Welcome to Gaia! ::

Caleb's youngest sister, who was working the counter at the time, almost didn't even look up from her magazine. Indeed, the celebrity machinations of silver screen starlets seemed more important at the time than one of Caleb's customers. She only worked the counter right now because she siiiiigh had to and her redhead dork of an older brother was busy cleaning up blah. But a short glance up rendered her speechless.

For a moment.

"ZIA?!" came a shriek. Sure, she glanced at the appointment book. Naturally, she knew most of the appointments kept their end of the bargain and showed up a little bit early. Of course, she sort of recognized the name in passing but nobody, and by nobody she meant nobody had long, glorious lavender locks like one Zia Connolly.

The shriek pierced through Caleb's very soul and a towel came rocketing at his sister's head. Guns had nothing on an embarrassed Desrosier boy. He sighed and tried to gently strangle the life out of his deranged younger sibling. "Zia! I haven't seen you in so long, how are you?" With sibling subdued, Caleb was genuinely glad to see someone he recognized, especially after such a long absence. People got busy. He understood. "Come in, come in and please ignore Lucia, she's so embarrassing." The last part came as a whisper as the sibling in question sputtered and tried to right herself after being reduced to a pile of limbs and hot towel.

"How have you been, darling? Please let me the world's been treating you as lovely as I know you are."

"No problem, darling. Just leave it to me~"

Caleb took up his spray bottle and comb and began to work. There was something in Zia's demeanor that led Caleb to believe something stressful had happened, but he wasn't about to pry. Zia was one of his best customers. Even though one's hairdresser could almost double as one's therapist, Caleb didn't think it was the time or the place. "How has your job been treating you? You work at the law office, right? I hope you got that raise I think you deserve, dear. They work you too hard."

"Brokerage, yes. Sorry my dear." Caleb chuckled low in his throat and began the process of trimming up Zia's lovely lavender locks. They had a wave, a personality about them that Caleb always admired. Her hair hadn't grown too unruly - he could always tame even the nastiest of coifs. The redhead loved his job. The harder the mission, the more satisfying the outcome.

"You know, you're a very smart young lady. You could run the place if you so chose. I'd have no doubts about it." Spritz, snip, snip. Measure, snip again. Caleb didn't mind being talked at rather than to. He was used to it.

Caleb chuckled and nodded, taking back the scissors and cutting less per her request. Zia always had that air about her - perfection if at all possible. And Caleb was more than willing to go for perfection. "Just because someone helped you get your foot in the door, it doesn't mean you're incapable. You're not the helpless damsel-in-distress type, Zia. At least, not to me."

Things on Zia's head were shaping up to be better than they'd looked in months. Split ends were being trimmed, layers being brought back, just a little bit of length lost - only enough to get the job done well. "I'll be on the lookout for anyone who needs a job. I know Lucia over there would probably want to work at the brokerage instead, wouldn't you Lucia?"

The girl sputtered at her brother from the front desk. "I'm no good with numbers, Caleb." And besides, Zia would spill coffee on me or kill me with the fax machine or something...

Caleb chuckled again.

"Seems to me like some people simply never outgrow high school. They plateau and that's it." He sincerely hoped things would get better for her but learned to keep his mouth shut most of the time.

The redhead chuckled, stepped back and spun Zia gently around in the chair so she could see herself in the mirror. "How is that, my dear?"