“Now, for the finishing touches,” the stylist said, turning the chair around to face away from the mirror. He began applying makeup to her face.
Right as he was finishing, Callie looked up at the clock on the wall and noticed she had been in the salon for four and a half hours.
“You ready to see the final look?” His voice was practically beaming with pride.
She nodded her head slowly, excited to see the end result. As he turned the chair around to face the mirror, all of the technicians who had helped her during the day gathered around, giving Callie a celebratory clap.
She hardly recognized the woman staring back at her. Her hair was smooth and shiny. The cut framed her face, making it look longer and leaner. The highlights also made her skin seem brighter and more awake. Her face was flawless and contoured.
She looked beautiful. “Thank you guys so much,” she said, running her meticulously painted fingers through her soft hair.
“You’re stunning,” the stylist said, holding his hands over his heart. “Simply stunning.”
She bit her lip and smiled, looking back in the mirror at herself. She had never felt sexier in her life. Callie couldn’t wait to see Wynn’s reaction.
After she paid at the front counter, the stylist slipped her a piece of paper with a list of all the makeup products he used. “Run, don’t walk, to the nearest Sephora,” he said, giving her a double cheek kiss. “Cinderella can turn back into a pumpkin any moment, hon.”
With the card tucked safely in her bag, Callie walked out of the salon onto the bustling streets of the French Quarter. And for the first time in her life, she felt beautiful.
CHAPTER 15 Hanna
After a quick stop at the Lululemon store, Hanna swung her red bag filled with six hundred forty dollars’ worth of athleisure wear over her shoulder and continued walking through the mall.
Besides having the proper attire for the PTA meetings, maybe she’d actually start working out again. Before they had kids, she and Tom would go for runs together around the neighborhood. She missed those days where they’d get all hot and sweaty and then shower off together. Their new bathroom with the sexy pulsating rain showerheads would be perfect for that. She got tingly just thinking about it.
Her mom and Lexi waited for her at a table in the food court. Remnants of chicken fingers and crinkle fries were scattered in open containers in front of them. “No fancy brunch with Martin?” Hanna asked, pointing to the fast-food bags on the table. “How was it?”
“He’s just perfect,” Lexi gushed, wadding up her paper napkin. “He agreed to do the wedding!”
“That’s great!” Hanna put her hand on her mom’s shoulder. “What’d you think of him?” she asked Lynn.
Her mom placed her hands in her lap and let out a small chuckle. “He’s a hoot—that’s all I gotta say about that.” But then she added, “He’ll be fun to work with… I think.”
Hanna smiled, noting her mom and sister’s overwhelmed looks. “Anyone up for a non-wedding activity really quick?” she asked, changing the subject. She was happy they had called to meet up since she needed help and Callie was off doing her own secret thing.
The movers had dumped all of their crappy furniture into the new house yesterday, and it was apparent she needed new pieces—not just to replace the old stuff, but because the new place was a couple of thousand square feet bigger than the old one.
Hanna led her mom and sister into Pottery Barn, immediately hit with the scent of warm wood and old leather as they walked into the store. She had always pored over the catalogs, but could never afford anything in them. Today, things were different.
The three of them walked across the scraped wooden floors covered in thick wool rugs, and Hanna ran her hand across a rack of some of the softest blankets she’d ever touched. She made her way over to a dark leather L-shaped sofa in the showroom and sat down, melting into the cushions while leaning against the high back. It was so comfortable. “What do you think about this for the living room?” She looked at the rest of the setup. A round light wood coffee table sat in the middle of a large red Persian-style rug. Matching nesting tables sat on one end of the sofa, and a wooden industrial-style bookcase stood behind it.
“Love it!” Lynn said. “The couch would definitely handle the kids well.”
She touched the chunky ivory throw blanket draped casually on the sofa, wondering how the furniture would look in her own space. Showrooms and catalogs always made things look so picture-perfect, but it never felt the same when you got it home. She supposed she just didn’t have the designer touch to make all the pieces feel cohesive like it was right now. Staring at the furniture around her, she contemplated it for a second more. Ah, what the hell…
“I think I’m gonna get it,” she announced.
“The couch?” Lexi asked.
“No… all of it,” she said with a smirk. Her stomach fluttered being able to say that, not caring about the cost. Times had truly changed.
They continued through each of the showrooms. They all fell in love with the dining room setup that had an extended rustic table with gray upholstered tufted chairs. And when she saw the room furnished with a dark sofa, neutral rug, and photographer’s spotlight lamp, she giddily announced, “This would be perfect for the library!” The bedroom area looked so cozy, too. She wanted it all—the wooden sleigh bed… the Belgian linen duvet… even the decorative pillow with the word “Snuggle” embroidered on it.
A man approached them. “Can I help you ladies with anything?” He rocked back and forth on his brown leather dress shoes.
“Yeah, actually…” She bit her lip. “I have a whole house to furnish, and I need everything, like, yesterday.”
His eyes lit up.
She took him around to each of the spaces she liked. “I want everything in these rooms.”
He chuckled at first when she said that, then must have realized she was serious when she didn’t tell him she was joking. “Definitely,” he said.
After spending half an hour adding up all the pieces she wanted, the total came to over twenty-seven thousand dollars. Hanna giggled to herself at the thought that she furnished almost an entire house for around the same amount of money as Lexi spent on one dress.
Priorities.
The other customers were starting to whisper and stare after hearing the total charge said out loud. She wondered if this was how celebrities felt when they went shopping.
“It was my pleasure helping you today, Mrs. Peck,” the man said, handing her the receipt. She wondered if he’d get an award, maybe Employee of the Month recognition for how much he sold in an hour. It had to be some kind of record.
“Thanks so much.” She gave him her warmest smile and swung her purse and Lululemon bag over her shoulder as they headed back into the mall.
“That was awesome,” Lexi said, clapping her hands. “Now, what to do with the rest of the day…?”
Hanna pulled out her phone to check for messages but got distracted by the lock screen. It was a photo of Drake and Lucy, taken a couple of months ago at the park. His white blond hair was practically sticking straight up because of the wind, and Lucy’s big smile revealed her missing front tooth. Hanna touched the screen, surprised at how sad she felt not being with them. It was the first time she’d ever left them overnight since they were born, and her body ached to hold them. They weren’t even with Tom today since he had to work. He was starting his first home renovation project as his own boss, and he was so excited he practically leaped out of bed in the morning to get to work. She loved seeing him so passionate. The kids were with their new nanny, an early childhood education grad student Hanna found through the Evangeline Oaks parents message board. It felt weird having a stranger watch her kids, but Tom had convinced her it would be fine. “You deserve a break,” he kept telling her. After years of wishing for kid-free time, now that she had it, all she wanted was to be with her family.