by S. M. Bowles
“Pretty much,” Danielle chuckled trying to make light of the situation.
“Well, I don’t think I can do that," I shook my head in disbelief.
“Oh, please don’t say you’re not going. That’s just what Brooke wants. Can’t you see, I’m sure that is why she waited until the last minute to move back in on Jake,” Dani was holding my hand and pleading with me not to back out. “And your dress; you’re going to be a knockout. What better way to get through the night than looking your best and killing them with kindness?”
Charlie was nodding agreement, Zach was looking thoughtful and Danielle was downright dejected at the idea of me not going.
“Alright, alright,” I sighed. “This is going to be the crappiest night ever but I’ll do it.”
Danielle leapt up and hugged me. Charlie and Zach both looked relieved, “We’ll get you through it, I promise.”
We finished our meals in silence, each of us contemplating the different scenarios on how the following night would turn out. A short while after we were done Dani’s mom picked us up and took each of us to our respective homes.
Kaley sensed my mood as soon as I stepped through the doorway and lovingly cuddled up to me while I took my coat and shoes off. Margaret looked up from where she was sitting in the family room. “Everything alright dear?”
I had no words for the moment and could feel the tears standing in my eyes. I may not have had any feelings for Jake and may not have wanted him of all people to be my date for the dance but I never had any inkling that this was how I would get out of it.
I confessed it all to Margaret, while she sat quietly taking everything in. I had to stop once or twice to snag a tissue and I apologized more than once for being so upset. It was hard for me to understand why I was so disheartened. When the topic of the formal first came up I didn’t even want to go. Then I had the crazy idea to get Dani, Zach, myself and Charlie to go together; I wanted so much for that to have been the plan. How quickly it all changed and I wished I had had a little prescience of mind and kept my first impulse and decided to not go at all.
“Oh, Lily, I am so sorry for all of this. Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice for you. It would be a shame for you not to go, especially with all the plans we've made. Danielle is spending the night with us and there’s the lovely dress you bought, and, well, I didn’t want to tell you but I scheduled a spa day for you both and hired someone to come by tomorrow afternoon to do your hair and makeup and Danielle’s as well. It was supposed to be a surprise, but, my, I am so, so sorry.”
“Aunt Margaret! That is super sweet of you but you shouldn’t have.”
Then all I could think about was how everyone was counting on me to go through with the formal. I felt trapped; obligated to go to please Dani and Margaret and to keep the peace between Charlie and all the others, because I knew if I was not in that limo the daggers were going to be flying. Danielle would hate Jake and Zach would be mad at Danielle for hating Jake and Charlie would be upset because Danielle and Zach were upset and that would cause Missy to get upset. It was likely to be Armageddon if I backed out. Not only was my Spring Formal ruined but the situation had the possibility of ruining it for all of my closest friends as well.
“Nice work, Brooke!” I thought to myself. “I’m going to take Kaley for a walk and give some more thought to what I will do.”
“Would you like me to come with you?”
“No but thank you, I won’t be long.”
I called to Kaley and we headed out on our usual route. The air felt nice. It was cool and dark, the sky was clear and the moon just full enough to be a comfort as we walked. I knew I would end up going, not just to keep the peace and not spoil the night for everyone else but also so that I could put on a good show for Brooke. There was no way I was going to let her think that she had gotten the better of me. If I could just get through the limo ride the rest of the night would be a piece of cake.
When I got home I found that Margaret had made me a cup of tea. She was just setting it on the kitchen table with a cup for herself as I came down the hallway to tell her my plans hadn’t changed.
She smiled, “I’m sure it was a difficult choice.”
“It was,” I said, “but I’m sure it's the right one.” We talked about our plans for the morning and sipped our tea. When I was done I put my tea cup in the dishwasher and said goodnight to Margaret. I felt so drained from all the stress and pressure of it all that I couldn’t wait to just crawl under the covers and put it behind me.
“A spa day, that sounds nice.” I fell asleep envisioning a relaxing morning of massages and facials and mani-pedies.
I slept soundly through the night and even though the dance and all it was bound to bring was the first thing I thought of, I felt pretty optimistic that it would all turn out well. I put on some comfy lounge pants and a soft, well-worn t-shirt before I went downstairs to rustle up some breakfast. There was always something worthwhile in the freezer – muffins, scones, cinnamon buns but I was not feeling up to anything heavy that morning. I cut up some kiwi and rinsed some berries and made a little fruit cocktail for myself.
Margaret must have been up already since there was a pot of coffee still brewing. Though I never drank it myself, I loved the smell of coffee. It was so warm and friendly “like a hug in a mug,” I thought to myself. I wondered what time Dani was going to be by and at how our appointments would go. Kaley kept me company while I ate my breakfast and thought about what was ahead. I unconsciously rubbed her back with my foot while she lounged at my feet.
Before long Margaret came to claim her coffee. She poured herself a cup and asked “Did you sleep well?”
“Better than I imagined I would.”
“That’s good, I’m glad you weren’t up all night fretting. Danielle is going to be here soon. You should put something on so we can head out once she’s settled.”
