“Morning love” said Chris tentatively, “I’m sorry last night ended so weirdly for us. I guess I’m just tired” Oliver looked up from the press on nails he was painting and gave a sort of grimace, “it’s okay! I went to one of the pubs around the corner and had a drink or two and it was pretty fun! There was a band playing, mostly trad music but some recent stuff too! It was good!” Oliver was rambling, he was nervous. He had made a point of getting home without checking if Chris was in his own bed and had left that morning doing the same thing. He was worried Chris would mention the match. He didn’t. 

“I still wanted to apologise, you know our friendship comes before anything and anyone else right?” Oliver couldn’t speak. He just nodded looking at the nails. He heard Chris sigh and start to say something but he was called away before he could get a word out. His next client was here. Oliver sighed too. He was so stressed out, his stomach in knots and he was too full of caffeine to focus. The nails he was meant to be painting swam in and out of focus as he concentrated on slowing his breathing. 

His own next client arrived and Oliver thought he might cry. It was her. She was here with her voucher to get her hair and nails done. The girl from the club. He saw Chris watching them nervously from the mirror and gave him a minute shake of the head so Chris went back to working on Mrs Shales perm but continued to give the odd look in the mirror. 

The girl, Rebecca, wanted something fancy. “I’m treating myself you know! I want to feel good” she said. Oliver had so far managed to communicate with her through nods, smiles and grunts. He pulled out a rack of what he called ‘the funsies’, the colours most used for his press ons for the girls. 

Deep reds, glowing yellows and dazzling pinks. There were some fab neons too for the black lights in the club. He cleared his throat and more confidently than he felt said “these are my fancy colours why don’t you see if anything calls to you or gives you some inspiration?”. She looked and made a humming noise under her breath. She chose a brilliant pink colour and chose black for her ring fingers. The perfect balance! 

Oliver got started, filing down the old acrylics and shaping her nails. Once the new coat had been applied and she had both hands drying in the machines Rebecca got chatty. She talked about a girls night she had been out at after her boyfriend had broken up with her and how she had been humiliated by the queen on stage, she talked about how her friends had rallied around her and told her to use the apology voucher for another, better, girls night out. This time one with no drag queens, humiliating or otherwise, and this time no tears. 

As she spoke Oliver felt the colour drain and surge in his face alternating depending on what was being said. He murmured sympathies when she mentioned being dumped, smiled at the antics of her friends and grimaced at the hapless drag queen. “Honestly,” she smiled “I’m not mad at her-him? Either way, they didn’t know and they weren’t trying to upset me. I know they got very upset themselves and someone heartless just wouldn’t!” Oliver nodded. Rebecca leaned in as far as all the equipment would allow and said “I just think it’s important they know that. Okay?” Oliver was baffled. He just said “okay”. 

She went back to talking about the upcoming girls night and how they were already planning on getting chips after their drinks and how she’s looking forward to that almost more than the drinks. She admired her nails, shiny and rounded at the top, both colours with a small bit of pigment making the colours shift slightly as she tilted her hands this way and that. 

She got up to pay she studded a note into the tip jar. “It wasn’t your fault you know.” She smiled. “I don’t blame you”. 

She walked off leaving an astounded Oliver sitting behind his counter.  Even Chris couldn’t catch his eye in the mirror. She knew who he was and Oliver was speechless.