Sanctity (22 page)

“I can’t wait to be deep-fried and kneaded
like taffy.  This is going to be so much fun!”

“Have you ever done this before?”

“No, you?”

“No but Margaret goes every couple of
months.  She always looks fabulous when she comes back;
relaxed and shimmering from head to toe.  She got us a
stylist, too, you know, to do our hair and make-up tonight.”

Danielle was beside herself, jumping up and
down like a kid on Christmas morning, “Aunt Margaret is the
best.  This is going to be the best day ever.”

“I’m sure it will be; for some of us
anyway.”

“Ha, just you wait and see.  I’m not
sure how,” Danielle smirked while batting her lashes with
innocence, “but the word has gotten around about Brooke and Jake
and what they did to you.  I have a feeling you are going to
be the belle of the ball and everyone is going to make it a point
to see that you have a good time.  If you can just make it
through the limo ride, the rest of the night is going to be
amazing!”

Dani was such a good friend.  I’m sure
she meant well and I should have been thankful for the effort she
was putting into making my night as enjoyable as hers but I did not
want to have so much attention drawn to myself and what I was being
forced to go through. 

As we neared the house Margaret called to us
to hurry so I ushered Kaley inside and hopped in the car with
Danielle.  We chattered away during the half hour drive to the
spa.  Once we were there Margaret signed us in and said
goodbye, “Savor it,” she smiled as she waved us on our way.

We were guided to a changing room and
assigned lockers for our belongings.  After stripping down, we
eased into the robes and slippers that were left for us.  A
few minutes later we were taken on a quick tour of the
facilities.  We were shown each of the different rooms for the
treatments we would be receiving.  The first of our
appointments was for an exfoliating body scrub. 

We were led to a room and greeted by our
therapists.  They explained the treatment and that they
planned to use a sugar scrub with palm oil for it and that
it was supposed to remove any dead skin cells and leave us
with a smooth, healthy glow.  After the description we were
told to remove our robes and slippers once they left and to lie
down on the tables which were lined with soft cotton sheets
that we pulled over ourselves while we waited.

There was soft music playing and fountains
at strategic points in the room.  It was semi-dark but bright
enough to make out each other as well as the all the other objects
in the room.  After a minute or two there was a soft rap on
the door and the first of our treatments began.  I was a
little nervous at first but the therapists worked the scrub into
our skin section by section, only folding back our sheets to work
various parts of our bodies then covering us back up.  I never
really felt naked or exposed and between the scrub, the music,
lighting and fountains I found that the experience was actually
very relaxing.

When we were done our scrub we went to
reflexology.  It was not as involved but I enjoyed it just as
much.  From there we went to our facials and then to our
manicures and pedicures.  Our final spa procedure was our deep
tissue massage.  The therapists used lightly scented oils and
heavy slow strokes to ease any tightness or knots that we felt in
our legs, arms or backs.  It was so relaxing that I dozed off
once or twice and ended up twitching myself awake each time that I
did. 

The whole event ended up taking about 4
hours and by the time we were done all of our treatments all I
could think about was going home and taking a nap.  We started
early enough that I felt there would be plenty of time so I decided
to ask Danielle her thoughts.

“Ugh, I think I could sleep soundly for a
week!  That was the most incredible experience I’ve ever
had.”

“It was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?”

We had to wait a few minutes for Margaret to
arrive to bring us home.  We spent the time sharing our
impressions and favorite parts of the day.  I really enjoyed
the reflexology but I knew because I fell asleep more than once
that the deep tissue massage was probably the most
beneficial.  It really eased some of the tension I had been
feeling and made me realize how much anxiety I had been carrying
around since we began making our plans for the formal.

 “How are you feeling?” Margaret asked
as she came in to collect us.

“Sleepy,” and “Tired,” Danielle said one and
I said the other, both at the same time.

Margaret laughed and signed our bill before
herding us back to the car.  “Are you girls hungry?  We
can stop and pick something up along the way or I can make
something for you when we get home.”

“I’m a little hungry,” I said.

“Me too,” Dani concurred.

