Blood Ties (NaNoWriMo 2015)

Fifty-Five

An hour and a half later, Ife bless her heart, was helping me get ready for dinner. My makeup had already been applied and at her instance I'd not gotten dressed past my underwear and bra, and sat in the bathroom on a stool while she played around with my hair.

"You don't have to do this you know." I told her as she began separating my thick hair into sections and checking the curling iron to make sure it was getting warm.

"I know that I don't have to," she said and I was again shown the perplexing image of clothes being held up by an invisible person in the mirror. "But I really want to, I loved doing this when I was young and the hobby hasn't faded away. It's very nice to try new things on people."

That certainly explained the various ways in which I'd seen Ife style her hair. "Haven't you done this to you hair before?"

"Yes!" she chirped as she gathered a section of my hair and set it into the iron. "But I haven't done it to you before and I'm excited to see what happens. You and I do have very different types of hair after all."

I agreed with that. "True, very true." Ife's hair was thin and very curly when left in a natural state. Mine was thick, dry and straight when it was left alone. It never took a curl before and if Ife could change that, I was going to give her an award.

"Don't fret too much though my friend," she told me. "You are going to look beautiful, Damon will not be able to keep his eyes off you." Ife undid the iron and one perfect, large, movie-star curl came out of it. Ife grabbed a can of hairspray and quickly sprayed it over the styled hair. "Or his hands," she added as the aerosol noise stopped.

I laughed as well. I highly doubted that would be true, he'd been too busy making allies at the dinner to think about playing footsy under the table with me. "Yeah, maybe."

"Okay," Ife said, "turn around, you don't get to see the look until it's done.

I grinned, nervous though I knew I shouldn't be. Ife had proven a hundred times over that her hands were capable for both bringing comfort, a good laugh and a good hairdo that lasted all night. "Alright, take it away maestro."

***

Twenty minutes later, I was ready to turn around and look in the mirror after Ife declared that she was done, but her forestalling hand put a stop to that effort. "Not yet," she chided. "First we need to get you into your dress. Have it be a full surprise when you see the look coming together."

"I know how the black dress looks on me," I pointed out. "I've worn it before."

"You aren't wearing that Ember," she told me as she more or less carried me out of the bathroom and away from reflective surfaces. "I brought you something else. I'd like to see  you in something more colorful."

I recalled the garment bag. "You didn't need to do that," I said, touched that she'd even think of something like that considering what had happened to me a few nights prior. "Thank you."

"You can thank me after you see how beautiful this is going to look on you. I'm just glad you and I are the same height. This is something I bought for a wedding about a year ago and it should fit you perfectly. Though you will have to wear kitten heels to avoid stepping on the hem, sorry about that."

That made me even happier to hear. I loved how kind Ife was, but my old instincts about people spending obscene amounts of money on me hadn't faded away entirely. Thanks to Damon and the generous gifts from his family, I had learned to let certain things go, but some days were easier than others. Damon I knew, could easily afford anything I needed and most things I didn't thanks to almost a few decades of wise investments of his father, mother and his own accounts. Ife, I had no idea where she was with all that and that uncertainty would have made me worry had she bought me something.

"Here," she held up the bag and unzipped it to reveal a long, ivy green satin evening gown. My jaw dropped.

"Ife," I said, carefully reaching out to touch the soft, shimmering fabric. "This is beautiful!"

Ife smiled. "Thank you, I thought this would look good on you, you know with your eyes being green like they are. The color should make them pop."

"You think so? My eyes aren't quite this dark of a green." I wasn't a complete square when it came to fashion, but I wasn't clueless either. Though I fully admit evening gowns were very far out of my comfort zone.

"It's going to be perfect," Ife assured me as she removed the dress from the hanger and unzipped the back. "Step in Ember," she said as she handed me the gown.

"Thank you," I said and did as I was told, I pulled my hair away from the back as Ife zipped up the back and I pulled the short sleeves up over my arms.

"You look amazing!" Ife said in a sing-song voice. "Now come, let me show you how beautiful you are." She grabbed my and led me into the bathroom once again. "Look!" she said, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, a wide grin on her face. The sort you could only have if  you were truly excited or happy about something or for someone.

"Wow," was all I could say. Ife was right, I did look amazing. My eye makeup had turned out perfectly, the combination of my winged eye-liner and color palette of my eyeshadow had made my eyes look  glamorous. My face was surrounded by large, flame-colored curls that looked like something off an old Hollywood movie. My borrowed dress clung to my body in all the right places, the rousing of the green fabric accenting the curve of my hips and making my slightly smaller than average chest seem a little more full than it actually was. Ife had been right though about the heels, the hem was a little long.

"Wow is right," Ife agreed, placing her hands on my shoulders and peering around me to get a look at my reflection. "You look so beautiful Ember!" she squealed, excitement pouring off every word she said. "I cannot wait for everyone to see you!"

"I just hope I don't put my foot in my mouth," I muttered. An amazing look might attraction attention at first, but it wouldn't make a good impression overall.

"You won't," Ife assured me. "Remember, just be yourself and if someone finds a problem with that fuck them!"

"I'd rather not," I teased.

Ife laughed. "I know, but in all seriousness, you can't make everyone like you, just make sure the people  you value and respect like you and you'll be fine."

I didn't have many people at this event I valued and respected so there was a problem right there. I had some people I had a good impression of for sure, but would just being myself be enough for them?

"Here are the shoes," Ife said, holding up the black kitten heels I'd brought with me from the manor. I hadn't been willing to make room in my suitcase for more options so I'd opted for the safest possible choice.

"Thank you," I said as I slipped then onto my feet. "And thank  you for being here," I stepped forward and wrapped Ife in a hug. I wasn't sure which one of us was more surprised me or her. "I didn't know how much I needed a friend here until you showed up."

Ife hugged me back and I heard her smile. "I'm very glad I came," she said and then I heard another knock at the door. I pulled away and regarded her curiously when I saw how mischievous she looked. "It's Damon outside."

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