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“It’s when one’s makeup is expertly done,” Alex supplied, her eyes still closed. “Mack thinks it’s one step below a felony to go to an event with bad makeup.”
“Because it is,” Mack said, putting down the brush and foundation to pick up another, smaller brush and a large pallet of colors. “We get very few opportunities to dress up. Or rather, you do, Alex. Not that you need it—your skin is flawless, and you have the longest, thickest eyelashes I’ve seen outside of Nathan—but still. Going to parties is supposed to be different from everyday life. Why not enjoy it?”
They went back and forth on this, with Alex taking the position that she didn’t need a fully done face of makeup, and Mack countering that it shouldn’t be a need but a want, when I interjected with what I thought was a compromise: women can want to dress up and put makeup on without it being a step back for womankind,andwomen can go out without a full face of makeup and still be considered appropriately dressed. They each seemed to be pleased with the conclusion, with Mack enthusiastically exclaiming about my wisdom and Alex nodding her agreement.
As the argument was winding down, Mack finished with the brush and eye shadow, picking up an eyeliner pencil. “So,” she said in a voice that seemed to be meant to portray casualness but didn’t really. “How’d you meet my brother, Ciara? I haven’t gotten a chance to ask you yet.”
Though I bit my lip to hide a smile, I could also feel the tension in my shoulders at the question. From the short time I’d known her, I could tell that Mack was like a dog with a bone when she was interested in a topic—she refused to let it go. Luckily, Nathan and I had worked out the general idea of our “love” story beforehand, opting to make it as close to the truth as possible.
“We met online,” I said, consciously putting my hands flat on my lap. I suspected fiddling would invite more questions. “On that new dating app, HEA? I went by the username Cinderelly, and Nathan went by Charming. He reached out first.”
“And then it was love at first sight?” Mack asked, raising an eyebrow.
I shook my head and laughed. “Oh no, not at all. In fact, when we first met in person, I wasn’t even sure Nathan liked me.”
Alex made a noise. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well…” I trailed off, regretting mentioning the part about our first meeting. Nathan and I hadn’t exclusively discussed my feelings about our first meeting and the fact that he was instantly critical of my appearance. It felt wrong, somehow, to talk about it first with his sister and Alex, two women I didn’t know that well, and certainly not as well as I knew Nathan.
Still, I had already started down the path, and I couldn’t take it back now.May as well keep going,I thought.
“Nathan had a…less than enthusiastic response to me when we met in person,” I explained. I shrugged. “I don’t think he liked my outfit.”
Mack made a sound as if she was offended for me. Then, her mouth tightened. “I’mma kill him,” she declared. “How dare he comment on your appearance?”
“Like you just did about mine?” Alex said, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s different,” Mack insisted. “Men should not comment on women’s appearances. They don’t know half of what we go through on adaily basisto operate in this world. And that’s not just talking about looks.”
“To be fair, he didn’t say anything to me,” I added quickly. “It seemed like an instinctual reaction.”
“Even worse!” Mack exclaimed. “So he’sthinkingthe thoughts. They’reingrained.”
I grimaced. “I mean, I guess.”
Mack huffed, returning to her task. She frowned as she concentrated on Alex’s face. “Okay, so not love at first sight. But you two decided to date anyway?”
I smiled, glad to be back on track and away from a potentially contentious conversation. “Yes. We bonded over our mutual love of music.”
Mack shook her head. “Please don’t say you love Tupac and Biggie.Please.”
Now it was my turn to be offended. “What’s wrong with Tupac and Biggie?” I demanded.
“Nothing’s wrong withthem,” she said, stepping away from Alex and rolling her eyes. “It’s the people who are stuck in the 90s that are the problem. My brother isthe most nostalgicmillennial I’ve ever met. Did you know he still has a Tamagotchi?”
“What’s a Tamagotchi?” I asked.
“Exactly!” Mack threw her hands in the air for the second time that evening. “It’s like bro, leave the past in the past. Nobody cares about how much you miss Snick Snack and Rocko’s Modern Life. There are better cartoons now, if that’s your jam, or hell, maybestop watching cartoons.”
I laughed. “You’re very passionate about this,” I noted.
Mack brought her fingers to her forehead, scrunching them. “Only because I have this debate with Nathan every time we go on a road trip or vacation and he brings that stupid fricken Tamagotchi with him.”
She looked at me, shaking her head once more before saying, “Moving on, though. So you two bonded over music, and thenthat’swhen you fell in love?”
I tilted my head from side to side. “Pretty much.”
“Hmm.” Mack’s tone indicated that either she was suspicious or, at the very least, had more questions, but she didn’t say anything to that effect. Instead, she muttered, “Can’t believe he didn’t tell me about you.”
