Nila's Hope Read Online Free Page B

terrible with short hair?
    After what seemed like hours, Nila felt several brushstrokes and a quick blast from a blow dryer. The stylist fluffed Nila’s hair. A gentle tug, and then nothing. How short was it? Nila swallowed hard.
    “All right, open your eyes,” Misty said.
    The plastic cape fell away from Nila’s shoulders, and the salon noise seemed muted. Hands clasped tightly together, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Oh,” was all she could say. Staring back at her in the mirror was a slender woman with a cute pixie cut, high cheekbones, and huge brown eyes.
    “What do you think? Do you like it? It is a big change.” The hairstylist flicked a stray hair from Nila’s neck.
    The wide mouth in the mirror twitched upward. Nila turned first to Lydia, and then to Misty. “I love it.”
    “I do, too.”
    “You look beautiful,” Lydia and Misty responded at the same time.
    She swung around to face Lydia. “Do you really think it’s all right?” She reached up and tugged a lock. “I’ve never worn my hair this short. Not that I can remember, anyway.”
    Misty brushed a stray hair off Nila’s neck. “It’s more than all right. You look fantastic. It accentuates your facial structure and your gorgeous eyes.”
    Nila blushed. “Thank you for saying that and for fitting me in today. I probably would have chickened out if I’d had to wait.”
    She turned back to the mirror, lifting her chin as she turned her head and admired her new look. She really liked the hairstyle. Her head felt much lighter. So did her heart. Nick would never let her cut her hair, but he wasn’t going to control her anymore. Not now, not ever again. She wasn’t the weakling she used to be.
     
    ****
     
    “Hunky Unky! Hunky Unky!” Jessica’s joyous greeting brought a grin to Will’s face as he entered Faith and Jason’s eastside home. Before he had a chance to shrug out of his down parka, the two-year-old grabbed his legs. He wobbled at the impact, and snow from his coat plunked onto her blonde head.
    “Eew, brr.” But she didn’t let go.
    “Hey, Jessie, let me get my coat and boots off, OK? Then I’ll pick you up.”
    She just grinned up at him like an impish cherub.
    “Jessica, let go of your uncle. At least let him get all the way into the house before you attack him.” Faith plucked her daughter off Will’s legs with one arm while shutting the door behind her brother.
    “Welcome to chaos, bro. Pizza will be here in a few minutes, so your timing is perfect. Did you get everything moved?”
    “Yeah, I got all my stuff over to Daniel’s…um, my house. But it’s a mess. It’ll take a while to get it all sorted out. So thanks for the invite, in spite of the nickname you taught your daughter.”
    “Hey, she came up with that herself. She can’t pronounce her L’s yet, and unky Wew didn’t sound good, so I merely made a suggestion.”
    “And she ran with it. Right.”
    Will hung his coat up and turned just as Jessica lunged at him from Faith’s arms.
    “All right, you little monkey, now I can play with you. Where’s your baby brother?”
    Loud banging from the kitchen answered that question.
    Faith answered. “That sounds like a demand for more food. Bring your little leech into the kitchen. You can tell me about your move while I finish shovelling food into Tommy.”
    “Hey, buddy.” Will patted the baby’s downy head as he walked around the table and was rewarded by a baby-food enhanced grin.
    As soon as he’d lowered himself into the chair, Jessica unwound her arms from his neck, slid off his lap, and ran to the baskets tucked under the bay window seat.
    “Ponies!”
    “You’re in for it now,” Faith said with a smile. “Better fire up your imagination. Sometimes they’re superheroes; the next minute they’re mommies and daddies. This will be good practice for you.” She winked. “For someday.”
    She wiped a stray blob of food from Tommy’s cheek. “Before I forget, are we still on