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And so she walked into the spa with her head held high.
Blushing, but her head high.
‘Ah, yes.’ The receptionist didn’t really smile when Naomi gave her name. ‘Jobe asked that we squeeze you in. Come this way.’
It was impossible to relax as she sat down in the chair and was eyed up by the colourist and the skin technician.
Together they looked at her hair, her nails, her bone structure. The only thing they didn’t do was pull back her gums and check her teeth.
‘So, you’re one of the nurses?’ the skin technician said, and made her a charity case straight away. ‘Jobe is so-o-o generous.’
‘Actually, no, I’m...’ Naomi chose not admit to being the nanny. ‘I’m a friend of the family.’
Ms Skin Technician did not raise her eyebrows, Naomi wasn’t sure she’d be able to, but her glance to her colleague said it all.
‘And do you have a date tonight?’ the colourist asked.
‘I do,’ Naomi said. ‘Abe.’ There was a not-so-tiny pause and Naomi found out she wasn’t such a nice person after all as she suppressed a self-satisfied smile, and just for a moment she lived the dream.
‘Abe Devereux?’ they both simultaneously checked.
‘Yes.’ Naomi nodded. ‘Abe’s taking me to the ball tonight.’
Nowthey got out their wands because, at the dropping of his name Naomi went from squeezed-in charity case to seriously spoiled.
First oil was placed in her hair and she was sent to relax in a small pool with an eye mask on.
Then another pool.
And then she was massaged from head to toe with rough salt and after their that she was rinsed off and then pummelled and plucked and trimmed in places even Abe, despite their tryst on the couch, had never seen.
It was, though, the best gift she’d ever been given and despite feeling so shy at first, it turned out to be an amazing day.
As she lay having her shoulders rubbed, there was an oil they used that was so utterly fresh and relaxing she asked if she could buy some.
There was actually a very exclusive gift shop and, wrapped in a dark robe, waiting to be made up, Naomi browsed, deciding to purchase a bottle of the oil and a vaporiser.
For Jobe.
For Barb she got the biggest bottle of bath oil and some scented candles and at the last minute she added a pretty tin of extraordinarily expensive mints to her pile.
‘They’ll fit nicely in my purse,’ Naomi said to the sales assistant.
But, yes, it was in case he kissed her.
‘Tell us about your dress,’ she was asked as she moved to the final chair.
‘It’s black,’ Naomi said, because it was the only one she had.
‘By whom?’
And she would not admit to having bought it online so she fudged instead and gave the name of a designer she knew Merida had worn.
‘What look are you aiming for tonight, Naomi?’
And she looked in the mirror and didn’t know how to answer that for a moment.
She didn’t know how to be beautiful and she didn’t think she could ever look as if she belonged.
