Hold My Hand by Paloma Beck Read Free Book Online

being
honest.”
    “ That’s exactly why we
aren’t starting there. We’re going to get you relaxed, your muscles
loosened and then we’ll begin the pruning. My recipe is pamper –
prune – pamper.” Shea handed me a robe, “Take this in the bathroom.
It’ll be yours while you’re here so you can leave your things. Take
care of yourself if you need and then come out in just the
robe.”
    I took the robe and found a
brief respite in the bathroom though I knew I had to come out at
some point. I began undressing; recognizing that I was fortunate
Shea was so normal and kind to me. I checked myself in the mirror
and was generally pleased. I couldn’t complain about my weight
anymore or my height. Honestly, everything about me was normal.
Just normal, nothing special.
    An iced glass of juice was
waiting for me when I stepped back into the room. “I’ve poured you
some refreshing raspberry lemonade...” As I took a big gulp, Shea
gasped and I nearly spit out the liquid. My throat was on fire.
    “ What’s in
this?”
    “ Are you okay? I was
trying to tell you it’s a lemonade fruit concoction with some
alcohol meant to help our clients relax into the experience. Sip it
slowly.”
    I was hugely embarrassed.
Despite not normally caring for alcohol, I took her advice and
sipped the drink. Much to my surprise, it was refreshing and I
could already feel myself warming, relaxing. I prayed it worked to
dull the pain in my near future.
    Shea dimmed the lights
further, soft music was playing and lavender covered the scent of
clove. The massage was as relaxing as Shea had promised and soon I
was sitting in a chair with mud on my face getting a
facial.
    “ I’m going to let Fawn
take care of you for a bit. She’ll do your facial and hair. Then
I’ll be back to finish us up today.” Shea left me with Fawn who was
much more buoyant and lively.
    I heard all about the
exfoliator she was using, received directions on daily face
cleansing and got her opinion on the best choice for my hairstyle.
Much to my relief, she approved of the long style I already wore. I
don’t think I could’ve handled a completely new hairstyle at that
moment. Too much was changing and I needed some things to remain
the same. After the pampering and feeling like a million bucks,
likely what this treatment was costing William, Fawn returned me to
Shea in the first room we started our afternoon together.
    “You can keep your robe on
and I’ll simply part it along the bottom or you can feel free to
take it off if that makes you more comfortable,” Shea instructed
me.
    I laughed, my nervous laugh,
and left my robe securely fastened.
    Shea patted the lushly
cushioned table and I hopped up. Shea placed one of her tiny warm
hands on my calf reassuringly as she separated the panels of my
robe. My anxiety edged up. It’s just a few hairs, I told myself
repeatedly in my head but the words did nothing to stem my
anxiety.
    As she prepared the
wax, Shea talked to me. “William requested a small triangular area
of hair be maintained. I‘ll trim you to make the removal easier
then begin waxing from the exterior and work our way in. We can
take a break whenever you need it but the best thing for you is to
relax, close your eyes, listen to the music and focus on your
breathing.”
    “Okay. You make it sound so
simple.” I breathed in deeply, knowing it wasn’t as simple as she’d
made it sound.
    “I’ve done this enough to
know it’s going to hurt but also enough to know there are worse
things.”
    I nodded and relaxed into
the table when she raised the volume of the music. I felt light
touches but chose not to look. I allowed the music to fill me.
After some quiet moments, Shea bent my leg to the side, opened me
and left me completely exposed to this virtual stranger. I cringed
inwardly but maintained my relaxed position.
    The warmth of the wax as she
spreads it along the valley connecting leg to torso was soothing,
so incongruous with the next act to