Audra was still smarting from the comment when she vanished behind the employees-only door. “What a bitch,” she muttered over her shoulder at Betty and Janice. “Don’t laugh!”
“We’re not,” Betty said. “You’re right, she shouldn’t have said that.”
“I mean, it’s not like salesladies tell the two of you they don’t have anything big enough for you two to wear, is it?”
“Gee, thanks!” snapped Janice, the largest of the trio.
“And yes, sometimes they are rude about that,” added Betty, who had lost a lot of weight since college but still had large breasts that made finding the right top tricky.
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it, Janice,” Audra said. “I’m just saying, people who wouldn’t shame you for being fat don’t seem to have a problem shaming me just because my skin isn’t flawless.”
“It’s not just not flawless, Audra,” Janice said. “You do need a lot of concealer.”
“Unh!”
“She probably shouldn’t have said it, Audj, but Janice is right,” Betty said. “It’s nothing you’ve done wrong, just like I didn’t ask for these.” She looked down at the twin reminders of her past weight problems. “Your skin is a lot clearer than it used to be, too.”
“Screw you both,” Audra hissed under her breath as the cosmetologist returned from the stockroom with two new bottles of concealer.
As usual, Betty and Janice exchanged wry looks and opted to keep their mouths shut. They both looked on in silence as the older woman got back to her work on their friend’s face. It did take a lot of concealer, but soon enough she had tomboyish Audra looking about as feminine as they’d ever seen her. “Nice job,” she conceded as she assessed herself in the mirror atop the glass cabinet. “Okay, I’m sold. How much?”
“Thirty-two ninety-five per bottle plus tax,” said the woman. “How many?”
“I’ll stick with one,” Audra said. “But this one’s getting married pretty soon,” she added, pointing to Betty. “You want to buy some as well?”
“I’d recommend a different shade for your skin tone,” the woman said to Betty, whose Greek heritage showed in her darker skin. “Want to give it a try?”
“Not today, thanks,” Betty said. “The wedding isn’t until fall.”
“Congratulations, anyway!” said the woman as she rang up Audra’s purchase. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Lucky is right,” Audra chirped. “She’s way out of this guy’s league.”
Betty ignored her, as she’d had to do increasingly often lately. “A friend of ours from college,” she said. “I barely knew him back then, but we both moved here after graduation and one thing led to another.”
“He’s from here originally,” Audra added. “So am I. I remember coming here with my mother when I was little. Back then she couldn’t even get me to try lipstick.”
“We still can’t for the most part,” Janice said.
“Who asked you?” Audra muttered under her breath as she signed the credit card slip. “Anyway, that’s why I wanted to get this stuff. So I can knock the guys dead at Betty’s wedding.”
“Well, I’m sure you will!” the lady said, handing Audra the little bag with a smile Betty thought looked forced. “And congratulations,” she added to Betty.
“Thank you.”
“No offense, Betty,” Audra said as they stepped out into the mall, “But I think you should’ve let her give you a try too. I mean, what if she couldn’t get the right look for you and you need to find someplace else? Now’s the time to find out, not just before the wedding.”
“That’s one thing I’m not concerned about,” Betty said. “I’ve never been big on makeup anyway, and Rob and I want to keep it low-key.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Betty knew she’d once again opened the door for Audra to needle her about what else was low-key about her relationship with Rob. Sure enough, the barb came. “Big mistake, Bets. It’s bad enough you won’t sleep with him before the wedding, you want to get off to a bad start that night?”
“Audra! That’s none of your business!” Janice hardly ever lost her cool, but she’d been finding it happening more often all the time with Audra lately.
“I know it’s not,” Audra said. “But I know men, Betty. God only knows how desperate Rob is if he’ll put up with you not letting him in your bed all this time -”
“Audra, I haven’t been ‘not letting’ him do anything, all right?!” Betty had wanted so to keep that even from her two old friends, but enough was enough. “It’s mutual! If you must know, he’s the one who said no the first time I offered. So I haven’t tried again and he hasn’t brought it up either. But it’s not a problem, and we love each other, all right?”
“He said no to you?” Audra looked aghast. “And you want to marry him?”
“Haven’t you ever said no to a guy, Audra?” Janice asked, while Betty opted to ignore the question.
“That’s different and you know it!” Audra replied. “My mom told me all about it the summer I got my period, she wanted to make sure I got it right away. It’s our only power in this world and we should never take it for granted. We’ve got something they want.”
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud, Audra!” Janice shook her head. “Betty, I think it’s great that you’re respecting each other’s wishes.”
“Thank you,” Betty said, passing over in silence that it was not her wish at all.
“If I offered a guy my virginity and he said no, he’d never darken my door again,” Audra said.
Betty pretended to be reading a sale poster on the other side of the mall rather than respond to her friend’s nonsense.
“It’s called mutual respect, Audra,” Janice said. “It’s what a healthy relationship is built on.”
“That’s what Rob tells you now,” Audra warned. “But I know men. Like my mom always said, if you want to keep him, you’d best let him know he can’t take your charms for granted.”
“Your twice-divorced mom?” Betty couldn’t help herself.
“Ouch, Betty, that’s out of line!” Janice always aimed to be the diplomatic one, but privately she didn’t blame Betty.
“Oh, I’m used to it,” Audra told her. Then she turned back to Betty. “Look, it’s not my mom’s fault Rick, and my dad before him, couldn’t appreciate what a woman is entitled to. And I’m warning you – again – neither can Rob, my dear.”
“Audra, come on,” Janice said. “You’re not the one marrying Rob, you don’t have to like him.”
“But I would like to know why you don’t,” Betty said. “Ever since the first time I went out with him, it’s nothing but oh, gee, Betty, you can do better than him! And I don’t even remember ever seeing you two together back on campus, all four years.”
“Three,” Audra reminded her; Rob was a year older than they. “And that’s just it. Remember, we grew up together. One year ahead of me at school, and I don’t even hold it against him for wanting nothing to do with me back when we were kids. I was the same way with the brats behind me, after all. But by college, there he was, the only person on our whole freakin’ campus I already knew the day I got there, and he wouldn’t even say two words to me. The man wouldn’t let stupid kid stuff die even then!”
“He was never like that with me,” Janice said. “I remember him smiling at me when we passed in the hall before we even really knew each other.”