her seat, her freckled skin flushing making her green eyes brighten. Honey narrowed her eyes in consideration. She had good bones, a nice complexion. A hot oil treatment, an eyebrow wax and a little make up, some clothes that fit and she might actually be passable.

Honey worked in silence, efficiently sweeping purple paint over each nail.

"You ever been in love, Honey?"

"Sure. I fell for him when I was a little younger than you and I still love him." Her mouth twisted in a rueful smile.

"Have you ever had a broken heart?"

"So that's what this is about?" Poor girl was probably in love with some boy who wouldn't look at her twice. Maybe she'd suggest a wax after the manicure. There was really no excuse for those eyebrows.

"No. I was just wondering. I've never been in love. I've seen love and what it can do. It's not pretty."

"It can be ugly," Honey agreed, remember when she'd read Todd's wedding announcement in the paper. Seeing his face smiling next to that damn Betty Crocker had sent a fist into her gut for months. The only way she'd gotten through it was by going through a few men of her own. Her stomach clenched again at the memory.

Honey finished, screwing the top back on the polish.

"Thanks," Kristi smiled at her nails as she stood.

"You need to sit under the dryer."

"No. That's okay. I'll be careful." Holding her fingers awkwardly, she shoved two twenties at Honey.

"That's too much!" she protested, but Kristi had already walked out the door. Looking down, she spied the forgotten envelope. Picking it up, she strode to the door, reaching it as the tail lights left the parking lot. "Damn," she muttered. Looking down, she saw her name scrawled across the envelope.

"What the hell?" Opening it, she pulled out a pile of pictures, an icy cold fist slamming into her stomach.

This post was inspired by the Write on Edge prompt "Describe your character's first heartbreak." I played a little loose with it, trying to give a bit of insight into Honey and also give you a hint as to where the Envelope came from.

If you enjoyed this bit of Hidden Hollow, go to Fictional Mandyland and read more.