doze.
A gentle tap on the shoulder awakened her. “All done, Miss Taylor. Want to take a look?”
Stretching her aching arms and legs, Crystal turned to the mirror. Her eyes popped wide open. “Who is that?”
Tanya had touched her hair up with streaks of cinnamon, giving it a rich vibrant color. With her complexion, the effect was unearthly, making her look like some autumn wood nymph. Dozens of narrow twists fell to her shoulders from a center part, giving her face a heart shape.
She wasn’t sure if that woman in the mirror was pretty or not, but she was certainly striking.
“It’s wonderful! ” she said, turning her head from side to side to see different angles. The slender ropes of hair swung against her shoulders in a sensual motion.
As she stood up, still looking in the mirror, her brows puckered in uncertainty. Beneath the earth nymph head, a navy sweater and skirt set hung dowdily. She visualized her wardrobe at home and couldn’t think of a single outfit that would do justice to the new hairdo. Everything she owned was monotone, dark and baggy. She had to get it all together so that maybe her head would look like it belonged to the rest of her body. She needed help.
Quickly she settled her bill and then phoned Shonté’s cell phone.
“Girlfriend, listen. I need you.”
“What for?” Shonté sounded a little suspicious. Their parting this morning had not been friendly.
“I got a new hairdo at the beauty shop. Now I don’t look like myself. Nothing I own goes with this new hair style, and I don’t know what to buy. Help me!”
“Oh my God! Do you mean to tell me you actually decided to lose the Condoleezza Rice look?”
Crystal chuckled, pressing a hand to her cheek. “I did. But the trouble is my hair matched my Condoleezza Rice wardrobe. I don’t know what to do now.”
“Meet me at the mall food court in fifteen minutes.” Shonté hung up.
With trepidation, Crystal proceeded to the meeting point. In less than two hours, the stores would close. Her anxiety eased somewhat when she saw Shonté strolling the outskirts of the food court, scanning the crowd. Shonté might not be a whiz at business skills, but she was a grand master of shopping. Crystal rushed over and grabbed Shonté’s arm.
Shonté turned to her and let out a whoop.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “Girl, I love it.”
“Do you really? It’s not too too ?”
“Are you kidding? You look slick.” Shonté snapped her fingers, a wide grin stretching her cheeks. Her black eyes sparkled.
“It doesn’t really feel like me.” Crystal fingered the twists on her shoulder.
“It doesn’t look like you either, girl. How do you feel?”
“I don’t know. Different.”
“And?”
“Saucy, kind of.”
“And?”
“Fabulous,” Crystal admitted at last, laughing. “But it doesn’t go with my clothes, Shonté, and I have no idea what to buy.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
They swept the stores in a whirlwind, Crystal trailing in Shonté’s wake. She wasn’t even sure what she was buying. Shonté snatched articles off the rack, held them up, pushed them back or handed them to her to hold. She sent her to the dressing room a couple of times, took one glance at her and passed judgment. Then while Crystal put back on her own clothes, Shonté would close out at the cash register with Crystal’s debit card.
The pile of bags they ended up carrying to the car gave her a feeling of mild panic. Crystal’s last paycheck had reflected her promotion. While her budget was down the drain right now, she rationalized that she could indulge herself this one time.
When the mall closed, they each drove their car to a 24-hour superstore, where they finished off with accessories and cosmetics. Exhaustion crept up on Crystal, along with a little guilt about abandoning Jalessa. But she was also having a good time with Shonté. She cherished the return of sisterly closeness. Even while she felt impelled to rein in Shonté ’s
A gentle tap on the shoulder awakened her. “All done, Miss Taylor. Want to take a look?”
Stretching her aching arms and legs, Crystal turned to the mirror. Her eyes popped wide open. “Who is that?”
Tanya had touched her hair up with streaks of cinnamon, giving it a rich vibrant color. With her complexion, the effect was unearthly, making her look like some autumn wood nymph. Dozens of narrow twists fell to her shoulders from a center part, giving her face a heart shape.
She wasn’t sure if that woman in the mirror was pretty or not, but she was certainly striking.
“It’s wonderful! ” she said, turning her head from side to side to see different angles. The slender ropes of hair swung against her shoulders in a sensual motion.
As she stood up, still looking in the mirror, her brows puckered in uncertainty. Beneath the earth nymph head, a navy sweater and skirt set hung dowdily. She visualized her wardrobe at home and couldn’t think of a single outfit that would do justice to the new hairdo. Everything she owned was monotone, dark and baggy. She had to get it all together so that maybe her head would look like it belonged to the rest of her body. She needed help.
Quickly she settled her bill and then phoned Shonté’s cell phone.
“Girlfriend, listen. I need you.”
“What for?” Shonté sounded a little suspicious. Their parting this morning had not been friendly.
“I got a new hairdo at the beauty shop. Now I don’t look like myself. Nothing I own goes with this new hair style, and I don’t know what to buy. Help me!”
“Oh my God! Do you mean to tell me you actually decided to lose the Condoleezza Rice look?”
Crystal chuckled, pressing a hand to her cheek. “I did. But the trouble is my hair matched my Condoleezza Rice wardrobe. I don’t know what to do now.”
“Meet me at the mall food court in fifteen minutes.” Shonté hung up.
With trepidation, Crystal proceeded to the meeting point. In less than two hours, the stores would close. Her anxiety eased somewhat when she saw Shonté strolling the outskirts of the food court, scanning the crowd. Shonté might not be a whiz at business skills, but she was a grand master of shopping. Crystal rushed over and grabbed Shonté’s arm.
Shonté turned to her and let out a whoop.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed. “Girl, I love it.”
“Do you really? It’s not too too ?”
“Are you kidding? You look slick.” Shonté snapped her fingers, a wide grin stretching her cheeks. Her black eyes sparkled.
“It doesn’t really feel like me.” Crystal fingered the twists on her shoulder.
“It doesn’t look like you either, girl. How do you feel?”
“I don’t know. Different.”
“And?”
“Saucy, kind of.”
“And?”
“Fabulous,” Crystal admitted at last, laughing. “But it doesn’t go with my clothes, Shonté, and I have no idea what to buy.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
They swept the stores in a whirlwind, Crystal trailing in Shonté’s wake. She wasn’t even sure what she was buying. Shonté snatched articles off the rack, held them up, pushed them back or handed them to her to hold. She sent her to the dressing room a couple of times, took one glance at her and passed judgment. Then while Crystal put back on her own clothes, Shonté would close out at the cash register with Crystal’s debit card.
The pile of bags they ended up carrying to the car gave her a feeling of mild panic. Crystal’s last paycheck had reflected her promotion. While her budget was down the drain right now, she rationalized that she could indulge herself this one time.
When the mall closed, they each drove their car to a 24-hour superstore, where they finished off with accessories and cosmetics. Exhaustion crept up on Crystal, along with a little guilt about abandoning Jalessa. But she was also having a good time with Shonté. She cherished the return of sisterly closeness. Even while she felt impelled to rein in Shonté ’s
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