I kept the little black shoes on whilst we watched TV. I toyed with the idea of buying some… imagined myself in the shoe shop and the looks on the assistant’s faces. Would they encourage or discourage, I wondered. Would they be expensive, I mused. I took a sip of my tea and spent a brief moment looking at the imprint of lipstick on the rim of my cup. “You’d think they’d have managed to make it so it doesn’t come off… in this day and age.” I commented.
“Yes.” Mum agreed. “Although I quite like it in a way.” she said. “It reminds me what shade I’m wearing.”
“Yeah I s’pose.” I replied. “Not that I’ve any idea what shade it is.” I said as I observed the curious pink imprint on the rim of my cup.
“I’d call it fuchsia.” Mum replied, “But it think it’s actually ‘candy coral’ or something.” she added, before asking if I liked it.
“I don’t know.” I replied.
Mum smiled at me. She asked me if I had any plans for tomorrow and I told her that I hadn’t. “Well, if you fancy, you could help me in the office again.” she suggested. “I’ve got to get my head down and find some new clients sooner rather than later, and having you man the phone would be great help.” she said. I chuckled through pursed lips. “What?” Mum asked.
“Oh nothing.” I said. “Just… ‘man’ the phone sounds a bit… ironic maybe.”
“You don’t have to dress that part if you’d rather not.” Mum replied. “Your old school pants and shirt would do.” she said. “That’s only if you want to.”
“OK.” I replied. “Was you serious about giving me working for you full-time before?”
Mum nodded. “Yes… although it was only part-time… to fit around your college course.” she reminded me. “Are you considering it?”
“Hmm… I am… but I’ll sleep on it if that’s OK.” I replied. Although the white wine spritzers I’d been given were mostly soda water, the little alcohol I’d drunk had gone to my head a little. The mere mention if sleep made me feel sleepy, so I decided to take myself off to bed. “Any special instruction for getting this off?” I asked, gesturing in the general direction of my face.
“There’s some make-up wipes on the bathroom windowsill.” Mum replied. “Just plenty of those and plenty of soap and water.” she said. “…and then you’d best moisturise.” she added. “There’s some E45 cream in the cabinet.”
“It’s a good job I asked.” I smiled. “See you in the morning.”
“Yeah night night Love… and thanks for today… you’ve been a real trooper.”
I looked down at myself; a white blouse over a pink bra, a black skirt over pink and… “Oh I’d better give you these back.” I said, realising that I still had her little black ballet pumps on. I kicked hem off and put back beneath the coffee table.
“Thanks Love.” Mum grinned.
I had a long hard look at myself in the bathroom mirror before I began removing the make-up I’d worn for much of the day. “Make-up’s weird.” I thought as I over analysed it. Even I know it’s not ‘heavy’, but even a touch of eye liner and eye shadow has a drastic affect. Using one of the make-up wipes, I cleaned one eye completely before comparing them. I grinned as now it just looks completely odd, like one eye is bigger or deeper than the other. I clean the other before removing my lipstick. Then I lather and rinse a number of times until I’m satisfied that I’m back to my old self again… almost. I recalled what the lady in the salon told me to do every night, and soaked a cotton bud in warm water before gently cleaning my earlobes and the ‘sleeper’ earrings that adorn them. Initially the idea was that I just take them out and let them heal but… I can do that in a few days if I don’t like having them.
I went to my room and undressed. I’d become more than accustomed to wearing a skirt and blouse today, but I’m certainly not accustomed to wearing only my underwear. I struggle to remove the bra properly and end up pulling my arms out of the straps, dropping and twisting it and unfastening it as I would a belt. Finally I peeled off the restrictive control knickers. Like my bra, they’d left a vivid imprint in my skin, but it was my skin itself that held my attention. Apart from a small patch down there, it’s completely smooth and entirely hairless. Sliding into bed is an understatement. I yawned and stretched and relished the fact that I was finally horizontal and finally naked… and being mostly hairless, I feel more naked now than I can ever remember.
I considered Mum’s part-time job offer and was in two minds about it. One of my reasons for wanting a part-time job when I’m at college is so I could meet people from outside of the student scene. There’s not much chance of that in my mother’s home office… although it’s probably a better job than stacking shelves or whatever else I could get. I drift off to sleep trying to weigh up the pros and cons, but mostly I’m enjoying my new hair-free body… it’s so silky and smooth and ZZZZzzzz.