That night, Tanya lay awake for a long time, her mind going around in circles. She couldn’t figure out what had exactly happened that evening. She’d thought Neil was arrogant and opinionated, not to mention, a pain in the ass. Well, he was a pain in the ass even now. But the rest? Tanya wasn’t so sure anymore. She’d forgotten all about Ritwik and her plans to make him notice her as a woman. Instead, her mind was captivated by her new boss. The next day, Tanya woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. “Hello.” Her groggy voice could barely contain her yawn.
“Hey, I’m sorry. Did I disturb you? Oops!”
Tanya took the phone from her ear to see who the caller was. “Natasha?” She immediately sat up in haste. “Shit! Did I forget our appointment? Am I late? Have you missed the appointment because of me?” Tanya’s voice was frantic even as she searched for her clothes.
Natasha let out a laugh. “No, absolutely not. We have the appointment at two, and it’s already noon. Can I come and pick you up in an hour’s time?”
“That would be helpful. My car’s still in office.”
“Sure, no problem. See you then.”
Tanya ended the call and lay back with a sigh.How did I sleep for so long?Rousing herself, she went in to brush her teeth and have a hot shower. Exactly in an hour, Tanya was ready and waiting by her porch. She stepped outside her gate when she saw a silver sedan purr to a stop in front of her gate.
“Hi,” Natasha waved from inside the car.
Tanya grinned and opened the passenger door. “Hey! Good to see you.”
“You too. You look nice.” Natasha approved Tanya’s cream-colored pants and dark-green silky top that came from her own boutique. She whistled when she saw the Prada nude pumps that her friend sported. “This is so cool.”
“Thank you in more ways than one.” Tanya said, as she closed the door. The girls conversed easily throughout the journey about fashion, their personal likes and dislikes, where they were from. Tanya learned that Natasha was an upcoming designer who was born wealthy. With her family back in Delhi, Natasha had recently moved to Bangalore to set up her own boutique. Before long, Natasha stopped in front of a high-end salon in Koramangala.
“Wow.” Tanya was impressed at the very first sight of the huge place.
“Yep! Wait until you experience their service.” Natasha smiled and pulled Tanya inside. She was greeted by a man in his early thirties with shocking black hair and fair skin.
“Bella, welcome to his poor man’s shop. How have you been?”
Natasha rolled her eyes and hugged the handsome man. “Marco, did you say poor? Please! Give me a break.” She grinned and turned towards Tanya, “This is my friend, Tanya, the one I was talking to you about. You need to do your magic on her. And, well, also give my hair a trim while I’m here.”
Marco moved towards Tanya, examining her with his dark eyes. “Your eyes. By God, I have never seen anything so pretty. It’s a shame you have those ugly glasses on. You shouldn’t hide this piece of art,Tesoro.”
Natasha glared at Marco. “Marco! Do you realize you’re being rude?”
Tanya was dumbstruck at the Italian’s outburst. She’d never met someone like him. Flamboyant and outspoken! Against her better judgment, she gave a giggle. “I think I like him.”
“You speak as if Marco weren’t here. Not good!” Marco mock-glared at Tanya, causing her to giggle some more. “I see this one is tenacious,madame” This time Marco looked at Natasha, who was trying not to grin. “Well, let me see what I can do. C’mon you two.”
The next two and a half hours was pure fun. Marco deep conditioned Tanya’s long tresses and added some layers to her hair without reducing the length too much. He highlighted her silky waves with burgundy highlights and added longer bangs in front. The result was simply stunning. Tanya gasped when she looked at the end result. Her hair felt lighter, more radiant. “Wow!” She breathed into the mirror. Immediately, she turned towards Marco and gave him a hug. “I stand corrected; I don’t like you. I love you!” Marco looked smug with adon’t-I-know-itlook on his face.
Natasha gaped at her friend who almost looked like a different person. “You look stunning.” She looked closer at Tanya, with a slightly thoughtful look. “Have you ever tried contact lens? You have such beautiful eyes. Pity, it’s hidden behind your glasses. Although, you look cute with them as well.”
Tanya almost said no to contacts, stopping herself at the last moment.Cute?Huh, that word again! Desperately wanting to move away from the ‘cute’ tag, she decided to try on contact lens. High time she did! “I did, long ago. I didn’t have the patience to clean the lenses and maintain them diligently. But now, I don’t mind giving it another shot.”
And so the two of them set out of the salon, to complete Tanya’s makeover. They giggled and laughed through a quick lunch, followed by a fun makeup trial session. The girls finally went back to Natasha’s car, exhausted yet satisfied. It was a day well spent.
“Do you want to come in for coffee?” Tanya looked at Natasha before she got down from the car.
“Another time. It’s already late.”
“Sure.” Tanya quickly waved to her friend.
“Tanya, can we meet next week sometime? I’m relatively new to Bangalore, and would love some company.” Natasha almost sounded hesitant.
“Of course, I’d love to take you around. As a person who’s been living here for the last five years, I know some awesome places. I’ll ping you soon, okay?”
“Thanks.” Natasha gave a shy smile, a deviation from her usual confident self.
“Anytime.” Tanya stopped to give Natasha a hug before she entered her cozy house.
