Page 290 of The First Taste

"Honey, I know. This is a lot. But we are just focused on your hair right now. So, let’s talk about what kind of shape you would like. It has been suggested to me that you might like a shoulder-length cut. But I am also thinking that you would look very elegant with bangs. What do you think?"

Bangs? I stare at myself in the mirror, imagining the chunky bangs that I cut myself. I shake my head quickly, remembering all too well the disastrous self-inflicted bangs I had in middle school. “Nope, no way.”

"All right. That’s totally fine. What about length? Do you want it waist length or maybe shoulder length?"

I tilt my head to the side. Part of me very much wants to defy Dare by chopping off all my hair. But I keep that part of myself and tell that rebellious part of myself to be quiet. Now is not the time for that.

"Somewhere in between, I suppose."

He nods, his lower lip sticking out. "What about shape?"

I glance up at him, my eyes pleading with him.

"Don’t make me ugly. Okay? Just make my hair look good."

He gives me a quiet smile and nods his head once. "I know just what to do. I’ll take good care of you, I promise."

To my surprise, he does. I watch the hair fall away as he cuts, trims, and shapes my hair perfectly. At the end, when I look in the mirror, I am awestruck. I could easily be a totally different person. A chic, rich person’s wife. Letting out all the breath in my lungs at once, a startled sound escapes my lips.

Percival looks worried for the first time. "Are you okay?"

I raise my hands to my face, putting them over my mouth. My eyes mist over, but I can’t take my gaze off my hair. It’s amazing what a good pair of scissors will do.

"It’s incredible," I breathe out. "Oh my God. I didn’t realize that... Thank you, Percival."

He beams at me. "Oh honey. It was my pleasure. Now let’s get you waxed and wedding-ready."

"Waxed?"

I go through a full body wax and have my nails done at the same time. All the women bustle around me behind the curtain, attending to their jobs. I feel detached from my body, almost completely ignoring the pain, and floating around in my own head. One of the women puts a face mask on me while the other is busy waxing every single hair from my body.

Stephen then takes over, dressing me in a silky black thong and a black strapless push-up bra.

I stand near the rack of clothes as he pulls out long pink dresses and short pink rompers, smiling and talking to me. I barely listen, managing a forced smile.

"Talia?"

I glance up at Stephen, and he gives me a funny look. "You know what? I think you could use a little privacy." He leans his head to the side and calls to the rest of the glam squad. "Hey folks? Could you all take a break for a minute? Let’s just give Miss Talia some room, okay?"

"Of course." Percival looks at each of the women. "Come on, ladies."

They head out of the room, their footsteps discreet.

Stephen pulls a silky off-white robe from the rolling rack, putting it around my shoulders. I thank him with numb lips and wrap the robe around myself, tying it. He touches my shoulder and looks into my eyes.

"Are you having a tough day?” he asks.

I’m a little surprised. It’s the first time that anyone outside Aunt Minnie and Olivia has asked me that.

I swallow, trying not to burst into tears, and nod vigorously.

"Okay. That’s okay. Let me make you a deal. You pick out three of these dresses and try them on. Let us accessorize you and slip on the matching shoes. And then, once you have seen them in the mirror?” He raises his hands, shaking his head. “I promise that I will leave you alone if you ask me to. I know that you have made a lot of changes today. But I swear, if you look in the mirror and you are not happy with yourself, I will personally do whatever is in my power to make it right."

Dashing away my tears, I nod. I give him a watery thanks, and he squeezes my shoulder.

"I know this is a big change. But I think that you know that it’s needed. It had been a very long time since anybody had cut your hair or filed your fingernails. Other than that, you are just sort of refining your look. Okay? In reality, it’s not really that much, I promise."

Sucking in a deep breath, I nod. "Of course. Sorry."