Chapter 8

On Friday the doorbell rang at noon. Jan went to the door and found a man standing there with a large bag in his hand. He asked, "Are you Janice Stewart? You look like the description your mother gave me. I'm Henry Hall, your mother's hairdresser. She said you have a friend staying with you who has a big date and she asked me to come out and fix her hair."

Jan's jaw dropped. When she was in Los Angeles she commented on the fact that all of the girls in the Clifford & Jamison office had beautiful hair. She recalled Ali saying they had a private hairdresser, Henry Hall, who was an Academy Award-winning hair stylist. She invited him into the house and he set up in the kitchen. It turned out that he carried everything he needed in his bag.

He went to work on Cindy and then did Janice's hair. When he first saw Cindy's, he let out a low whistle and said, "Cindy, you take the grand prize. I've been in this business a very long time. But never have I seen a woman with hair as glorious as yours. I thought Ali was the all-time champ, but your hair makes even hers look drab. My God! It has length, fullness, body, natural wave — everything." He smiled at the girls and said, "This trip is on me. It's worth every dime to be able to work on hair like this."

Cindy thought he was kidding. Then, to his embarrassment, Jan told her who and what he was and the fact that Ali had flown him out from California just to make sure her hair looked good. When he finished, he borrowed a large mirror and held it so Cindy could see herself. "My God!" she exclaimed. "That can't be me. It just can't! That's gorgeous."

Henry just shook his head and said, "Cynthia, if you ever pay a hairdresser to work on your hair, I'll shoot you. Either they're totally incompetent and don't know what they're working on, or they're bandits. They should pay you for the privilege!"

Jan's hair, being shorter, was easier to do. Cindy told him to try to get it so it wouldn't look like a fright wig after she was loved by Pete. The girls and Henry teased one another until he left for his plane back home.

That evening, Cindy dressed very carefully for her date with Dan. She didn't really understand why she was doing it. Because it was a very warm day she was wearing a plain shirtwaist dress that was crisp and cool. When she came downstairs, Jan put a double strand of pearls around her neck. They were set off beautifully by her golden tan.

"How do I look?" she asked anxiously. She felt like she was tottering on her heels, since she had spent almost the entire time since early May nude, and even when dressed, she was normally barefoot.

Cindy didn't understand her feelings as she waited for the train from Chicago. After all, it was just a movie date with an old friend. Nevertheless, she had a wonderful sense of anticipation as she saw the train approach in the distance. When it arrived, she saw Dan get off from the last car. Again he was wearing khakis along with a golf shirt and was walking down the platform when he saw her. He grinned and ran over to where she was waiting.

Shaking her head, she said, "Dan, it's much too hot for running."

Then he surprised her by taking her in his arms and giving her a warm kiss. She was rocked by the kiss but tried not to let on. Her relationship with Dan had been one of almost constant fighting. She had long ago concluded they didn't agree on the time of day or anything else.

She looked at him and said, "Guess what, turkey? I have some money. We can actually eat tonight. What do you think about that? And I have a surprise for you, too."

She took him to her car and he whistled. "Where did this come from, young lady? Whose is it?"

"It's Pete's, but he insisted on having it registered in my name."

They got in and she drove to a small restaurant Jan had suggested. Dan enjoyed the performance of the small car and was almost asleep when they got to the restaurant. It turned out to be a new establishment specializing in French cuisine. After they had eaten, the chef came out and asked how had they enjoyed the food.

Dan was amazed when Cindy started making suggestions for improvement. The chef, who was also the owner, was startled at first but then asked the reason for the changes. Cindy gave him her reasons in detail. Realizing she knew a great deal about haute cuisine, he found a pad and pencil and started to make notes. The cognac which was served with the coffee was on the house. When the bill was presented, Cindy paid it herself. It took forty of her seventy-five dollars.

Then they went to a movie. Cindy was startled when she felt Dan unbutton a couple of buttons on her dress and put his hand on her bare breast. He was shocked when her only reaction was to say, "Squeeze it. It's nice and firm. Do you like my tit, Dan?"

Instead of answering, he squeezed it gently and kissed her lightly on the ear. She enjoyed the feeling of his hand cupping her breast for the rest of the movie.

When they got out of the movie, she realized there was over an hour until it was time for his train back to Chicago. She knew of a small park and drove to it. Since the night was still and very warm, she kicked off her shoes and left them in the car. Although the park was popular with lovers, it was still early in the evening when they walked to the bank of a small pond where they were hidden from view from cars in the parking lot. She laid back on the cool grass and sighed. Dan lowered his lips to hers and softly kissed her. She held him behind his neck and returned it. Then he lay down beside her and together they looked up at the moon.

"Cindy, you're a strange girl. Do you know that?"

"You're right, of course, but what makes you say so?"