“Are they uncomfortable?”
“They feel okay for the first couple of hours, but I can’t wear it for more than eight hours or I’ll have a legendary headache. But it also depends on how heavy the wig is. This is a heavier one because of its length. The wig is the last thing I put on before I leave for a job." Helen combed it before she put it away in its bag. “Next thing to come off is all this jewelry,” Helen said as she started stripping her ears of their dangling earrings. “None of this stuff belongs to me,” Helen explained.
“Whose are they?” Mark asked.
“My cousin Mindy’s. She’s the one who got me into escorting. She owns a lot of clothes, a lot of jewelry, and a lot of makeup. She could probably start her own agency just on her personal stash. The wig is borrowed from the escort service though. Mindy has beautiful hair and would never degrade herself by wearing a wig. She’s more like the real-meal-deal whereas I’m just a substitute for when she’s got too many clients.”
“I didn’t realize you thought of yourself that way. You might be prettier than she is,” Mark commented.
“I might be, but I think that depends on what you think is beautiful. So, once I’ve got all that crap off me, then it's time for the false eyelashes to come off,” she said, getting enthusiastic.
“You wear fake eyelashes!” Mark exclaimed.
“Yup. Not only am I sort of fair; I don’t have dark eyelashes, but mine aren’t very long, so fake eyelashes are an absolute must." She looked extremely different once they were removed.
Helen couldn’t stand to look at Mark during that phase of her transformation. It was too much. No woman likes to be wiped completely clean of all makeup in front of the guy she likes. Besides, even Helen wore eyeliner and mascara on a regular basis. Without those, her face was all the same color.
She reached into her hair and pulled out the pins. She shook her hair out and said quietly, “Now there are only the clothes left. Oh, and these,” she said, reaching into her shirt and pulling her inserts out of her bra. It would be a meaningless exercise if she didn’t go all the way. She dropped them on the floor between them and was aware her shirt was considerably looser.
She couldn’t look at Mark. It was just too hard.
“I’m going to go change my clothes now,” she said, getting up and grabbing her bag. She disappeared around the corner and found the bathroom. She closed the door behind her noisily and tried to slow her pounding heart. What had she just done? What Mark said in the car made so much sense, so why was she panicking at the finish line? Well, once she came out, she was certain he wouldn’t be confused anymore about whether or not he was attracted to her. That would be the end of it, but she might still be able to salvage their work relationship.
Helen reached into her bag and pulled out the clothes she decided would represent what she normally wore. As Vera, she was wearing a black off-the-shoulder top and a brown corduroy skirt. She brought baby blue capris and a white fitted t-shirt. It was plain and ordinary and exactly her style.
She looked in the mirror. Her hair was horribly flat. Well, there was no reason why Helen couldn’t be pretty after her own fashion. She started the water running in the tub and put her head under the stream. At least she could easily give her hair volume when it was short. She towel-dried her hair and then rooted around in Mark’s medicine cabinet until she found his gel. Sure, she’d smell like him, but it was better than letting her hair dry without any product in it at all. When she was finished, it wasn’t so bad. It was just herself and she didn’t think she was ugly.
She clicked open the door and came out into the hall. Mark was in the kitchen. He was cutting up vegetables on a glass cutting board.
“Can I help?” she asked, coming into the room. Mark turned and looked at her.
Helen wasn’t sure how to read his expression. Was he disappointed in her and trying really hard to hide it? What was he thinking? “So, what do you think?” she got up the nerve to ask.
He smiled and then he started to laugh. “You know, this isn’t what I expected at all.”
“What do you mean? How could you not expect this?” Helen asked, indicating her appearance. “This is how I look every day at work.”
“That’s not what I mean. When I said that I wanted to see you change from ‘Vera’ to ‘Helen’ I was honestly expecting was for you to stand in front of your bedroom door, curtsy, go inside and come out again looking exactly like you normally do. But then when you said that you wanted to do it over at my place, I was really confused. From what you said, it almost seemed like you were going to try to seduce me, but what you had in mind was… different. I never expected you to practically throw your bra stuffing at me,” he laughed.
“How is that funny?” she scowled.
“It’s extremely funny. I don’t have any sisters. I didn’t see a crowd of teenage girls first thing in the morning after a slumber party. My mother is a very pretty lady who doesn’t think it’s her son’s business to know anything about her morning routine. And to top it off, most of the girls I’ve been friends with would have died of embarrassment if I had seen them without their makeup. What you just showed me was… really eye- opening for me. I had no idea makeup did that much. Now I’m suspicious everyone looks completely different without it.”
“So, you’re not horrified?” she asked.
“No. I’m not horrified. I’m hopelessly intrigued that you manage to pull it off because you’re right. You do seem to have a different attitude when you’re ‘Vera.' Come here and cut up the cabbage,” he said, giving her a knife.
They shared the same cutting board. He cut up the onion while she cut up the cabbage.
“So, which one of us do you like better?” she asked nervously.
“Well, my apologies to Vera, but she’s too cool to be real. You’re perfect when you play her. Honestly, men drool over you from across the room. There’s yet another reason for me to kiss you without breaking on New Year’s Eve. Do you think I wanted every guy there trying to score a little time with you? No, ma’am.”
“That’s thoughtful of you,” Helen said, blushing.
“I’m very thoughtful,” he said, jabbing her playfully with his elbow. “But, I don’t know if a person could really be as fabulous as Vera in real life. Something about it doesn’t ring true; like a part of your personality is missing. You do an excellent job, but you turn yourself into a dream for a guy, like an actress or a poster girl. I guess that’s why Dominic is trying to make you a model.”