Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Part I

Chapter 17.1: 1994, Ruiz

Chapter 17.1: 1994, Ruiz

 

"Girl, you sleeping?"

"N..no..." My voice purred, betraying me.

"Girl, you are totally sleeping. I told you, you gotta take a shower and shave everything before I get there. Its already 6:30. That is PM!"

"Okay, I'm getting up." 

"Girl. Girl, you are totally falling asleep. I can hear it. Hey!"

Ambrose was shouting at me over the phone, and the next thing I knew there was a loud knock on my bedroom door. The sound of the woman in the dial tone was saying "BEE-DEE-BEEP, PLEASE HANG UP OR ATTEMPT YOUR CALL AGAIN LATER."

"Oh dios mio," I whispered, getting up from my bed groggily, the phone coming with me. 

The door flew open, making me jump, and the first thing I saw was a waterfall of blue and green sequins. They looked so pretty by the soft light of my bedside lamp. 

"I knew it. What's wrong with you, girl? You need to talk?" Ambrose asked. The sequins were cascading from his arms, a beautiful peacock tailed dress. He looked like quite a sight, his base make-up on his face. People must have been staring at him to the max on the train over here. "Did you even shave your face today?" He looked very worried.

My hand floated up to my face. It was met with a scratchiness that was revolting. Ambrose was going through his bag noisily, the dress shifting up his arm, the sounds of his various make-up banging together. "Ah, got it. Come here," he said triumphantly, pulling my arm now.

"Where are we going?" I asked sleepily.

"To the bathroom, where else," he announced regally, his voice seemingly coming from the back of his head as he lead me down the short hallway.

Once in the bathroom, he presented me with a yellow Bic razor but I just stared at it. He made a fake sigh of annoyance and pulled me close. He sprayed some shaving foam in his hand and began smearing it over the bottom of my face. 

As he shaved my face, I just stared into the mirror, not looking at anything really. I could see him staring at me, an expression I couldn't identify. He lowered my head down by the neck to the sink like a cop with a culprit and rinsed my face off well. He seemed to be upset that I hadn't gotten ready myself, but I didn't have anything to say about that. 

Once shaved, I looked at my face and then away from it. "Ambrose," I sighed.

"Yeah?"

He looked at me in the mirror, his expression like a little boy. He knew something was wrong.

"I don't think I'm going to be in the contest tonight." His mouth opened at this, but I kept on going. "I think I'm going to just visit Georgina. I want to talk to her about something."

"About what?" he asked. His face clearly said, why can't you talk to me about it?

"I'll tell you later," I sighed, looking down in the sink. The last few bits of shaving foam hadn't drained. They made my heart feel like it was free falling. My eyes closed and I breathed in deeply.

"What have you two been talking about? You never tell me," Ambrose said behind me, no longer in the mirror. The sounds of his make-up in the bag came to me again. It seemed like it was aimless instead of purposeful like last time, like he was trying to be casual.

"I'll tell you about that, too," I assured. I attempted a smile, and he saw it in the mirror. He didn't smile back. Instead, the tips of his drawn on eyebrows peaked in the middle, hurt.