When black is beautiful and grey is passe

There I was, just waiting politely and prudently for a petite young lady walking a huge German Shepherd to cross the road when an excited hey wafted over to me. I smiled at the friend I was meeting after a couple of months but her first sentence was, ' you look ninety! what's with all the grey hair showing?' Never having mastered the art of insouciance my ,'weaning myself away from hair colors' came out all defensive and apologetic.There, standing on one side of the road, she read me a riot act on the perils of letting myself go to the dogs. Well, she didn't say in so many words go to the dogs but the picture she painted left me with no option but to understand that I was inviting trouble by allowing the grey in my hair to show. 

I tottered home only to find my elder sister ensconced elegantly on my living room sofa. She looked me up and down  and in that one summation conveyed what a thousand words possibly could not have. She talked of everything under the sun and never once mentioned grey but when leaving, in the sisterly act of  hugging me,  she whispered  in my ears ' I am booking  you at my salon for a hair make over'.  

Listen, whatever happened to au naturel ? Is all that talk of weaning ourselves away from chemicals simply hogwash? Convinced that it is only the women who notice all that is  inconsequential  I bring up the subject with the husband later that evening. I start in the normal way:

Me: How am I looking these days? 

He: ( keeping to the tradition of answering a question by asking another) What happened? hope you are feeling o.k?

Me:  ( a tad impatiently) I am fine. Just tell me how I am looking these days.

He: Oh ! you will be fine. Naturally,with your being so preoccupied with the son's 12th and all that you haven't had the time to look after yourself ...once you get your hair and all done you will be back to looking normal...

He goes back to watching the Karan Thapar show and I pick up the phone to make an appointment with my salon.