Flowers of Despair

Chapter 6

We say goodbye to Dereck before we leave the hospital. Annie still has a giant smile on her face and keeps looking over at me. The car is silent except for the radio playing lightly through the speakers. She’s the first to speak. “You look much older than sixteen,” she’s still smiling, not knowing she hit a new wound, reopening it.

“I’ve been through a lot in sixteen years.” Her smile falls a few notches and I’m sorry that I did that to her.

“I’m sorry. I should have known not to say that. You have been through a lot and I should've known not to--” She looks like she might cry again.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Let’s just forget about it and have a girl’s day.” I pause. “What exactly do you do on a girl’s day?” I ask.

She gasps and I snap my head to look at her thinking something’s wrong. “You’ve never had a girls day?” when I shake my head no, she says, “Hold on,” right before making a sharp right turn. I let out a scream, which makes her laugh and I can’t help it, I laugh too. God, it feels good to laugh.

“What are you doing?” I ask while still laughing.

“If you’ve never had a girl’s day, then we are going to start it the right way.” She grins again and looks at me. “The spa.”

~҉~

It only takes about five minutes before we pull up to a building. We climb out of Annie’s car and begin crossing the parking lot. When we get to the doors, Annie puts her hand on the handle, but doesn’t open it. Looking over at me, she asks, “Ready?” I nod and when she opens the door and ushers me in, I can’t help but freeze.

This place is amazing. There’s music playing, people talk, smiles everywhere, and happiness in the air.

I can feel Annie’s breath on my ear, feel her lips move when she whispers, “What do you think?”

I’m speechless. I turn in a full circle before I look at her. With my first genuine smile in more than two weeks, I say, “It’s amazing.” There’s wonder in my voice and Annie laughs.

“Come on, this way.” She places her hand on my lower back and steers me to the left, where a receptionist greets us.

“Hello Mrs. Smith. Will it be the usual?”

Annie looks at me and smiles. “Actually, this here is Maya’s first spa.” The receptionist’s smile grows. “Do you have anything in mind?”

“Ah, I see. Yes, I think I know what we should do. Come with me,” she looks over at me and smiles before turning and walking away.

I look at Annie, a little unsure, but she smiles and grabs my hand. “Come on. You’re going to love this.” I’m not sure if I believe her not but I follow anyways.

We walk around the counter and through an archway into a brightly lit room. As we turn another corner, I see rows of lockers and, beyond them, showers. The floors are tan linoleum with speckles of color throughout them. The lockers themselves are metal painted an off white color with light brown trim around them. The benches between the rows of lockers are made up of different slats that are the same light brown as the trim.

“Your lockers are at the very end, numbers 206 and 227.” The receptionist’s voice brings me out of my daze. “Inside, you’ll find a white robe and slippers, as well as the locks and keys for your locker. I’ll leave you to girls alone to change and meet you around back.” With one last smile, she is gone, almost like she was a dream. Almost.

“I really think you’re going to love this.” Annie’s voice comes from a distance and I realize that she has already started moving. I jog to catch up to her and only hear part of what she was saying, “… facials, massages. It’s going to be fantastic.” She’s beaming, I can tell from her voice.

As I come around the corner, I quickly turn away. Annie is standing in front of a locker naked. “Sorry,” I say as heat rushes into my cheeks. I hear her moving around.

“You’re fine. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I should have warned you. But you can turn around now.” I hesitate, not totally sure if I should. “It’s okay; I have my robe on now.”

I turn around and see her standing there, putting her hair into a ponytail. I walk to where the other locker is and open it. I strip down to my bra and underwear. As I’m reaching for the robe, Annie speaks again.

“You have to strip completely. I know it’s weird but it makes the process easier for the ladies working. And it feels better too.” She pauses for a beat. “I’ll wait by the door for you.” I watch her as she walks away, wishing that I could do something right for once by myself.

When I can no longer see her, I turn back to my locker and remove my bra and put on the robe. After I have it tied, I slip off my underwear and lock up my locker. On the robe, there is a little clip for key so you don’t lose it. As I’m trying to get it on, I start walking toward the door. When Annie sees me, she comes over and without a word, takes the key from me and fixes it to my robe.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“You might want to put your hair in a bun before for we go in there.” I look at her quizzically but do as she says.

The receptionist is waiting for us at the other end of the hall. Goose flesh has spread over my whole body, making my skin feel tight. “Ready?” she asks.

I look at Annie, who nods at me. “Let’s do it,” I say with a smile slowing spreading across my face.

When we go through the door, I understand everything now; from being naked to putting my hair in a bun. It is very humid in this room, causing the goose flesh to disappear.