I remember my first date. Mom fussed over my outfit and makeup and made sure my hair was curled just right.
That’s what Tinsley needs since her mother is absent. She’s craving that motherly figure in her life.
Hell, looks like I’m going to assist this time.
“He said we would go to dinner, then a movie.”
“Perfect. Do you know where dinner is?”
Her face softens, the despair from before quickly vanishing.
“He didn’t say, but I could text him and ask.”
“That’s okay. We’ll dress middle of the road, then. Let’s see what you have.”
I look through all her dresses, but they’re all fancy and not what she needs for tonight. I keep looking until I find what I need: a sage-colored dress that looks like a nun would have worn it. The neckline goes all the way up, imitating a choker. The sleeves go down to the wrists while the hemline is well to the floor.
I pull it out and turn to her. “How attached to this dress are you?”
Her eyes widen. “I’m not, but that’s a little conservative.”
“It won’t be when I’m done with it. You think one of your fancy servants has a sewing kit?”
“I can ask.” She still looks skeptical, but she goes and asks them anyway. One shows up minutes later with everything I need, including an actual sewing machine.
“Go take a shower. When you get out, I’ll do your hair and makeup.” I lay the dress on her bed, immediately taking the scissors to cut the frilly skirt.
Her gasp draws my attention back to her. “Go get in the shower. You’ll look beautiful. Trust me.”
I never thought I would be using my sewing skills for a girl who could buy the world, but honestly, it couldn’t feel better.
Twenty minutes later, she walks out of the bathroom freshly showered in a silk robe.
“How’s it going?” she asks hesitantly.
“Good. Putting in the last couple of stitches now.”
“How do you know how to do this?” She points to the sewing machine.
“My mom. She said she wanted me to know how to fend for myself. We didn’t have a lot of money, so a lot of times, I would repurpose outfits to make them new.”
“Your mom sounds pretty great. I wish my mom took the time to teach me anything. Honestly, she just leaves me with Keaton and Reed all the time. The only reason I know how to do makeup is from one of the maids and tutorials online.”
“That’s hard. I don’t understand what that feels like, but I do know what life is like without my mom, and it sucks. I’m sorry you have to deal with that.”
“It’s okay. Like I said, Reed and Keaton do their best. When I was younger, I always wished they would find a girlfriend so I would have another girl to hang out with. They made it clear that neither one would ever settle down though.”
As I finish my last stitch, I walk over and give her a hug. “No offense, but your brothers don’t have the best taste in women. You probably wouldn’t have liked whoever they picked anyways.”
She chuckles. “You’re right about that. Keaton has no standards, whereas Reed’s are impossible to meet. I doubt they’ll ever settle at this point.”
“You would be surprised. They always settle eventually.” I wink at her.
She shrugs. “I don’t need them to anymore.”
I give her a small smile, then change the subject. “Are you ready to try your new dress on?”
“Yes, I think.”
I hold the dress up for her. She gasps as she takes it in, stepping closer and running her hand along the fabric.
“It’s gorgeous.” Her smile is blinding. “I can’t believe you did this with that ugly dress. You know, my mom sent that dress to me from some European fashion show she attended. I never wore it.”
“Well, you’re going to wear it tonight. Try it on.”
She goes into her closet before returning moments later with the dress on. I’m sure it fit her perfectly as it was, but now it’s more modern. I took the choker neckline and opened it up to a swoop neckline, though I kept it modest, the fabric covering straight across her chest so no cleavage is showing. I cut the majority of the sleeves off, leaving only about three inches of fabric to curl around her upper arms. I took off some of the lacey decorations on the front, making the dress look sleeker and simpler. Finally, I hemmed it to fall right above her knees.
“You look beyond gorgeous, Tinsley. That color brings out your eyes and makes them look hypnotizing. This boy may not make it through the night because he’ll drop dead at the sight of you.”
Her blush is adorable. “You think so?”
“I know so. You’re a catch, T.”
“Thank you.” She holds back tears.
“No need to thank me for speaking the truth. Now sit down. I still have makeup and hair to do and only an hour and a half to do it.”
I start with her hair, curling it in loose beach waves that fall around her shoulders. As soon as I’m done, I douse her in hairspray, then move on to her makeup.
“You want a more natural or smoky look?” I ask her.
“What do you think?” she asks, her big green doe eyes wide.
I take a moment to simply look at her.
“I think natural. You don’t need all this makeup. But I know some girls wear it like armor. If you need armor tonight, I’ll do it, but honestly, I don’t think you need it.”
“Okay, then natural.” She tells me with a serious tone and a nod.
I look through her eyeshadow palettes and eyeliners and find what I’m looking for.
“Close your eyes,” I tell her softly.
She takes a big deep breath.
“You want to talk about it?” I ask her as I start to work on her eyelids, laying down a taupe color all over.
“Just nervous. I’ll be fine.”
I find a light brown and start doing the outside of her lid and crease, giving her a little dimension, then adding a slightly darker brown on top of it, blending it to perfection.
“You got this. It’s dinner and a movie. He should open your door, hold your hand, pay for dinner. Don’t let him get away with not doing all of it. He needs to put in the effort. Make him wait,” I tell her while grabbing the light gold glitter eyeshadow that will look perfect on the inside of her eyelid.
“You’re right. Make him wait,” she repeats with a serious tone.
“And if he’s an ass, you can always call me and I’ll deal with him,” I tell her to lighten the mood, causing her to giggle.
I get her eyelids how I want and hand her the mirror. “What do you think?” I ask.
Tinsley gasps. “I love it. But what about eyeliner?”
“Don’t worry. That’s next. Look up.” I take the mirror back and set it on the counter.
I grab both a green and black eyeliner, putting the green on the bottom inner eyelid, getting it just how I want it. Then I grab the black and add it softly just along her bottom eyelashes. I use a Q-tip to smudge it lightly, softening it a little more. I do the same to her other eye and compare the two to make sure they match, then hand her the mascara. “Your turn. I have to draw the line somewhere.” I tease.
Tinsley chuckles and leans forward, mouth opening into a perfect O as she swiftly sweeps the mascara along her eyelashes once, then twice. She takes a step back and takes a real look at herself, then sighs. “I love it.”