This is not what she wanted to be doing. This is not where she wanted to be.
But she had been cornered. She had no choice.
Blondell Buchanan reluctantly set up her shop to maximize social distancing, and to make things as safe as possible for her and her customers. That seemed a relatively hopeless endeavor. How do you "distance" yourself from someone whom you're giving a haircut, or a permanent?
She didn't want to open. But the Payroll Protection Program funding that could have helped her survive had not come through. Her staff only consisted of herself, a receptionist, another hairdresser, and a nail lady. The PPP could have covered the receptionist's salary, rent, and utilities, but she didn't know what happened to her application. She had heard on the news that most of the money had gone to larger companies and those who had the best relationships with the banks were at the front of the line. Blondell thought being Marcia Compton, the bank President's wife's hairdresser of choice, would have given her the leg up she needed, but no such luck. She still had to wait behind the county's biggest piggies, like Gator Paper Mills, Delco Furniture, and the Compton Park Development. She was even sure New Life Baptist Church got into the act- as much as they bad-mouthed government, they wouldn't be able to resist their time at the trough.
The last thing she wanted to do was reopen the shop, BB's Beauty Boutique. The first case in Dixon County had been Lillie Marlowe, who owned The Cut Ups.
She begged her landlord to hold off on rent. "Sorry, BB," he had said. "You know Kemp has opened up the whole damn state. If you couldn't open up, I might be tolerable to it, but since you can open, I have to collect rent. You a sweet gal, BB, but I got my own bills too."
She heard someone at the front door, using a key to open it up. It was her receptionist, Cissy Reese. "What are you doing here, Cissy? You should not be risking yourself for this."
Cissy snapped her gum. Bad habit, but at least she wasn't smoking. "Sorry, BB. I need the work. Blasted unemployment office is not accepting my application because they say I can go back to work now."
"I don't think that's the way it's supposed to work, Cissy. I think they extend it to those who don't feel safe."
Cissy shook her head. Sometimes BB could be pretty naive. "Yeah, well sometimes how things work on paper ain't how they work in real life, 'specially when the unemployment office is run by a real prick like Walter Dixon."
"Well, look, I'm only taking appointments, only taking in one person at a time." She handed Cissy a mask, homemade by Teresa Smithson, and some bleach wipes. "You'll have to wear this. And you'll need to keep this place wiped down. And answer the phone - if you make appointments, keep them to half-hour increments. Remember, only one customer at a time. And they must be wearing a mask."
"How you gonna cut somebody's hair while they're wearing a mask?"
Bondell sighed. How was she going to do that? "I don't know. I'll figure it out as I go along."
Her first customer was Dotty Mathers. Blondell had a hard time getting Dotty to keep her mask on. Dotty thought the whole virus was a liberal conspiracy, and she blathered about politics non-stop. Blondell just occasionally said, "Uh-huh," and let the Mathers blather.
There was a loud knocking at the door, and Cissy came up to unlock it. Good gravy, hadn't she just told that girl only one customer at a time? It was the Gorland twins and a passel of their other siblings.
"What the heckers, Cissy! Don't let them in!"
Cissy looked more confused than apologetic. "Sorry, BB. I had told them we were open, and I could get them discount cuts. We need the money, don't we?"
"I told you, one customer, at a time, Cissy! How is that confusing?"
"Oh. Well, I didn't know that when I told them."
"Well, now you know, OK? Find some open times and make each one their own appointment. And they got to have masks on to get in."
Sammy Gorland shouted from outside the door, "Can you turn the TV on? We can see it from out here while we wait."
"No, Sammy!" Blondell yelled. "You got to make an appointment and come back then. And don't forget a mask."
"OK, then," said Sammy.
She turned to Cissy. "Take care of this. I got to finish Dotty up before my 9:30 with Christie Hollander."
Bondell went back to Dotty, apologizing for her absence. Dotty ignored her and started talking about how hydroxychloroquine could stop all this, but that Nancy Pelosi was blocking it.
As Dotty went on and on, Blondell started to tear up. Dotty and Cissy didn't even notice.
She was overwhelmed with sadness and sudden realization.
They weren't going to get through this.
This wasn't going to be contained.
So many would suffer.
And some would die.
Blondell felt like there was nothing she could do, except watch the madness unfolding before her, and just pray that she and her family and loved ones got through it.
But that seemed increasingly unlikely.
The world had gone mad, and Dixon County was not going to be spared.
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