Road Signs That Say West by Sylvia Gunnery

Author:Sylvia Gunnery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pajama Press Inc.
Published: 2021-10-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Claire is sitting on a chair in the bathroom wearing a plastic garbage bag like a cape while Norma swabs bright blue dye into a patch of her brown curls. The color is called After Midnight, which is why Claire picked it.

When she realized Hanna had left, Claire decided to clean out the tent. She hung the sleeping bags across the line to air out. She piled everything else on the picnic table—pillows, air mattresses, backpacks, odds and ends of clothes, a half-empty bottle of water, two red guitar picks, Megan’s sneakers and sweats (still sweaty), the flashlight, and her book. She got a small broom from the house and swept the floor of the tent. She put everything back inside except the sleeping bags and her book. For a long time, she sat at the picnic table staring into the trees, her back against the edge of the table top, her legs stretched out, and the book open on her lap.

Though it was weird that Hanna had left by herself like that and it was depressing that Bear hardly acknowledged she was a person on this planet whenever Megan was around, Claire wasn’t thinking about either of those things. She was thinking about what Edgar said last night.

He doesn’t know anything about suicide. No one does. Not really. When it happens, it’s like everyone’s suddenly in this upside-down universe where nothing makes sense anymore. They try anything to take away the shock and sadness and confusion. Like hanging stuff in trees by the lake. That little white bear with the button eyes out there in rain and snow and dark nights, getting all gray and matted up. A little bear like that is supposed to be on someone’s bed, dry and cozy and ready for good-night hugs.

Norma was reading and smoking on the back steps. She put down the magazine. “I got an idea,” she said, and walked over to Claire. “There’s nothing like having your hair dyed to boost a girl right out of a swampy mood.” She took a long drag on her cigarette.

So they drove over to the pharmacy and spent too much time deciding which color to buy. Red? No. Too ordinary, even if was called Radical Red. Pink? Too harsh. Blonde? No way. There were rows and rows of blonde dye. Almond, Sun-kist, Honey Light, Honey Dark, Baby Blonde, Ash, Radiant Golden, Pure Blonde, Very Pure Blonde, Natural.

Natural? Claire wasn’t sure this was such a good idea.

Claire saw After Midnight and suddenly she was keen to dye her hair blue.

On the drive back to the house, Norma held her cigarette out the window like she was signaling left. Every time she exhaled, she turned her head and blew the smoke out of the car. Smoking was the only thing about Norma that didn’t fit. As far as Claire could see, she was always sensible and considerate and not one bit selfish. Like coming up with this hair-dying idea when she thought Claire’s swampy mood was because of Bear and Megan.

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