I nodded and polished off my fruit. The dishwasher was full so I rinsed my bowl and left it in the sink for the next load. I was not really sure what to wear to a spa day but Margaret said it wouldn’t matter, that they would give us robes and slippers to wear the entire time we were there. It seemed pretty nice out, so I grabbed some light chinos and a v-neck t-shirt to wear with them. I brushed my hair and gathered it into a ponytail, then brushed my teeth and called to Kaley for a quick walk.
Dani and her mom were pulling in as I was about to head out so I had Kaley wait while I helped Danielle bring in all the things she would need for our sleepover.
“Moving in, I see,” Margaret teased as we lugged Danielle’s various belongings upstairs and stowed them in the guest bedroom.
“I was just about to take Kaley for a walk; do you want to come with us?”
“Sure,” Dani flopped down on the bed after setting the last of her bags inside the doorway. She bounced back up and followed me to the foyer.
Margaret reminded us of our schedule and told us not to be long, “Ok,” I called as we headed for the door, “just business and back.”
We walked to the greenway and loitered around while Kaley found a good spot. Danielle was clearly in a cheerful mood, excited about the spa and the formal. I tried to mirror her enthusiasm as she babbled about how awesome Margaret was for arranging the day for us.
“I can’t wait to be deep-fried and kneaded like taffy. This is going to be so much fun!”
“Have you ever done this before?”
“No, you?”
“No but Margaret goes every couple of months. She always looks fabulous when she comes back; relaxed and shimmering from head to toe. She got us a stylist, too, you know, to do our hair and make-up tonight.”
Danielle was beside herself, jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning, “Aunt Margaret is the best. This is going to be the best day ever.”
“I’m sure it will be; for some of us anyway.”
“Ha, just you wait and see. I’m not sure how,” Danielle smirked while batting her lashes with innocence
, “but the word has gotten around about Brooke and Jake and what they did to you. I have a feeling you are going to be the belle of the ball and everyone is going to make it a point to see that you have a good time. If you can just make it through the limo ride, the rest of the night is going to be amazing!”
Dani was such a good friend. I’m sure she meant well and I should have been thankful for the effort she was putting into making my night as enjoyable as hers but I did not want to have so much attention drawn to myself and what I was being forced to go through.
As we neared the house Margaret called to us to hurry so I ushered Kaley inside and hopped in the car with Danielle. We chattered away during the half hour drive to the spa. Once we were there Margaret signed us in and said goodbye, “Savor it,” she smiled as she waved us on our way.
We were guided to a changing room and assigned lockers for our belongings. After stripping down, we eased into the robes and slippers that were left for us. A few minutes later we were taken on a quick tour of the facilities. We were shown each of the different rooms for the treatments we would be receiving. The first of our appointments was for an exfoliating body scrub.
We were led to a room and greeted by our therapists. They explained the treatment and that they planned to use a sugar scrub with palm oil for it and that it was supposed to remove any dead skin cells and leave us with a smooth, healthy glow. After the description we were told to remove our robes and slippers once they left and to lie down on the tables which were lined with soft cotton sheets that we pulled over ourselves while we waited.
There was soft music playing and fountains at strategic points in the room. It was semi-dark but bright enough to make out each other as well as the all the other objects in the room. After a minute or two there was a soft rap on the door and the first of our treatments began. I was a little nervous at first but the therapists worked the scrub into our skin section by section, only folding back our sheets to work various parts of our bodies then covering us back up. I never really felt naked or exposed and between the scrub, the music, lighting and fountains I found that the experience was actually very relaxing.
When we were done our scrub we went to reflexology. It was not as involved but I enjoyed it just as much. From there we went to our facials and then to our manicures and pedicures. Our final spa procedure was our deep tissue massage. The therapists used lightly scented oils and heavy slow strokes to ease any tightness or knots that we felt in our legs, arms or backs. It was so relaxing that I dozed off once or twice and ended up twitching myself awake each time that I did.
The whole event ended up taking about 4 hours and by the time we were done all of our treatments all I could think about was going home and taking a nap. We started early enough that I felt there would be plenty of time so I decided to ask Danielle her thoughts.
“Ugh, I think I could sleep soundly for a week! That was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had.”
“It was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?”
We had to wait a few minutes for Margaret to arrive to bring us home. We spent the time sharing our impressions and favorite parts of the day. I really enjoyed the reflexology but I knew because I fell asleep more than once that the deep tissue massage was probably the most beneficial. It really eased some of the tension I had been feeling and made me realize how much anxiety I had been carrying around since we began making our plans for the formal.
“How are you feeling?” Margaret asked as she came in to collect us.
“Sleepy,” and “Tired,” Danielle said one and I said the other, both at the same time.
Margaret laughed and signed our bill before herding us back to the car. “Are you girls hungry? We can stop and pick something up along the way or I can make something for you when we get home.”
“I’m a little hungry,” I said.
“Me too,” Dani concurred.
We opted for eating at home. Margaret put together some wraps for us and served them to us with some sliced apples. We made quick work of our plates and after tidying up told Aunt Margaret our plan to take a nap.
“That’s a good idea; it’s going to be a long night. I’ll wake you up about a half hour before the stylist gets here.”
