‘If you want to attract men, you should look more feminine,’ her mother continued. ‘At the very least you could wear that hairgrip I gave you for Christmas. It wasn’t cheap, you know.’

‘Er…’ Bailey sighed evasively. ‘Sure, Mum. I keep forgetting to put it on. Anyhow, it’s more the kind of thing I’d keep for a special occasion.’

However, her mother’s nagging about the way she looked did remind her of something she’d been meaning to do…

28

The sleek walls of the salon were lined with glass shelves displaying a wide array of beauty products. Dance music played at a low volume in the background whilst the beauticians chatted softly with the clientele – women of various ages sitting in front of the mirrors having their hair cut and blow-dried or sitting at the back having their nails done.

A few of them looked up when Bailey came in. She felt a bit self-conscious, and not a little out of place, seeing as this wasn’t normally the kind of establishment she’d make a habit of visiting. However, today was different; today she was here because of her job.

Looking around, she spotted Wendy at the back, standing by the cash register. On seeing Bailey, Wendy didn’t appear to immediately recognise her, but then her face broke into a delighted smile.

‘Bailey! It’s so lovely to see you. You’re lucky I was able to fit you in.’

It had only been that morning that Bailey had made an appointment with Wendy.

Bailey gave a buoyant shrug. ‘I thought, what the hell, I’d give it a try. It’s so hard to find a decent beauty salon.’

Wendy beamed. ‘So what can I do for you?’

Bailey frowned, slightly stumped. She hadn’t actually given it much thought. And she’d always been a bit clueless when it came to the finer points of beauty. She must have looked a bit bewildered.

‘Okay,’ said Wendy with a quizzical expression. ‘Well, what’s the occasion? Is there an occasion?’

‘Er… yeah, I have a date,’ said Bailey. It wasn’t quite a lie. After all, she was due to go out for a meal with Dale later that evening, and although she wouldn’t normally have bothered to doll herself up too much, it seemed like a good pretext under which to come here and see if she could extract any more useful information from Wendy.

‘A date? Ooh how exciting!’ She scrutinised Bailey with the sharp eye of a professional. ‘Well, for a start, I think your hair probably needs a bit of work, if you don’t mind me saying so.’

Bailey shrugged. ‘You’re the expert.’

Sitting Bailey down in a chair, Wendy got to work on her hair, chatting to her as she did so.

‘I started off as a hairdresser, you know. In a place just down the high street. I’m a Basildon girl through and through.’

She lifted up the loose lock of hair which hung down over Bailey’s left cheek.

‘I see you normally wear a loose bit down the side of your face.’