We opted for eating at home.  Margaret
put together some wraps for us and served them to us with some
sliced apples.  We made quick work of our plates and after
tidying up told Aunt Margaret our plan to take a nap.

“That’s a good idea; it’s going to be a long
night.  I’ll wake you up about a half hour before the stylist
gets here.”

“Perfect,” I said.  “Thanks for such a
great day, Aunt Margaret.  I don’t think anything could spoil
the night for me now.  I feel like putty inside and out and
I’ll just bounce right back from whatever hits me.”

Dani and I mounted the stairs and headed to
our respective bedrooms.  I was asleep before my head even hit
the pillow.  I slept incredibly sounding, no dreams, no
tossing or turning, just a nice, restful, deep sleep.  It took
a few minutes for Margaret to wake me but she was trying to do it
gently so I wouldn’t wake up too abruptly.  Once I came to
though, it didn’t take long to shed my drowsiness and I felt alert
and ready to go.

A short while after I woke Danielle, Kaley
announced the arrival of the stylist with her barking.  She
was friendly, almost to a fault but she did like to keep us on our
toes when there were strangers around.  I was surprised to
find that the stylist was a man.  He introduced himself as I
let him in and after studying each of us he had us move the table
and all the stools but one from its little nook in the
kitchen.  While we did this Allan placed a folding table and
what looked to be a tool box on top of it and began to set up.

“You,” he pointed to Danielle and firmly
motioned her over.

She gave me a fraidy face and scurried over
to take up residence on the stool.  He whipped her hair into a
ponytail and got to work with some sponges and base make-up.
 He seemed very focused as he worked so I tried not to be
intrusive while I watched him transform her face.  Instead of
giving her an unnaturally flawless skin tone, he put a very light
coating of base on that allowed her freckles to peek through while
taking away some of the unevenness of color around her eyes and on
her cheeks. 

Then he used his hand like a palette and
started rubbing various shades of pink into the back of his
palm.  Once he felt he had gotten what he wanted he used a fan
shaped brush to sweep the color from his hand to Dani’s
cheekbones.  Though it seemed like he was working fast, the
process was actually taking quite a bit of time.  It was just
fascinating to watch, so I didn’t really notice how long it was
taking.  When he was done with the blush he took a cloth and
cleaned the make-up off his hand.

Next he started lining her eyes; a little
pencil here, a little there, blend, a little more pencil, blend,
pencil.  He was balancing his work doing a little to one eye
then repeating the exact same process to the other, so her eyes
were made up in stages.  It seemed odd at first but as he
finished each step I thought that Danielle was growing more and
more beautiful.

I’m sure I was smiling the whole time he was
working, so Danielle knew he was doing a great job.  She was
getting impatient, I could see but resisting the urge to burst out
of the stool and find the nearest mirror.  Before she could
suppress herself any longer, though, he finished with a final curl
of her lashes.  She motioned to get up but he rested his hand
on her shoulder and said, “Now, about that hair.”  He put his
first case with all his makeup aside and fetched another. 
This one was loaded with curlers, irons, a blow dryer and an
assortment of pins, clips and hairbrushes.

He started sectioning off her hair. 
There was a substantial mass of it but he had a practiced hand and
it didn’t seem to take him very long.  He sprayed some product
from roots to ends and used a round brush in combination with the
dryer to blow nearly all the curl out of her hair.  Once he
was done he started working some intricate little braids into
it from the front of her head to the back.  When he was
done he pulled the braids and the rest of her hair towards the
nape of her neck and began weaving it all together forming an
intricate, almost basket-like pattern.  He took a few pins
from his case and secured her hair then put tiny flower shaped
gemstones at random intervals throughout the braids and basket he
created.  It was haphazard but somehow gave a nice polished
effect to her hairstyle.

“Now, shoo,” he said after placing the last
gem.  “Make sure you don’t smudge your face or ruffle your
hair when you put your dress on.”

Dani did not need to be told twice, she was
off like a rocket to admire Allan’s work. 

“Sit,” he commanded jerking his head at
me.

