Bon Bons to Yoga Pants

Chapter 49-Maid of Honor

 "Can we make my hairstyle subtle?" I asked the hairdresser, a middle-aged black woman named Terry with an impressive row of white teeth. "I don't want anything flashy or bright. Please don't match my eye shadow with the dresses?"

"Yeah," she agreed, her upper lip curling slightly. "Flashy wouldn't look good on you. How about we straighten your hair and add a few curls? I'll go easy on the makeup too, although I think we need to at least try fake lashes."

"Fake lashes? They have those?"

Terry rolled her eyes. "Girl, have you been living under a rock? They're fabulous. Just trust me. You're in good hands."

I blew out a long breath. "Okay."

Kenzie and Mom sat to my left, chattering. Outside, a bank of dark clouds rolled in from the west with occasional low growls and the threat of rain. Thankfully, we were safely tucked in the bridal suite at the venue, preparing for the indoor ceremony.

My eyes strayed to the clock on the wall while Terry went to work tugging and pulling on my head. Two hours left. My fingers and toes sparkled with new nails in a horrid shade of pink that matched every other horrid decoration. The other bridesmaids would start trickling in soon. All eight of them.

My phone buzzed and I flipped it over so quickly it nearly clattered to the floor. I bobbled with it for a second before catching it in a firm grasp.

"Nervous?" Terry asked, brandishing a blow dryer like a gun, one eyebrow raised.

"Just expecting a text."

Mira and I have it under control, Rachelle's message said, but it's going to take at least an hour.

Although I wouldn't really relax until I could see the dress myself, a surge of relief moved through me. Mira would make it work. She could do anything. Terry worked in silence while I fiddled with my phone, inserted comments into the conversation when Kenzie asked me a question, and worried, in general, over the possibly disastrous wedding. Would the dress fit? Would Bradley like it?

An hour later, Terry stepped back, smirking.

"Mmm hmm," she murmured. "Just as I thought."

Kenzie, who had just finished with her own hair dresser, stood up. Her mouth went slack and eyes wide.

"Wow. Lexie?"

"What?"

"I hardly even recognize you. You're gorgeous."

Because of my struggling relationship with mirrors, I'd studiously avoided the awkwardness of staring at myself for sixty minutes.

"Go on," Terry said with a chuckle. "See if you like it."

When I first looked up, I didn't see Lexie Greene. In fact, I looked at several places in the mirror just to make sure that the girl I stared at was actually me. My hair, usually in a ponytail or limp on my shoulders, fell in wide, gentle curls around a thinner face. I could actually see cheekbones. Terry had somehow wrangled fake eyelashes onto my eyes, which made them both dark and bright at the same time.

"Oh," I said. "Oh."

Mom rustled up to my side, half in her new dress, half out, her hair coiffed into a fashionable bun that suited a mother-of-the-bride.

"Lexie! You look wonderful."

I touched the tips of my silky hair, thinking about Bradley and how he would react. Perfect, I thought. This is exactly what I wanted to look like for him. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.