False Engagements

Chapter 9

A chorus of women welcomed them as they entered. A polished-looking matriarch with her hair up in a a bun and the sharpest eyeliner Lila had ever seen came up and introduced herself as Margaret. She consulted with Alli for a moment before she ushered Lila into a seat.

"Do you have any preference for hair and makeup?" she asked, in a long low drawl.

"Um, not really... I guess I'll leave it to your expertise."

Margaret smiled at her in the mirror. "Perfect."

It took almost an hour in the chair, but felt like way less. It was fascinating to see the way they worked on her. First they set a face mask on her after they had removed her own makeup, and tilted the chair back so she could relax, while someone she couldn't see started combing out her hair. When they took the mask off and patted her face dry, Lila swore she'd never felt her skin so smooth or bouncy before. After that, they started applying liquids and powders to her face, in varying amounts and varying shades of colors.

Lila's daily makeup routine consisted of lip balm when she wasn't feeling it, and eyeliner with lipstick when she did, so to have a full routine from foundation and powder to eyeshadow, blush and lipliner was fun to observe and sit through.

She had expected for there to be a dramatic difference at the end of the hour, but she was surprised to find that it was mostly still her in the mirror, just... Maybe a bit more polished, more put-together. Her long brown hair had been curled into loose waves, with a section pinned back to give it a romantic feel, and they had done nothing more on her face other than to subtly enhance what was already there.

The peachy gloss on her lips was the final touch, and she couldn't help licking them, undoing half the effect immediately.

"Are you happy with this?" Margaret leaned back against the table, looking her over for a final time to ensure her work was perfect. Lila turned her face left and right, admiring the general effect.

"I love it," she said, "but I kind of thought there would be more of a difference..."

"I asked them to just do some light day-appropriate makeup for you," Alli said, coming up from where she'd been compiling images and notes in a corner couch. "I thought it might be better to dedicate a full afternoon another day just for makeup testing, and maybe some lessons if you want to learn how to do it yourself."

Well, if that was what Alli thought was best...

They booked an appointment to come back tomorrow so Margaret could show her more makeup looks and help her do her own. Despite herself, Lila found herself getting excited over the thought of it, and the clothes shopping was starting to look less daunting.

"First stop is Naysha's," Alli told Lila, when they were back in her car. "They stock a lot of Dior dresses, and I think you look like a Dior girl. But of course we'll pick and match pieces from other brands too, it's not a good idea to have all your pieces from just one designer."

"I look like a Dior girl?" Lila didn't know what that meant. "What does that even look like?"

"Oh you know, ladylike, elegant. Feminine and pretty, but not overly fussy. Not like a lace and frills type of feminine. That's my take on it anyway."

"I think you're over-complimenting me." She was sure she was blushing. Ladylike and elegant certainly weren't words anyone had ever used to describe her! "And it sounds too classy for me, if I'm being honest."

"Don't let the clothes intimidate you. Rule number one." Alli gave her a comforting grin. "We don't absolutely have to get Dior. Just try the clothes on and get them if they make you feel good. You're the boss today, whatever you say goes."

Alli was right though, to Lila's surprise. She was grateful for the stylist's presence as she negotiated and consulted with the boutique ladies, who sped off to bring dresses for her perusal. It certainly wasn't anything she could have handled so smoothly on her own- this was a totally new world to her. And all the namedropping! Monique Lhuilier, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta- Lila had zero idea who they were or what styles were supposed to be represented by what name.

She did end up liking most of what Alli suggested- they looked like something she might have chosen for herself if she had ever dared to step into a high-end boutique alone.

They picked out a few dresses first, for the formal events that Blake had listed for Alli. Lila had been nervous about wearing dresses so fluffy she might trip in them, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Alli's choices for her seemed to be the exact opposite. Most of the dresses brought out for her were cut in simple lines and smooth flowing silhouettes that ended at her ankle. Hand embroidery of natural motifs somehow enhanced the elegant simplicity.

Alli convinced her to wear one of the dresses right out the shop so she didn't have to feel like anything was for a special occasion, that she should wear them as often as she liked and not keep thinking of the price.

When they were done there, Alli led her to shop after shop, all clustered around a few streets so that it was convenient to hop between them.

It astonished Lila even more that Alli dismissed the notion that she absolutely had to wear heels for every occasion.

"I thought heels were default at any sort of event you had to get dressed up for," Lila mused, as they browsed through shelves of shoes.

Alli shrugged. "Well, I mean, yes, to a certain extent, but you said you didn't usually wear heels right? I think your comfort is the most important here. Of course, we can get you a couple of pairs so you can practice and decide what you think about them."

She pulled out some dress flats from the shelves and arranged them in front of Lila. There were cute booties, strappy sandals and soft suede boots, just to begin with. Lila had honestly resigned herself to tottering around like an i***t at the upcoming events, and it cheered her to no end that she wouldn't have to wear them unless she really wanted to.

In the end, she left with the various flat-heeled shoes Alli said were perfectly fine for dressy events, but also with two pairs of low chunky-heeled shoes. It was the first time in her life she thought she actually looked forward to wearing some heels.

By the time late afternoon rolled around, Lila was beat. She'd never really indulged in shopping to this degree, and it perplexed her that she was so tired just by them walking around and trying clothes on. Alli pointed out that they'd walked a lot, and that it was a lot of new things to take in. That was bound to make her mentally tired too.

"Obviously we didn't labor all day or anything," she said, as they recovered at a outdoor cafe with a smoothie. "But sometimes mental exhaustion takes more of a toll than we think it does."

"I never thought about it that way." Lila reclined back in her seat and closed her eyes briefly. "Explains why studying knocks you out sometimes even though you're just sitting there and reading."

"Mmhmm. Applies to a lot of other things too."

A familiar car rolled up in front of the cafe momentarily. Lila blinked as Blake got out the car, and looked around before spotting them.

"What's Blake doing here?"

"Oh, I told him we'd dolled you all up today," Alli giggled. "I'm assuming he hasn't seen you professionally done up before this, so I said he better not waste all this effort on you and that he better take you on a nice date tonight!"

"Did you have a good time?" he asked courteously, coming up and pulling out a seat for him. Behind him, Lila could see several heads craning and whispering. Well she wasn't blind either, she could see how handsome he was- and he'd seemed to make an effort too. He wasn't dressed in his usual plain suit, he looked more... sleek somehow today, more dangerously charming. Lila decided that looking at her smoothie was a good sight safer.

"It was fun," she said, looking up at Alli, and smiling. "Alli is amazing company, and she picked out a lot of beautiful things."

"All the more beautiful when they're on you." Alli patted her hand, before turning to Blake. "Well, I think we're done for now. We can absolutely get Lila more clothing when she needs, and I've made an appointment with Margaret later in the week to consult on makeup. I've asked the shops to deliver to your apartment, either later this evening or before noon tomorrow."

"Thank you so much for your work."

"Well, what are stylist friends for? I'll leave you two to your date." With a last wink at Lila, she departed the cafe, leaving Lila alone with Blake, feeling somewhat awkward.