in0 by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

working. Now all I had left was the mother of the bride, who got up and went to the bathroom as soon as she saw I was ready for her.
    “What’s her problem?” I asked the matron of honor.
    The matron of honor shrugged. “She’s still not over my wedding. She thinks one of the makeup people insulted her.” The bathroom door opened. “I heard her say it,” the mother of the bride said. “She said, ‘I don’t do old eyes.’ ”
    “No she didn’t,” the matron of honor said. “She said to the other one, ‘Why don’t you do her. You’re better at older eyes.’ ”
    “Same thing,” the mother of the bride said.
    “It is not, Mom,” the matron of honor said. “Not even close.”
    I patted the stool in front of me. “Sit,” I said. “I’ll give you eyes so young the bartender will have to ask for your ID.” Like many women her age, the mother of the bride was the victim of serious eyebrow overplucking. I gave her a few drops of Visine, primed her, dabbed some concealer around her eyes and nose, and airbrushed her. Then I filled out her eyebrows with an angled brush and soft brown eyebrow powder and told her never, ever to use an eyebrow pencil on them again.
    I handed her my eyelash curler and let her do that part herself. I’d learned this the hard way when one of my clients sneezed while I was curling her eyelashes. I still cringed when I thought about that one. But curled eyelashes really 44
    C L A I R E C O O K
    make eyes of any age pop, so it was worth waiting for her to figure it out.
    Then I gave her smoky eyes, and to minimize her droopy eyelids, I added a bit of deeper brown on the saggy parts. Next I added some frosty white under her brows. If you’re careful not to overdo it, just a bit of frosted eye shadow there can really open up your eyes and make you look younger. I added some subtle false eyelashes and lots of Maybelline Intense XXL mascara in brownish black. I finished her off with Red Hot Mama lips.
    “Give some extra money to the girl,” the mother of the bride said when the father walked in again. He reached into his pocket and handed me some pretty big bills, so I decided not to be too insulted.
    My work here was done. Often the photographer showed up to stage some fully made-up shots of the wedding party pretending to get ready, but at least I’d been spared that one today. They must have decided to meet the photographer at the wedding. I started packing up my case. The matron of honor hung up her phone, then walked over and looked out the window. She whispered something to her father and blew a kiss in the direction of the wild little kids.
    The bride picked up Precious and tucked her under one arm. One of the bridesmaids offered her the bottle of wine.
    She grabbed it with her free hand and took another long gulp.
    The bride’s mother smiled at herself in the mirror over the bed and started heading for the door, and the bridesmaids followed.
    The father of the bride reached into his pocket and pulled out his wad of bills again. He peeled off some good ones and handed them to me.

    Summer Blowout
    45
    It sounded like he said, “The babysitter will be here in a minute.” But it also might have been, “The lady slipper will steer in a cynic.”
    Either way, before I knew what hit me, the wild little kids and I were alone.

    • 7 •
    “CALL SOCIAL SERVICES,” MY MOTHER SAID. “WAIT, I’ll get you the number for the Child-at-Risk Hotline.” I’d gone into the bedroom to make the phone call to my mother. I stuck my head back into the living room to peek at the kids. They were kind of cute when they quieted down.
    They were both sucking their thumbs while they learned to make Simple Stovetop Mocha Pudding. Watching the chocolate melt in the double boiler was pretty mesmerizing in high definition, and it was also interesting to note that you should always turn off the heat before you stir in the vanilla. Craig’s kids had loved to cook at that age.
    “Bella,” my