“At least sun is better than rain,” she quipped back at her boss. “So what color do you want?” she asked, turning her attention to Betty. “Same as last time?”

“I’m thinking something spicy for a change,” she answered with a wicked grin.

Annie raised an eyebrow. “Spicy?”

Betty smirked. “I’m meeting my fancy man tonight,” she boasted. “I want to look my best.”

“In that case,” she answered, “I think you’d look amazing with a richer burgundy shade. I can darken your eyebrows a little, too,” Annie added as she turned toward her mixing station and began pulling colors from the cupboard.

People thought just a tube of solid hair dye could give you the right look, but that wasn’t true. You needed the right mix to give the highlights and low tones. She grabbed a fire-engine red, a dark blonde, and a chestnut, with the addition of a drop of dark brown to make a tone that would be uniquely Betty. That was what Annie did.

She didn’t “do” cookie-cutter clients. She made sure everyone who stepped away from her station was spectacular in their own right. She picked up the dyes, mixing them quickly in a fluorescent pink bowl with her medium brush.

“So where did you find this fancy man then?” she asked as she began applying dye to Betty’s roots, starting at the back.

“At Tesco,” she replied. “He was trying to pick the right peppers and I helped him find the best one.”

Rose laughed. “Passion over peppers. Spicy indeed.”

“I think we could all use a little of that,” Annie said dreamily.

“Even you with your Ridey Rabbit?” Betty joked as she gave Annie a look in the mirror.

“Hey, that’s not what I meant by making myself happy! And I never said I didn’t want a fella either. I’m just tired of the eejits you get around here. I want someone real. Someone who gets me,” Annie explained.

“Hear, hear,” Felicity Finch piped up. She was one of Rose’s oldest regulars (and Annie’s favorite client) and was sitting in the corner waiting area reading a magazine. She folded the periodical and rested it on her knee. “Good for you, Annie. It’s about time your generation realized there’s more to life than mindless craic. Eventually, you need to get serious.”

“Listen to you,” Rose joked. “You sound like a schoolteacher, Felicity.”

“No, I sound like wisdom,” she replied. “I lived the wild life myself, Annie, but it gets boring after a while. I know what it’s like. And I know the repercussions.”

Annie’s gaze shifted toward her. While her personality was typically lighthearted, the older woman’s expression was now deadly serious. There was a look in her eyes that Annie could only describe as regret.