Page 41 of The Taste of Redemption
If you feel good in your skin, it’s easier to take care of the soul.
Amelia ran out of the house when I honked. Her eyes betrayed how miserable the hangover made her. Bags under her eyes were an unusual sight, but a smile on her lips seemed genuine.
“Where are we going?” she asked, buckling the seatbelt.
“Beauty salon. Hairdressers. Shopping. We’re going to make me look the part.”
“Yes!” She clapped. “That’s a brilliant idea. You know what they say: There’s lipstick even on the worst day.”
It was trivial in the face of what happened, but looking good usually made me feel good. There was no harm in trying. At least Iwantedto try, and that was more than I did for a year.
We arrived at the beauty salon first. The girl was taken aback by my bruised face but got over herself quickly. After a set of facials that got rid of the bags under Mel’s eyes and breathed a radiant, healthy glow into our skin, it was time for the hairdresser.
I drew a blank when a tall, slim guy who introduced himself as Jack asked me what I wanted. The most extravagant thing I did to my hair was cutting ten inches off two years ago. It still left me with hair up to my shoulder blades, though. Now it fell further down, the chocolatey brown colour was faded and dull.
I glanced at Mel, looking for help. An excited Cheshire-cat kind of grin lit up her freckled, pampered face.
“Hold on.” She held her finger up, tapping on the screen of her phone. “Do you trust me?”
“I do, but if you make me blonde, I’ll shave your head.”
She beamed, passing the phone to Jack. Approving smile on his face relaxed me a little.
“Gina, cover the mirror,” he shouted over his arm to a young girl who was busy sweeping the floor. “We’re doing a surprise make-over. You girls want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Wine, maybe?”
“You have wine?” Mel’s eyes widened. “Yes,please.”
Fight fire with fire.
Gina covered the mirror in front of me with a black fabric, and Jack got to work. I had a mini heart attack when he took out the foils. Thankfully he was only doing highlights. A second colour went everywhere else.
Mel convinced Gina, an apprentice, to give her a wash and blow-dry, but she was done over an hour before me. The moment Jack took the scissors, I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see how much of my hair was falling onto the tiled floor.
Heavenly smelling mists, sprays, some blow-drying and curling later, Mel’s glowing eyes were the size of walnuts. Jack helped me out of the foils cape before he uncovered the mirror.
The dull, ashen tint to my hair was replaced by chocolate brown with caramel highlights. It brightened up my face and accentuated the gold speckles in my eyes. I turned my head to the side, enjoying how light and bouncy the waves were, then gasped when I saw that half of my hair was gone. Jack cut it all the way back to my shoulders.
I always wore my hair long, but medium length suited me better. It looked almost as if I should have been born with hair that length.
“And?!” Mel squealed; her hands clasped together as if she were praying. “You lookhot!”
I chuckled, running my fingers through the soft waves. “I like it. It’s a dramatic change, but I think that’s what I needed.”
Amelia jumped to her feet and hugged me, forgetting about my bruised ribs in all the excitement.
“Sorry!” She moved away when I hissed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine; come on. Make-up is next.”
I thanked Jack, settled the bill, bought a few haircare products and made another appointment for February. Amelia hooked her arm with mine as we walked across the street toward a department store where we were going to get our make-up done. Maybe I would even buy expensive foundation to cover my bruises better than my current one.
All in all, including shopping, we spent six hours making me feel pretty on the outside so I could make myself prettier on the inside. Whether it was the haircut, clothes or the big slice of hot brownie with custard and vanilla ice cream we had at some point, I felt in control of my own damn life for a change.
I was done waiting for the light to flicker at the end of the dark tunnel. I was going to light that bitch on fire myself.
CHAPTER 11
NADIA
