The innuendo struck me, and I tried not to die laughing. At first, I was embarrassed and didn’t want him to know my mind could be that dirty. But when his eyes widened and he realized what he said, I couldn’t help myself.
“Oh, my god, you walked into that!” I chortled as his face burned brightly.
Finally, Tuesday night arrived, and I lay in bed, too wired to go to sleep. I called Todd. “Hey, best friend.”
“Hey, Ells. What’s up?” he sounded bored.
“Wanna go with me to pay the retainer tomorrow and meet these guys for yourself?”
He sucked in a breath. “On one condition. You let me dress you first.Anddo your makeup.” His voice turned triumphant, boredom gone.
I rolled my head back. “Urrrgh. Fine. You win. I’ll let you make me pretty. The appointment is at eight.”
“You’re always pretty, darling. I’ll make you gorgeous.” He never failed to remind me I was beautiful.
It took me another hour after I said goodbye to Todd to fall asleep. I couldn’t wait to encounter the intriguing men again.
I kicked at the tickling on my feet. Why were my feet tickly? I didn’t want to open my eyes to see since I’d only closed them a few seconds before. There it was again, a tickle. I groaned my protest over being woken up. I didn’t even care if it was a robber, as long as they let me sleep. Another tickle on my feet. “Stooooop it!!”
“Not today, sleeping beauty. Up and at ’em. You said I could do what I wanted to you this morning, and here I am.”
“Todd Pate! What time is it? I need beauty sleep. And I didn’t say you could do whatever you wanted. I said makeup.”
“And hair.”
“Fine.”I pulled the comforter over my head, which Todd, in turn, jerked completely off me. Satan ran growling out of the room. He didn’t like being woken up either.
“Up!” Todd’s voice grated that early in the morning.
I squinted one sleep-crusted eye at him. “What time is it?”
“Six. Here.” Several cosmetic bottles fell onto the bed beside me. “Get in the shower.”
He started out of my bedroom. “I’ll make you breakfast. Oh! And shave your legs.” After a wink over his shoulder, he sashayed out of the room. At least he dressed snazzy for the day, dapper in a dress shirt and slacks.
Thirty minutes later I was hairless in all the necessary places, polished, and moisturized. My bathroom saw me primp more in those thirty minutes than it had in the past six months, and we were only getting started. I trudged out of my bedroom wearing my old pink robe and slippers, hair in a towel.
Todd set a plate of eggs, bacon, and pineapple onto the table. While I stuffed my face, he removed my towel and squirted delicious smelling goo onto his hands and ran it through my thick hair. “Wha’s ’at do?” I asked through my bacon.
“Volumizing. We’re giving your hair more oomph.” He pulled out a hair dryer and round brush and began pulling my hair up and out. “Please let me put highlights in your hair.” Insisting I was his personal dress-up doll, he’d been trying to get his hands on my hair since my mom died. Before she died, we were too young to be allowed, and he’d been waiting on the day she gave permission. Once she was gone, I lost interest.
“No.” I sipped my coffee. He’d made it perfectly, with hazelnut creamer.
“One day you’ll change your mind, and when you realize what a few highlights can do, you’ll be blown away. I promise.”
“Whatever you say.” I winked at him as he dried the sides of my hair.
I sat patiently, food gone, waiting for him to be satisfied with his work. When the moment came, he instructed me to stand in the middle of the room while he hair sprayed me into oblivion.
We made our way into my bathroom, to the plethora of makeup he’d purchased for me, most of which I’d never even opened. I was shocked at my reflection in the mirror. My hair appeared normal but better. Still long and straight, nothing special, except a little bigger, a little fuller, with a hint of a curl at the ends. It made a drastic difference without being obvious. I knew I’d never take the time to fix it every day though.
I sat on the toilet, face turned up, while Todd worked his magic. I tried to talk to him through clenched teeth so I wouldn’t damage any of his work. “So, are you excited to see these guys?”
“I can’t wait to get going. Why do you think I woke you up so damn early? You know I’m not a morning person!”
He’d been a notoriously late sleeper all his life. “I wondered what you were thinking.”
“And then we’re shopping.”
