It takes me a long, long time to process what he said, to understand the implications of it.
Icarus, the man who flew too close to the sun with his wax wings. Flew too high. Wanted too much. Wanted something not meant for him.
"Bear," I whisper, eyes stinging all over again.
“Read a lot of books on the inside. One of the guards helped me get connected with a librarian from a nearby high school. We'd email back and forth and she'd send me books to read." He brushes his long, wild hair out of his face—the wind pushes it right back across his eyes. "The librarian, Miss Ellsworth. She helped me get my GED. Taught me a lot."
"That's so cool, Bear. Do you know which school?" I ask.
He furrows his brow, thinking. "Hmmm. No. But if I could get into that email address, I could find out. Somewhere up here, I think.”
"You can use my laptop at home," I tell him. "You should reconnect with her now that you're out. I'm sure she'd love to meet you."
He nods. "Be cool to meet her in person."
The waitress comes by with the check, and before I can say a word, Bear hands her cash and tells her to keep the change.
"That was very nice of you, Bear, thank you." I stand up. "So. How about we take Panzer to run around?"
Bear nods. "He'd like that. I think."
We're sittingon a bench watching Panzer, all two hundred pounds of him, prance and bound and sprint like a puppy, his booming bark shivering the leaves and terrifying squirrels for miles. The other dogs join him, and soon the whole park is doggy mayhem.
After a good half an hour of play, Panzer lopes over to us, panting, and plops down at Bear's feet.
"I think that means he's done," I say.
Bear nods. "Yep." He looks at me. "Now what?"
I regard him, watching the wind ruffle his beard and plaster his hair across his face, resisting his attempts to control it. "Well, I do have one idea. I don't know how you'd feel about it, though."
"Try me."
"I'd like to do something with…all this." I gesture broadly at his face. "Not cut it off, just…clean it up."
He thinks for a moment. "Okay."
I light up. “Really?"
He nods, shrugging one heavy shoulder. "Sure. Why not? I got no clue what to do with it. Gets in the way most of the time."
I grab his hand and pull him to his feet—or, well, I pull at him, and he stands up. I doubt I could lift so much as one of his gigantic legs on my own.
"The salon is closed on Saturdays, so we'll do it there." We walk hand in hand back to my CR-V, Panzer trotting after us with a big doggy grin.
Seven
BEAR
Lux Locks Salon is in the heart of downtown Three Rivers on Main Street between Tompkins and Brookline. The whole front is picture windows with planter boxes underneath filled with a profusion of colorful flowers. Couldn't say what kind, though. There's an upscale women's clothing boutique on one side and a running gear store on the other.
Noelle unlocks the glass front door, ushering in Panzer and me and then re-locking it behind her. Inside, the space is open and airy and light, with six stations on each side facing each wall. Each station features a black leather chair with chrome accents, a stand for each stylist's equipment, and a large mirror. Along the back wall are another half a dozen weird sinks with chairs in front of them, the facing lip of the sink divoted like an executioner’s block. A long, low, sleek leather couch sits under the front windows, and a heavy glass coffee table nearby is stacked with magazines. A small counter with a computer screen and a credit card reader stands near the couch. It smells like shampoo and floral air freshener.
Noelle leads me to the weird sinks at the back. "Have a seat."
I lower myself carefully into the seat, my back to the sink. "What's this?”
"Gotta wash your hair first," she says, and the sound of running water splutters to life.
