Wasting no time, Gwen propped her phone up on her dresser and turned on a tutorial. The girl on the screen was explaining how to contour without looking like a clown.Blend, blend, blend, she kept repeating like a prayer. She was gorgeous and I wanted to try something that was obviously working for her. I followed Gwen’s lead and grabbed a blending bud. Sitting in front of the mirror, I attempted toblend, blend, blend. The pink sponge looked more like a child’s toy than a beauty tool. And I wielded it with as much finesse as theformer.
I was convinced I looked like a lazy drag queen, but I kept following along anyway, determined to give my face the smaller looking nose and more defined cheekbones the expert from the video promised. I couldn’t help but laugh at myreflection.
I spent a few seconds trying to figure out where I went wrong, but my gaze wandered to a few photos tucked in between the glass and frame of her mirror instead. There was a great one of her and her parents at graduation; they looked so proud. A couple of pictures were of her and Mitch making goofy faces. They definitely looked every bit thecouple.
There was even one of her and me. I couldn’t remember her taking it, but we had coffees in hand making serious faces toward the camera. It captured our friendship perfectly. I was excited to have made her gallery after such a short amountoftime.
One last picture on the bottom had Gwen and a baby girl I didn’t recognize. “Who’s that?” I asked, not taking my eyes from thephotograph.
She looked up from the makeup in front of her and followed my gaze. “Oh, that’s my niece, Janet. She livesinCali.”
In the picture Gwen faced her niece, while Janet was smiling at the camera. A handful of teeth stood out against a gummy grin. “You mustmissher.”
“I do. She’s the sweetest thing, always smiling. Too young to be jaded by the world. Thankfully, we go back and visit our family thereeveryyear.”
I always felt the loss of my mom, but looking at this picture and hearing the way Gwen spoke of her own family, made me realize how much I missed my grandparents in Florida. They were still living. I decided to make more of an effort to reach out to them. I should probably visit them soon. I looked at the picture for a few more seconds before lifting my gazetoGwen.
I had assumed she was as hopeless at makeup as me. She always looked like her face was bare. But as I watched her swipe the applicator across her cheek, she looked completely in her element. She caught me staring and shrugged her shoulder. “What? I told you, I used to bepopular.”
“And that means being able to domakeup?”
“I used to think so, but I forgot how fun it was.” She smiled. “So what are we going to dotonight?”
“Um.” I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Well, the only people I know work at the diner. Maybe Tabitha will want togoout.”
Gwen giggled at that. “Yeah,probablynot.”
“We could always have a girls’ night in. Ice cream and a cheesy romanticcomedy?”
“Ugh. No romance. What aboutSerenityinstead?”
It was a cult-classic sci-fi movie, and one of my all-time favorite movies. I was pretty much obsessed with anything Joss Whedon touched. “I swear you’re my non-sexual soulmate, Gwen. But I must warn you, I can quote it like nobody’sbusiness.”
“Oh, it’s on.” She said, waggling her eyebrowsatme.
It wasn’t long before we were sitting on the couch, watching River kick some major space-ass. It also didn’t take long before I ate so much I was unable to move from my spot on the Gwen’s parent’s sofa. There had been a few tubs of ice cream in the freezer and we had each grabbed our own before sitting down to watch the movie. Between quoting and misquoting different parts, I kept taking bites. I don’t think I even realized I was eating so much. But before I knew it, almost the entire container of rocky roadwasgone.
I looked over to see Gwen had been keeping pace with me. Her face mirrored my own, the one of someone who overindulged and was now severely regretting it. We were both laying against opposite armrests of the same couch with our legs spread out near the other person’schest.
“Why did we do that?” Gwen wrapped her arms around her stomach andgroaned.
“To get back at Mitch obviously.” I rolled my eyes. “I bet he’s feelingsorrynow.”
Gwen pushed me with her knee and got me in the stomach. I groaned but she ignored it. “Oh, yeah. He’s probably feeling every bit of it.” She leaned over to put her empty carton on the coffee table before looking back at me. “But seriously, Katie. This was great.Thanks.”
“It was fun for me too. How often do I get to eat junk until I puke while watching amovie?”
“Right? And, just so you know, this thing with me and Mitch. We always make up. Don’t hold it againsthim.Okay?”
“Iwon’t.”
“Things just get intensesometimes.”
“I can relate to intense,” I whispered to myself, but Gwen didn’t miss it. I swear that woman had superhumanhearing.
“What do you mean by that? Have things been gettingintensewith you andJulian?”
“No!” I denied quickly before adding. “Well, maybe alittle.”