I hurried over to the stool and sat like a
statue. 

“Hmm,” he said as he circled me. 
“Hmm,” he said once more, “You have an interesting look. 
Where did you get such flawless skin?  I can hardly see a
blemish or the hint of a capillary anywhere,” he sounded
amazed.  “I’ll be right back.”

He left me there on the stool and ran out to
his car.  He had another case with him when he came
back.  “We won’t need all this for you,” he motioned to the
case he used for Danielle’s makeup. 

He didn’t bother with any base, just a light
dusting of powder and a hint of blush to my cheekbones.  When
he started in on my eyes I expected him to be penciling and
smudging and repeating but instead he applied a very light shadow
to the entire lid of each eye.  Then he worked exclusively
with the liner and slowly and steadily applied it to each lid along
my lash line.  He had me look up afterwards and applied a very
fine line beneath my lower lashes. 

When he was done with the liner he fastened
false lashes to each of my lids and filled in my brows with a bit
of pencil as well.  He used a deep, red pencil on my lips,
covering them completely and then brushed a light, glossy coat over
them.  He inspected his work.  He seemed satisfied which
I found hard to believe with the minimal amount of time he had
spent on my face.  I was feeling a little cheated and couldn’t
help but ask, “Is that it?”

“It?” He sounded offended.  “Well,
there is still your hair.”

“I’d like to see myself,” I said, certain
that I could not possibly look as classy and elegant as Dani after
such a scanty amount of makeup.

“Not yet, this will only take a minute.”

He brushed my hair towards the top and back
of my head and began fastening it into place.  I wasn’t sure
what he was doing but again he was done in record time.  I was
feeling downright sullen and could not imagine what he had done
that made him feel so smug and secure in the way I looked.  As
he placed the last of his pins he said, “There.”

I was unwilling to wait a moment longer and
raced to the nearest mirror, certain that I would be disappointed
and would need to force him to redo my entire look.  When I
got to the mirror I could hardly believe my reflection. 
Surely something so simple could not look so amazing and surely
that could not be me with that bewildered look on my face.  I
smiled just to be sure. 

Allan was standing behind me, “Stay still a
moment,” he placed a little rhinestone band across the bundle of
hair at the top of my head.  “There,” he said.  I was
suddenly ashamed of my snappish attitude as I admired how I looked
with my soft cheeks, doe eyes and 60’s inspired up do.  “I
hope you can step into your dress and not have to pull it
over.”

“Yes,” I said.  “Allan, thank you so
much, I really look amazing.”

“Don’t thank me, that is mostly Mother
Nature’s work right there,” he pointed to the girl in the
mirror.

I felt guilty for all the irritation I
didn’t bother to hide but Allan wouldn’t listen to my apology “I’m
sorry if I seemed ungrateful, I should have trusted you.”

“Eh, eh,” he shook his head while he packed
all his cases and made for the door.  “It happens.  Have
a good time tonight.”

“Thank you, thank you for everything,” I
closed the door as he stepped onto the walkway.

Margaret was at the top of the stairs when I
headed up to get dressed.  “Oh, my,” she gasped.  “It is
the perfect look for you!”

I smiled and felt myself glowing with
pride.  Danielle came to view Allan’s handiwork.  “Whoa!”
was all she could manage to get out.

“You’d better hurry and get dressed dear,
I’m sure the limo will be here soon.”

“Thanks Aunt Margaret.  This is turning
out to be one of my best days ever.”

I hurried to my bedroom and wriggled into my
dress.  I couldn’t reach behind me to zip it all the way up so
I called to Danielle and she finished it for me.  She stepped
back and admired me from head to toe.  “You have no idea how
jealous I am right now,” she smiled.

I circled around her, “You have nothing to
be jealous of.  I have never seen you look better.  Zach
is going to be beside himself wondering how he could ever have
gotten so lucky.” 

Just as we finished complimenting one
another Margaret called up to us that our ride had come.  We
hurried downstairs and Margaret snapped a few dozen pictures as we
gathered our coats and clutches and whatever else we felt we might
need.