Chapter 213

And then she had to comb her hair, which was just…Mom had always brushed her hair at bedtime and braided it up, so in the morning it was untangled and had a little crinkle to it. Uncle Scooter never did that and so morning was an awful fuss. Getting her hair combed hurt. Uncle Scooter had eventually offered two choices: deal with the comb, or get a haircut.

Billie didn’t want her hair cut. Mom had liked her long hair. Had wanted to play with it and braid it and put it up. Sometimes the styles were silly—like when Billie had wanted Princess Leia buns. But sometimes they were nice, too.

At Dockside, Billie just wore her hair long and down. Sometimes Uncle Scooter would pull it back in a ponytail, especially when she was working. But that was all.

“…just had to give Gregory the time off, dear,” a woman was saying. “He hasn’t had a vacation in ever so long. So since I’m here and you can look after me as well as he can, he’s gone to Seattle for the week.”