As Alice worked on the second ponytail, Cally's inner monologue attempted to taunt her. She was determined not to let it win.
‘I reckon it's all smoke and mirrors, really.’
Cally latched onto Alice’s words. ‘Really? How so?’
Alice grinned. ‘Well, take this style we're doing. It looks all intricate and fancy, right? But it's really just three ponytails arranged cleverly. The hat does half the work, hiding any little imperfections.’
Cally nodded, hoping to high heaven that Alice was correct.
‘Right, no drama there. Now for the big low bun, which is going to be the base for everything else.’
As Alice began fiddling with hair at the nape of Cally’s neck, Cally's mind wandered again. She tried not to but couldn’t stop thinking that she was going to somehow make a fool of herself by using the wrong fork or saying something stupid. She was well aware that everyone else in attendance would probably have grown up around it and would know precisely what to do. On top of that, there was the marriage situation. In an odd way, she now felt a spot of guilt that she knew and Logan didn’t know that she did. The whole thing had got away with itself. As usual, she should have taken Eloise’s advice, plumped for the truth and confronted him right away.
Alice appeared to pick up on Cally’s mood. ‘Nervous about the day?’
Cally forced a laugh. ‘Is it that obvious? I’m trying not to be, but I've never been to anything like this before. I'm worried I'll stick out like a sore thumb.’
Alice met Cally's eyes in the mirror in front of them. ‘I reckon the secret is to act like you belong there. Fake it ‘til you make it, don’t they say?’
Cally watched in the mirror as Alice began to secure the bun with what seemed like an endless supply of bobby pins. ‘Yeah, I’m going to run with that.’
Alice stuck in a few more clips and started to spray the back of Cally’s hair back and forth with an industrial-sized can of hairspray. ‘I'll let you in on a little secret. Half the fancy hairdos you see? They're held together with enough hairspray to be considered a fire hazard.’
‘Really?’
Alice nodded. ‘By the end of the day, my sister could have used her hair as a helmet.’
As Alice continued to work, chatting away about everything from the weather to the preparation for the Chowder Festival to the latest gossip from the deli, Cally found herself relaxing slightly. The constant motion of Alice's hands in her hair was almost hypnotic, and she started to feel a bit more optimistic about the day ahead. She wasn’t even going to think about Logan’s marriage. She’d get through the day and deal with that afterwards.
‘Right. That's the basic structure done. Now for the fancy bits and you’re good to go.’
Cally watched, fascinated, as Alice began to manipulate the side ponytails, looping them over the central bun in a way that looked far more complicated than it actually was.
‘See? Looks dead impressive, doesn't it? But it's really just clever positioning.’
As Alice worked, Cally's thoughts drifted back to Logan and how, right after she’d got through the races, she was going to confront him about the marriage certificate. Her mind flicked back and forth. Every time she’d thought about him since the discovery, she’d felt a furious mix of anger and sadness and utter indecision about what to do.
Alice broke her thoughts. ‘Okay. Almost done. Just need to get this last hair net on.’
Cally watched as Alice carefully positioned the very fine hair net over the elaborate bun. It was nearly invisible, but Alice assured her it would keep everything in place.
‘Time to make sure this masterpiece stays put. Close your eyes and hold your breath!’
Cally did as instructed, listening to the prolonged hiss of the hairspray can. She could feel the fine mist settling on her hair and face and fought the urge to sneeze.
‘That should hold through anything short of a hurricane. You could probably go skydiving and that hat will stay put when you put it on.’
Cally laughed, opening her eyes. ‘Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I think I'll stick to watching the horses.’
‘Now for the pièce de résistance,’ Alice said with a flourish, picking up the hat.
Cally nodded as Alice carefully positioned the hat, angling it slightly as she'd seen in the pictures Cally had shown her. Cally turned to the mirror, her eyes widening in surprise. The woman looking back at her was… Well, she was still Cally, but a version of Cally she'd never seen before. The elegant updo, combined with the carefully applied makeup and the stunning hat, created an image that took her breath away.
She turned her head slightly to see the hairstyle from different angles. ‘I can't believe that's me.’
Alice beamed. ‘Told you it would look amazing. You're going to fit right in, our Cally. They won't know what hit them.’
As Cally continued to stare at her reflection, her doubts began to fade. Maybe she could do it after all. Maybe, just for one sweet day, she could step into the world of high society and hold her own. She certainly looked the part, so that was a start.