“Perfect,” I said. “Thanks for such a great day, Aunt Margaret. I don’t think anything could spoil the night for me now. I feel like putty inside and out and I’ll just bounce right back from whatever hits me.”
Dani and I mounted the stairs and headed to our respective bedrooms. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. I slept incredibly sounding, no dreams, no tossing or turning, just a nice, restful, deep sleep. It took a few minutes for Margaret to wake me but she was trying to do it gently so I wouldn’t wake up too abruptly. Once I came to though, it didn’t take long to shed my drowsiness and I felt alert and ready to go.
A short while after I woke Danielle, Kaley announced the arrival of the stylist with her barking. She was friendly, almost to a fault but she did like to keep us on our toes when there were strangers around. I was surprised to find that the stylist was a man. He introduced himself as I let him in and after studying each of us he had us move the table and all the stools but one from its little nook in the kitchen. While we did this Allan placed a folding table and what looked to be a tool box on top of it and began to set up.
“You,” he pointed to Danielle and firmly motioned her over.
She gave me a fraidy face and scurried over to take up residence on the stool. He whipped her hair into a ponytail and got to work with some sponges and base make-up. He seemed very focused as he worked so I tried not to be intrusive while I watched him transform her face. Instead of giving her an unnaturally flawless skin tone, he put a very light coating of base on that allowed her freckles to peek through while taking away some of the unevenness of color around her eyes and on her cheeks.
Then he used his hand like a palette and started rubbing various shades of pink into the back of his palm. Once he felt he had gotten what he wanted he used a fan shaped brush to sweep the color from his hand to Dani’s cheekbones. Though it seemed like he was working fast, the process was actually taking quite a bit of time. It was just fascinating to watch, so I didn’t really notice how long it was taking. When he was done with the blush he took a cloth and cleaned the make-up off his hand.
Next he started lining her eyes; a little pencil here, a little there, blend, a little more pencil, blend, pencil. He was balancing his work doing a little to one eye then repeating the exact same process to the other, so her eyes were made up in stages. It seemed odd at first but as he finished each step I thought that Danielle was growing more and more beautiful.
I’m sure I was smiling the whole time he was working, so Danielle knew he was doing a great job. She was getting impatient, I could see but resisting the urge to burst out of the stool and find the nearest mirror. Before she could suppress herself any longer, though, he finished with a final curl of her lashes. She motioned to get up but he rested his hand on her shoulder and said, “Now, about that hair.” He put his first case with all his makeup aside and fetched another. This one was loaded with curlers, irons, a blow dryer and an assortment of pins, clips and hairbrushes.
He started sectioning off her hair. There was a substantial mass of it but he had a practiced hand and it didn’t seem to take him very long. He sprayed some product from roots to ends and used a round brush in combination with the dryer to blow nearly all the curl out of her hair. Once he was done he started working some intricate little braids into it from the front of her head to the back. When he was done he pulled the braids and the rest of her hair towards the nape of her neck and began weaving it all together forming an intricate, almost basket-like pattern. He took a few pins from his case and secured her hair then put tiny flower shaped gemstones at random intervals throughout the braids and basket he created. It was haphazard but somehow gave a nice polished effect to her hairstyle.
“Now, shoo,” he said after placing the last gem
. “Make sure you don’t smudge your face or ruffle your hair when you put your dress on.”
Dani did not need to be told twice, she was off like a rocket to admire Allan’s work.
“Sit,” he commanded jerking his head at me.
I hurried over to the stool and sat like a statue.
“Hmm,” he said as he circled me. “Hmm,” he said once more, “You have an interesting look. Where did you get such flawless skin? I can hardly see a blemish or the hint of a capillary anywhere,” he sounded amazed. “I’ll be right back.”
He left me there on the stool and ran out to his car. He had another case with him when he came back. “We won’t need all this for you,” he motioned to the case he used for Danielle’s makeup.
He didn’t bother with any base, just a light dusting of powder and a hint of blush to my cheekbones. When he started in on my eyes I expected him to be penciling and smudging and repeating but instead he applied a very light shadow to the entire lid of each eye. Then he worked exclusively with the liner and slowly and steadily applied it to each lid along my lash line. He had me look up afterwards and applied a very fine line beneath my lower lashes.
When he was done with the liner he fastened false lashes to each of my lids and filled in my brows with a bit of pencil as well. He used a deep, red pencil on my lips, covering them completely and then brushed a light, glossy coat over them. He inspected his work. He seemed satisfied which I found hard to believe with the minimal amount of time he had spent on my face. I was feeling a little cheated and couldn’t help but ask, “Is that it?”
“It?” He sounded offended. “Well, there is still your hair.”
“I’d like to see myself,” I said, certain that I could not possibly look as classy and elegant as Dani after such a scanty amount of makeup.
“Not yet, this will only take a minute.”
He brushed my hair towards the top and back of my head and began fastening it into place. I wasn’t sure what he was doing but again he was done in record time. I was feeling downright sullen and could not imagine what he had done that made him feel so smug and secure in the way I looked. As he placed the last of his pins he said, “There.”
