Gladys’s mouth gaped open. ‘But, Minnie…’
‘And I’m so sorry to be blunt, but I really do need to get on. It’s Hogmanay and I’ve got to get myself dolled up because I’ve got a party to go to.’
6 P.M. – 8 P.M.
21
AILISH
Roxy had turned Ailish away from the mirror, while she blow-dried her hair, and Kaz, one of the salon’s make-up artists got to work on her face. At the next chair, Alexis, who was, it turned out, skilled in both hair and beauty, was now applying Gwen’s foundation, while Rhonda was doing her own make-up because she said she was too much of a control freak to delegate.
The last hour had been utterly blissful, as the foils had come out and her hair had been rinsed and cut, all the while sipping on a cocktail and reminiscing about a hundred different wonderful times they’d had since the first day they’d walked into high school. Or rather, in Rhonda’s case, danced in – she was the only one whose parents could afford a Walkman and she’d worn it everywhere for the entire duration of the eighties.
Ailish still had huge reservations about going to Gino’s, but she’d blocked them out of her mind for the time being. Right now, she was sticking with all those corny modern-day sayings that she usually mocked. Focus on the present. Don’t worry about what you can’t control. Live in the moment. Live, laugh, love. And drink cocktails with your pals. That last one she’d made up herself and it was her favourite.
The salon was completely closed now, with all the other clients gone, and the only staff remaining were the ones who were working on the VIP guests. The luxury of that wasn’t passing Ailish by because she’d never been a VIP anything. That was probably why – despite Rhonda’s million attempts to give her a make-over – she’d had the same hairstyle for thirty years and it had taken a good fifteen minutes with tweezers and wax for Kaz to de-bulk her eyebrow forestry situation.
‘Good thing is, heavy brows are in right now, so you’re bang on trend. Just need a bit of tidying up,’ she’d told her. Ailish realised she was just trying to make her feel better, but she was grateful for it. Even when she’d been facing the mirror, she’d avoided looking at her reflection, because what was the point? The whole ‘high-maintenance grooming’ thing just wasn’t for her. Although, she could definitely see the merits of making it an occasional treat, especially in this company.
Gwen already looked completely transformed from the exhausted, worried friend that they’d been visiting in hospital for the last two weeks. Her short, silver grey hair was stunning, her eyes were bright and she had that enthusiasm in her voice that had been swallowed up by fear, pain and struggle for a long time now. Ailish would have been happy just to sit here and appreciate the boost to her pal, but there was no denying that getting a bit of pampering herself was an extra bonus. Roxy was now twirling Ailish’s hair around an implement that she didn’t even recognise. Apparently, it was going to give her ‘beach waves’, despite the fact that it was minus two degrees outside, and her typical beach look had always been ‘pulled back in a ponytail, slightly sweaty and smelling of SPF 50’.
‘So, tell me then, what are your New Year’s resolutions?’ Rhonda asked. ‘I’ll go first. I’m going to live every single day on my own terms, do whatever the hell I please and look into getting a Brazilian butt lift.’
‘Is that not just a normal Monday for you? And a Tuesday. And a Wednesday…’ Ailish teased her.
‘Exactly. That’s the point. I honestly don’t think I want to change anything.’
Ailish noticed a flicker of a shadow go across Gwen’s expression as she contemplated that. ‘You okay, Gwen?’
Her friend nodded, causing Alexis to yelp, as she was in the process of drawing on Gwen’s eyeliner flicks with intense precision.
‘Shit, sorry,’ Gwen cringed. ‘Do I look like a goth with eyeliner out to my ear now? Only that was my gig for half of the eighties, so I know I can rock it.’
Alexis was already correcting the blip with a cotton bud. ‘Nope, I can salvage it. I’ve got talents in this department. I once did my pal’s eyeliner when we were driving in the back of a transit van. It’s a long story.’
‘Were you being kidnapped?’ Ailish asked, intrigued.
‘Nope, going to a party. Our car had broken down and a pal who’s a plumber picked us up. There were ten of us in there.’
Ailish was dying to hear more, but first, she wanted to find out what had perturbed Gwen. Was she starting to feel unwell? Too exhausted to do this? Having second thoughts about going out?
‘Gwen? Sure you’re okay?’
‘I am. I’m just…’ She cleared her throat. Took a moment. Then spoke with sad, but determined clarity. ‘I’m just thinking about that whole New Year’s resolution thing. You know, I always used to buy into that. Lose ten pounds. Start doing Pilates. Declutter the junk drawer in the kitchen. But if you asked me over the last year, I’d have said I was happy just to go for staying alive. That was it. None of the other stuff mattered. But now…’
She paused again, and everyone in the room was hanging on her every word, conscious and grateful that all their trivial, bullshit worries had just been put in perspective.
‘Now I think I’d like to do more than that. I don’t just want tobealive, I want tofeelalive too. I want to make plans. Prioritise the right things. I’ve dedicated so much to my career for so long that now I think I want to dedicate myself to me. To my friends. To living life. And… I feel so corny for saying this out loud, but I want to love again. Real love. The kind that sets your knickers alight and makes your heart race. I want that.’
Silence. Not a single sound. All of them were still, pensive, moved, heartsore for second, after second, after second, after…
‘Well, that blows my Brazilian butt lift out of the water then, doesn’t it?’ Rhonda said, with a dramatic sigh.
Meanwhile, right next to Ailish’s face, Kaz began wailing, ‘Oh no, oh no, no, no. no… Roxy, help me out here – you get the other side.’
It was only when both women began frantically dabbing Ailish’s cheeks with sponges that Ailish realised tears were streaming down them.
‘Ailish, doll, I think I’ve seen you cry more today than I have in the last forty years,’ Gwen said, gently cajoling her.
