The sun was scorching for an autumn afternoon and Cherry cursed the sun and the heat roundly, glad she was alone in the car.  She was driving up from Mexico and had made detours through Arizona and Nevada, both deserts in their own rights, but somehow the dusty air and warm weather of California's Central Valley was more annoying to her.  She stopped to get gas and a slice of pie, hoping against hope that CharlieCrickets was still safe in Monterey.  Cherry had desperately wanted to contact her best friend while she was playing dead in the state of Chiapas but she knew if people were still looking for her it was too dangerous to call or send mail.  After the rest stop she got back in the car determined to get to the Central Coast before midnight. 

It was eleven forty nine when she pulled into the parking lot of the Del Mar motor hotel.  The front desk was closed but there was an envelope with her name on it which contained the key to her room.  She let herself in and flopped on the bed, too tired to get changed.  After a fitful night's sleep she woke up in a bad mood and decided to take a shower.  It was the first shower she'd had in days of driving and she felt more relaxed once she wrapped herself in the flimsy towel the motel provided. After getting dressed she checked out of the motel and found a local hair salon.  It was time to get back to normal.  She sighed.  Whatever normal was now. 

She had her own personal delusions, as most women did, and while she imagined her beauty was natural and her skin flawless and hair perfect, Ameila, and all women everywhere, knew it was expensive and time-consuming. Which is why she was sat under the hair dryer of the beauty salon, hair wrapped in foils, magazine open in her lap while she tried to focus on the gossip of the rich and famous, and instead she kept finding herself watching the clock until this blasted thing could come off her head. It would be worth it in the end,  but until he end came Amelia would watch the clock and mutter under her breath about how time was bullshit. 

She had spotted the woman walking in, clearly a bit hard done by and a new face to the area. Clothes dusty, well traveled and her eyes... Amelia averted her gaze when the woman walked past, but curiosity got the best of her and once the other woman had settled in, Amelia resumed her new time-passing activity of people watching. Without realizing it, their eyes met in the mirror, and while Amelia could feel her cheeks turning warm and pink from the embarasssment, as stealth had never been her thing, she didn't drop the eye contact, just nodded her head once towards the woman. 

Cherry had scoped out the salon before she went in, finding it safe enough.  She bit her lip wondering if she'd ever feel even remotely secure again and opened the door.  She stepped into the salon, letting the overwhelming odor of hair dye and perm solution wash over her.  She wrinkled her nose and waved down the receptionist.  There was a chair open, so she let the other woman guide her to it.  As she settled down she felt like someone was watching her.  She looked in the mirror and caught the eye of a woman in rollers.  The other woman nodded and Cherry felt like she understood.  She nodded back.  She was suddenly shaken from her thoughts by the voice of the hairdresser. 

"What'll it be sweetie?"  Cherry thought for a moment. 

"I'd like a shoulder length bob please.  And if it's possible, I'd like my hair to go black."  There was a pause and a few moments of tutting, but the hair dresser finally smiled brightly and fluffed Cherry's hair.  

"Nothing is impossible darling.  We'll have you looking like a million bucks in no time!" 

Several hours later Cherry left the salon with a new look and a burning curiosity as to who the woman was.  She doubted she'd ever find out, but it gave her something to occupy her mind.  Now she had to find CharlieCrickets and make sure her little cousin was okay. 

Charlie idly stirred the tea in her cup for the fourth time, staring out the window of the cafe where her father had invited her. It was one of the places that sold his particular brand of tea and since he was in town, he had asked Charlie to meet him. 

"You look like you're off on the moors darling, everything alright?" Honey asked as he sipped his tea. He knew it wasn't and Charlie was having a difficult time adjusting to the loss of her cousin, but it was good manners to ask anyway. Charlie looked away from the window and smiled, picking her cup up. 

"I'm fine da, just lost in space again. You know well as I do that Christmas is coming and it's such a strange way to celebrate it. Ma is off in Florida, you're still hopping about the country, Petey's gone missing since...and well you know Cherry's gone now too. It just doesn't seem the same anymore and I can't help but find myself reminiscing about when were all younger."

Honey nodded and reached his hand out, gently squeezing Charlie's as they finished their tea in silence. After they'd left the shop, Honey gave Charlie a ride home before he had to go to his next destination on business. 

"I'll be back in two weeks!" He promised, just before Christmas, and they would celebrate together. That would give her enough time to go shopping, decorate the house a little bit, and try to find the holiday spirit that crooners like Crosby and Cole were singing about.