The Atham Manor (Slow Updates)

A Date

Henry left me to go get ready while being completely vague. He told me to dress semi-formal, but I had no idea what that meant considering the last formal thing I wore was a heavy floor-length white dress.

So I asked Miriam.

"Hon, I don't have any fucking clue what that means."

I deflated on my bed, groaning loudly. "You don't?"

"That boy remains a mystery, even Adaline doesn't know what he's thinking." Miriam let out a breath and sat down beside me. "I can get you ready, but I don't know where he's taking you."

"Fuck." I sighed.

Miriam walked over to my closet and started pulling out dresses. "Did he say anything about where you're going?"

"Nope." I popped the 'p', and got up. "I guess I'll just have to hope I look okay."

"Well, that's what I'm here for. Either way, you're going to look amazing." Miriam sifted through dress after dress until she pulled out a yellow one with frilly arms. "Oh, yes. And you can wear my Burberry coat."

"Hah?"

Miriam tossed the dress on my bed and scavenged through the shoes I never wore. She lifted up a pair of golden heels. "Do you even know how much these costs, hon?"

"Nope." I popped the 'p' again.

"Good." She smiled simply. "Let's see if I have some gold bangles and some dangly earrings and... definitely dark red lipstick. Hm... yes. Hair up, and-" She glanced down at my toes. "A mani-pedi."

"Miriam, I don't have time for all of that. He literally told me three hours." I complained.

"Xania, dear sweet child," She grabbed both of my shoulders. "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

I debated my answer, but Miriam didn't hesitate to teleport me to the garage. "Miriam! I can't go out like this. I'm literally in a shirt... just a shirt."

Miriam tapped her lip, disappeared, and reappeared again with a bag. "I put some clothes in here. Be quick dear, we have so much to do and so little time."

I pulled on the cute outfit Miriam conjured up, which was just a warm sweater dress, tights, and ankle boots, and we got into her jeep for a much-needed excursion.

First, we went and got mani-pedis, then we went to a spa and got deep oil massages as well as facials, then we went shopping for an even prettier yellow dress she saw on our way to get our hair done. I readily refused to get my hair done since there wasn't anybody black working, and all of the customers were white aside from an Asian woman with long, very straight hair. Plus, the workers looked worried as soon as I walked in.

After that, she took me to her favorite makeup artist, who was this guy with a prettier face than most girls. He took one look at the dress Miriam bought and the shoes she wanted to use and went to work.

The whole experience took three hours in itself. My phone rang halfway through me getting my lipstick done and I was one hundred and ten percent sure it was Henry. With that, I returned home, only to find a text with the location in it and nothing else.

What a sweet gesture.

I curled my straightened hair and left it down for some much-needed face-framing. I used Miriam's gold earrings and necklace to accent the mustard yellow dress and used whatever ostentatious gold shoes Miriam pulled out of my closet. They had literal wings going up the front of my foot. They were a designer brand or something but at this point, I was forty-five minutes late and didn't care.