The Dreadlocked Barber

EPISODE 8

Chapter 10

Back in Soberlands, Lydia was greeted with jeers which were accompanied by cynical laughter from two ladies next door. It so happened that when she got out of Thom’s car those ladies could observe everything as they had fixed their eyes on the gateway scene. They immediately broke into their scornful acts the moment she walked in through her gate. Lydia did not take that provocation lightly as she responded by taking to the boundary fence for confrontation.

“Don’t you have something better to do you idiots” she shouted angrily at the ladies as they moved out of sight laughing.

“Come out, you ugly bitches, Come out! Why are you running away? I said come out now” she continued ranting prompting retaliation from the elder sister who was the matrimonial occupant of that rented homestead.

“What have you just said, Lydia? Who are you calling b***h? Tell me! Who is a b***h between me and you? Have you ever seen me being dropped in the morning like you? Don’t you dare try my temper you mother of nothing” she registered her fury as she drew closer to the fence.

The two ladies started finger-poking each other by the fence as they exchanged obscenities.

“It’s better to be a mother of nothing than give birth like a rat” Lydia went on a sarcastic onslaught as she withdrew from that ugly scene.

“Come back! Why are you running away b***h? Come back or I will come there right now! Ok! Ok, let me show you” she declared as she proceeded to Lydia’s gate.

“Come! You think I’m scared of you i***t! Just come now” Lydia responded viciously as she threw away her hoodie before charging to confront the advancing neighbour.

The lady violently pushed the gate, knocking on Lydia who had also reached the gateway. A fight exploded as the two women started exchanging blows. The loud exchange of vulgarities, let alone the ensuing feast duel, drew the attention of the whole neighbourhood, with those who were closer rushing to quell the tempers that had deteriorated to a physical confrontation.

“Stop embarrassing your husbands you ladies” Appealed one of the men who had separated the two women who had then taken their fight to the ground as they rolled all over each other clingingly. The men dragged the neighbour out of the yard whilst wiping the oozing blood from her bitten cheek with her blouse.

“Look what you’ve done to me! Look b***h! You are going to pay for this” she ranted in vain since the man who had played peace-maker man was dragging her off with an exhibit of masculinity superiority.

“Set her free! Let her come back! I will teach her another lesson” Lydia shouted defiantly as two ladies pulled her into her house.

“Grow up Lydia! What will your husband and aunt say if they hear of such rotten behaviour?” one of the ladies inquired with a dose of disappointment merged in caution.

It took a while before total tranquility could be established. As is the norm, bad news travels fast. The neighbourhood was awash with news of Lydia’s alleged cheating and the fight that brewed. As she sat with two ladies who had dragged her inside, a w******p message popped on her phone.

“Are you ok? I’m told all is not well there. What’s wrong Lydia?” aunt Juliet had texted with connotations of worry and concern.

“It’s these ugly neighbours next door who provoked me into a fight auntie” she defensively replied the text.

As soon as she sent her response, her phone started ringing. It was Aunt Juliet who had called. The two ladies conversed over what had taken place, with Lydia convincing her that the alleged boyfriend was an old friend who had just given her a lift after spending a night doing her hair in the Greenstone neighbourhood, where she was offered a sleeping place upon being completed very late. As she delivered that trumped-up rhetoric of innocence, the two ladies could just listen and watch. Aunt Juliet who had a knack for keeping away from people’s affairs did not say much other than caution her sister-in-law to avoid such embarrassing skits. Above all, she was not a subscriber to any chunk of hearsay. Having been informed, she was just playing her role as a caring and responsible aunt and not necessarily interrogating.

Being the last day of the month, above all, a Friday, Greenstone mall was extremely busy, with people roaming all over for their various requirements. Farmers Bank was a buzz of commotion owing to the disgruntled customers who could not access their cash through the ATM which had gone out of order in the early hours of that morning. That meant that cash could only be availed from the bank tellers’ counters which engendered congestion outside the bank building. As was the norm, Thompson had to use his influence as a neighbouring tenant to beat the time, let alone most people in the neighbourhood understood why he had been exempted from queuing as he got in to withdraw his staff’s salaries whom he paid via envelopes.

“Some animals are more equal than others” cited one complainant with an attachment from George Orwell’s Animal Farm as Thompson walked out holding bricks of rand notes barely 5 minutes after his entrance.

“He is the owner of that saloon, He is that Thompson in Thompson Health Beauty Centre” explained one lady whist pointing at the saloon after discovering that the man who had come up with a citation had been boggled by the inconsistency of the Bank security guards in ensuring that everyone follows the queue. There had not been such an exceptional situation until the dreadlocked barber peached up. The security guard did not only usher him inside but also welcomed him with a conspicuous degree of respect.

“How are you sir, just follow me” the guard had paid Thompson compliments upon his arrival with a broad smile of mutuality accompanying his quick “Fine and you sir” response. Such is life, there are VIPs everywhere. Furthermore, Thompson always pampered those guards with little gifts in the form of opaque beer and cigarettes whenever they bumped into him whilst in a philanthropic mood.

He dashed back to the saloon which also had its fair share of agitation as some clients insisted on urgent service, with some having to leave upon discovering that the queue had outgrown the manpower. Thompson Health and Beauty Centre had grown in leaps and bounds to warrant the hiring of extra staff. On this day in question, that shortcoming got glaringly exposed to evoke the taking of urgent measures. Dozens of customers had left owing to haste, impatience and logic itself upon observation of a growing demand and supply imbalance. In all honesty, the demand for services could then outweigh the saloon’s capacity to supply them. That being the case, something needed to be done as a matter of urgency to undo that disparity. It remains to be seen whether Thompson would avert that situation.