I obey. I see him out of the corner of my eye staring at my face, blinking away the emotion.
“You were right to bring her to me, Whitney,” he says, finally, with a sigh. “She is the perfect raw material.”
“Have I ever let you down?” Whitney asks. She waves to me, then leaves the room and shuts the door behind her.
“Have a seat.” Lawrence motions toward the beauty-shop chair in the middle of the room, and I sit down carefully. He immediately drops down on one knee in front of me, one hand on either side of the chair. I lean back away from him as far as possible.
“Those green eyes are so expressive,” he says, after a moment of silent staring. I blink back at him uncomfortably and wish I were anywhere else but here. He continues, “I can tell you are bigger inside than people know.”
“Now you’re big on the outside and the inside,” Skinny whispers.
“Being called big isn’t exactly a compliment,” I say.
He surprises me with a deep laugh that seems to come out of nowhere. “Trust me, honey. It’s so much better than being small on the inside.” He winks at me. “I spent a lot of time with small-minded people when I was growing up. Being a hair stylist isn’t always considered the most manly of jobs in this neck of the woods. But a hairstylist is all I ever wanted to be. People looked right through me. Never saw me.”
I glance down at the thick muscles of his biceps. “I can’t imagine anyone would ever look past you,” I say.
“You learn to trust your insides and it gets better,” he says, standing up quickly and twirling my chair around. “Much better.”
“How do you know,” I ask, “that people have something big on the inside?”
“It’s a gift.” Lawrence snaps the cape behind my neck and pats me once on the shoulder. “I recognize people hiding inside themselves. I see it and I help others see it, too.”
I take a deep breath.
“Then let’s do it,” I say quietly, and I’m rewarded with another huge laugh from Lawrence.
It’s almost an hour later when Lawrence spins the chair back around to face him. I still haven’t seen a mirror and have no idea what the results are of all the cutting and spraying and clipping and blow-drying. He doesn’t speak. He only stares down at me in silence, his expression narrowed, and I can’t tell if it is bad or good. Finally, he nods solemnly.
“It’s done,” he says.
I don’t know what I’m supposed to say, so I don’t say anything.
Suddenly he starts yelling over his shoulder and I almost jump out of the chair. “Come in here!” He stalks over to the wooden doors and throws them open with a flourish, calling out down the hallway. “Whitney!”
I see her walking down the hall toward us with two chocolates in her hand, still chewing. She stops just inside the door and stares at me.
Her mouth falls open. “Wow,” she says.
“I know, right?” he says.
“You’ve outdone yourself,” she says to Lawrence, then to me, “Have you seen yourself?”
I shake my head.
“Get the mirror,” Lawrence shouts out, and Joy comes running down the hall with a tiny handheld mirror.
I’m afraid to look, but they both stand waiting for my reaction. Hesitantly, I peer at the reflection. I have to admit it, I like what I see. I look different and, after every thing I’ve been through, different feels good. A faint, wistful smile slowly lights the face of the girl in the reflection. Long-buried hope starts to stir. Terrified, I push it back down. I quickly hand the mirror back to Lawrence. If I don’t stare too long, I can almost ignore the something sad that shifts darkly just behind those green eyes.
“You’re still fat and ugly. Ugly. Ugly,” Skinny’s voice echoes in my ear.
Chapter Seventeen
Love the new haircut.” Chance Lehmann runs to catch up with me after algebra. “The layers and bangs make those green eyes of yours sparkle.”
“It was Whitney’s idea.” I smile at him. “We drove all the way down to Houston this weekend to meet with a stylist she knows at the Galleria.”
“I knew it wasn’t anyone in this town. Wow. Just wow.” He picks up a handful of my brown hair in one hand. “I wish my hair was this thick and straight. Gorgeous.”
I laugh. “And this is the part you’re going to like the most.”
I hold out my hands, palms down.
“Jammin’ Jelly!” He grabs my hands in his, leaning down to take a closer look at the newly polished nails. “My favorite!”
I spread my fingers wide and fan my face. “Thanks.” I grin at him.