She affectionately stroked my hair in different directions. "Looks like you might have found a replacement."

"Yes," I said, my eyes still closed.

"Hand me the scissors Evan."

She snipped at the strands between her fingers. The tension on my scalp eased as small sections of the mat came free.

"You have nice hair. Just a second... there. That's all of it," she said, removing a napkin-sized chunk of hair. "Hand me the comb please." She combed through it until all the smaller tangles were gone, then she began to shorten the rest of the unaffected hair.

"Here," she said, handing me a pack of Lendts and a lighter, "light me one too please." She continued to snip and play with my hair. I took one of the two cigarettes from my mouth and handed it to her.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"I was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, but my citizenship is Swiss."

"And you came here because this place was left to you?"

"Basically," she said, trimming around my ear.

"You're quite the enigma."

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

I was careful not to move as she cut. "Who was this benefactor?"

"Watch your leg," she said, throwing a leg over both of mine, straddling me. She sat on my thighs facing me and looked at each ear in turn before starting to work on my bangs. Her face was inches from mine and she looked intently at the scissors as she cut.

"She was a relative," she said softly. "This home has been in my family for eighty years."

"I see."

She moved forward on her seat and began work on the top of my head. The soft skin of her neck brushed against my cheek as she cocked her head around mine to see what she was doing. It wasn't necessary, I could plainly see what she was doing. Her breasts pressed against my chest as she wriggled and repositioned herself. I could feel myself becoming aroused by her weight on top of me.

"Hang on just a minute longer. I'm almost done," she whispered into my ear.

"I'm fine," I said defensively.

She looked away from the scissors and into my eyes. "There," she said, making a final cut before stepping off of me. "So you liked the McTaggart, huh?"

"Yes, very much."

"I have some other material along the same lines. If you're interested I could let you read them as well."

"Yes, I would be very interested in seeing them. Does the topic interest you?" I asked.

"I'm interested in a lot of things," she said, combing through my hair. "There, it's finished."

"How do I look?"

She stood in front of me with her arms crossed. "You look good, very handsome. Have a look for yourself." She pointed to the mirror above the sink.

"Hand me the crutch will you," I asked.