They say everyone in the world has a twin. This is a story of a woman who has a chance encounter with someone that could have easily passed as a "dead ringer" to her late husband that was killed two years earlier.
Chapter 1
Briana Ford had finished restocking the product inventory and sweeping up the last of the hair for the night in the styling salon where she had worked ever since the age of nineteen.
Some would have thought she would have moved on, considering later circumstances, being she had met her late husband here. Gary had come in for a haircut only days after Briana had gotten her license and been hired. He had been her second customer.
Gary, then twenty five, wasn't exactly what a lot of women's dream man; he had been stood five foot eight, blond hair that was unruly at times (unless Briana trimmed it or Gary pulled it back), crooked nose. But she had found him quite cute and he had worked hard as an over the road truck driver.
A little over a year after they met, they had gotten married. Gary didn't mind if Briana stood home; his income was enough to take care of both of them and he had great benefits, but she loved her job and wanted to keep working, plus it kept her busy when he was away on his runs.
Though they had no children of their own, the two of them enjoyed Gary's two nephews and a fairly comfortable home life of their own for the next twelve years without incidents outside those in any average life.
Then one night, only a few hours after Briana had gotten a call from Gary that he was on his way home from from a run for the weekend, two policemen had arrived at the door to inform her that his truck had jackknifed on some black ice and been involved in an accident. Gary had died on the way to the hospital.
Briana had been desolate. Gary had been her first real love and for the first time in twelve years, she was alone and wasn't sure how to function. Though he had taken out life insurance that specified that the house would be paid off in the event of his death as well as left a benefit for Briana, plus the wrongful death proceeds once the lawyers' fees had been deducted had left her comfortable financially, all the money in the world wouldn't make up for the fact the one man she had loved wasn't coming home again.
She got through her grief the only way she'd known how–by continuing to work at the salon. Some had thought with her new windfall Briana would quit and become a 'lady of leisure', but that wasn't the case. It filled her days and she liked the customers and her co-workers.
Now two years after Gary's death, Briana was in the final stage of grieving–acceptance. She knew he wasn't coming back. There were no more nights lying awake wondering if it all had been a bad dream and he'd walk through the door at any moment, no more crying herself to sleep. The dreams were fewer and fewer until they finally came on a rare occasion, if at all.
Briana wasn't really looking for anyone else at the moment; even though she was still relatively young at thirty-three, she was looking forward to finally loving and enjoying life as a single woman.
Now after closing up the shop with Tina, the manager, Briana would be heading home for yet another quiet evening that wouldn't be different from any other. Tomorrow, they would be getting ready to gear up for the coming weekend, since a few shows were coming to town and talent would likely be dropping in for everything from pre-show touch ups to overhauls that their own stylists wouldn't perform. Briana was happy to welcome the calm before the expected storm.