Relaxing day

My friend *Denise and I got together on Saturday for a relaxing brunch al fresco. We had not seen each other in a couple of weeks and had a fun time chatting and catching up on each other's news. We both have had intense work weeks of late and needed to kick back and relax. The restaurant was adequate, (Denise asked the waitress four times for a glass of water before she finally remembered to have it sent over,) but the company was outstanding. Afterwards we wandered into The Gap and then did some window shopping. The day had become quite hot so we decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream at Dylan's Candy Bar. I had mint chocolate and Denise had java chip. YUM! Dylan's is an amazing place, it is a store all about candy. Almost every candy you can imagine is there. They stock many types of candy that I have not seen since I was a child. FYI, Dylan's is the namesake store of Dylan Lauren, Ralph Lauren's daughter. The store is her baby. Every time someone I know comes to the city, (especially those with kids,) I introduce them to Dylan's. Everyone always loves it and ends up with overstuffed goody bags to take home, (which I bet doesn't make it there :-)) I highly recommend Dylan's for your next sugar fix.

Afterwards Denise went off to do some of her errands and I went to the hairdresser. I go to a lovely man named *William who is a sweetheart, (and he does awesome highlights as well!) We have become great pals over the years. He recently changed salons and the new place is nice despite the tactless manager who has the dubious distinction of offending most of the employees AND the clientele. William had been quietly telling me stories about her as he worked on my hair. I had a late afternoon appointment and it was running a bit long. The salon closed at 6:00pm, (or when the last customer was finished.) It was 5:30 and I was sitting down with my head in the shampoo bowl and the manager walked up to me.

"Are you ready to check out?" said the woman with a smarmy smile.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Are you ready to check out?" she repeated herself.

I knew what she meant but I was playing dumb. I was none too happy with her after hearing stories how she was making my friend's work life a living hell.

"Check out of what?" I said, looking at her like she was the world's biggest idiot.

"Check out your bill. We are closing soon and I would like to finish all the paperwork."

At that point I got annoyed. First of all it was her job to be there until I was finished. And I was not the only woman still in there. Second, it was only 5:30pm and my hair would be finished in the next 15 minutes. Third, my head was in the freaking shampoo bowl for Christ's sake, I'm supposed to pull out my credit card and hand it to her? Fourth, I was not there to make her life convenient, can you say customer service? Fifth, I had no desire to be nice to her. Sixth, in all the years I had gone to salons, no one had ever approached me like that when my head was in the shampoo bowl. What kind of idiot was she?

I looked at her and said with an edge in my voice, "Can you at least wait until I'm finished here?"

Smarmy manager backtracks, "Of course, I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you."

She then glared at William and snapped at him about some scheduling issue. In front of me, the customer. He of course heard all of this and was furious. William was completely embarassed by her and apologized profusely, but I reassured him her unprofessional behavior was in no way his fault.

My hair was finished and I went to pay my bill. Smarmy manager was my new best friend. I was polite but chilly.

"Once again, sorry to have inconvenienced you. I hope you have a lovely evening," she purred in an insincere voice.

"Thank you," I replied, not returning the nicety.

I turned around and walked out the door with William as she watched. I could feel her beady eyes boring in my back.

All in all it was a good day.