Conflicted

Concealer

I sit quietly in the car while mom drives. I can tell she is keeping an eye on me through her peripheral vision. She does a good job at keeping her head facing forward though, so I ignore her. She's worried about me, she has every reason to be. I just want to skip past the next little while until everyone gets over this. I've never been to this part of the city and I wonder where we are. As I'm trying to pinpoint where we are, Mom pulls the SUV into a random driveway. I don't recognize the house and a frown forms on my face.

"First stop, come in with me," Mom instructs as she releases her seat belt.

"Who's house is this?" I make no move to get out of the car. My suspicion from earlier was right, she is up to something.

"You'll see once we get inside. You agreed, so let's go," she replies sternly. Mom is a force to be reckoned with when anyone gets difficult with her. If anyone knows this, it's me.

I sigh in defeat and climb out of the passenger seat. As I shut the door behind me a girl who looks to be about my age appears in the doorway of the house. She's is a complete stranger, but she waves us inside like an old friend. I shoot a curious glance at my mom, deep down I know she won't provide any explanation but a girl can hope. Just as expected, she offers nothing other than a gesture towards the house, silently telling me to go inside. I'm about to pull my hoodie over my head to shield my face when mom stops me.

"It's okay, P. She's offered to do us a favour."

We walk into the house. It's modest and has a natural homey-vibe to it. The girl beams at us as if this weren't the first time I meet her.

"Hi Peyton! I'm Jess. Our moms work together. I'm a make-up artist and I'm going help you feel more comfortable today for your big date!" The girls bubbly energy is overwhelming.

"Nice to meet you, Jess. I have a big date?" I direct the question towards my mother, she is unaffected by my accusatory glare. Is she trying to pass off this dinner with Kate as a date? What is she telling people?

"Normally I charge a fee for full face sessions, but when your mom reached out to asking how much I would charge to show you some make-up tricks for your... skin, I told her I'd do it for free. I'm just happy to meet you." Jess talks really quickly and I feel so awkward. I catch on to the fact that mom is asking someone to show us how to cover up my bruising.

A woman comes to meet us in the entrance and I immediately identify her as Jess's mother. The two look nearly identical.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in! Welcome, ladies. Nice to finally meet you, Peyton. You are even more gorgeous in person than you are in photos. Your mom talks about you often. My name is Mara, you've already met Jess. Can I take your coats?" Mara extends her arms out graciously. Mom and I shrug out of our coats.

"You decided to dye your hair! It looks awesome!" Mom blurts out, wrapping her coworker and friend a tight squeeze. The two immediately start babbling about work and the projects they're working on while making their way to the kitchen. Before she disappears, Mara turns back to her daughter.

"Grab yourselves some drinks and get started, I'll come check on your guys in the studio in about an hour," she says.

Jess nods and guides me to a room at the end of a short hallway. We walk in and I am immediately hit with how grand this room is compared to the rest of the house. Huge picture windows let in a ton of natural light. There is storage, shelves, baskets and wall accessories everywhere filled with tons of things. Expensive make up, brushes, lights, tweezers, gloves, elastics, garbage bags, glue sticks and jugs of what resembles even more glue can be seen everywhere, neatly placed and stored. I stare, wide-eyed, at how organized everything is.

Jess quickly points out every corner of the room and explains.

"I do all sorts of stuff. Often I'm hired for weddings, photo shoots of every kind, commercials, the odd TV show being filmed in the area. My specialization though is SFX make-up. I can make the most attractive person look like a nasty decomposed corpse in about two hours," her charismatic and endearing smile throws me off of what she just said. I am surprised to find out that this sweet and delicate girl's favourite hobby is to make and create convincing gore, anything that brings horror to life. Above her special effects station in the studio, there are framed photos of gut-churning wounds and lesions, mashed up tendons and ligaments, sliced throats and prolapsing eyeballs. I am intrigued and take time to stare at each piece of work she has on display. The girl is amazing, these images are graphic and hyper-realistic. I am almost frightened at how good they are, and how much the artist doesn't seem to "match" her work by society's standards.

"These are wicked, I can't believe those photos aren't real," I admit. "You're really talented."

"Thank you!" Jess gushes. "You stay here, I'll come back with some refreshments. You have a drink of choice?" Her head tilts slightly at her question. She reminds me of a character off of those cheesy after-school specials catered to preteens. If I had met this girl in high school or off the street, never would I have given her a second thought. She's the type of girl I'd normally avoid and label as annoying or fake. The thought makes me feel guilty.

"Just water is fine with me, thank you," I reply with a smile.

"Okay, I won't be long," Jess leaves and I continue to admire the portraits lining the walls. On one side of the room, it is glamour, beauty, bright and light colours, pearls and diamonds... The other side, is dark, lacy, grunge, gruesome and gory. The two complete opposite sides of the room are separated by a massive vanity, a soft and luxurious purple velvet chair sits in front of the mirror lined with even more lights. Jess's studio is amazing and I can tell there is a lot of money and organization put into this room. It is evident that she is doing well for herself in the make-up profession, talent pays off. Jess returns and hands me a bottle of water, holding a can of iced tea for herself.

"Take a seat in the chair, I'm gonna get my tray ready." I listen to her instructions and settle into the plush velvet chair. It hugs me comfortably and I immediately relax.

"I'm not sure what my mom told you, but I don't actually have a date tonight," I tell Jess truthfully. "I just broke up with my boyfriend of four years on Friday..." As soon as the words are spoken, I'm hit with surprise. In reality, I never even got the chance to actually break up with Preston before he had himself thrown in jail. My head spins at the thought of how quickly everything came crashing to an end in our relationship. Without the closure of actually telling him it was over, it had already ended.

Jess looks genuinely sorry for me. Sympathy clouds her eyes but I can tell she isn't pitying me. "I'm sorry that happened to you, break-ups are hard. I can't imagine losing someone after spending that long together," Jess replies with empathy. "I can understand that you aren't ready to date right now. Regardless, I wouldn't of judged. You could go on a date tonight and I'd be giving you props. You take all the time you need to heal, though. You're a really kind person, anyone would be lucky to have you," Jess says while getting a bunch of stuff piled onto a mobile cart organized with trays.

I like this girl, I decide. She seems so down-to-Earth and she is obviously very kind herself. "I'm surprised our mothers never introduced us to each other before today," I smile at her.

"Same here! I think this was long overdue. Alright, now time for the tutorial." For the next hour, Jess shows me a a million different types of products and brushes. She talks for hours, explaining what everything does, how it should be applied. Then she gets into the specifics and I realize now why my mom came to her for help. This girl is a pro.

"Bruises are tricky, because of the variation in pigment and the damaged blood vessels beneath the skin. The dabbing technique still applies, but certain brushes are going to be essential when it comes to gentle application of concealer and foundation," Jess speaks slower when she is explaining her work to me. The passion for what she does is evident and she is extremely knowledgeable. Her mom comes in to check on us as she completely covers up the last of the bruising on my face and the bags under my eyes. All signs of Preston's damage has disappeared thanks to Jess's skilled hand.

"Looking good, girls. You need anything?" Mara asks from the door.

Jess is concentrating hard and shakes her head dismissively to her mom. Mara winks at me, "Sorry, I don't want to interrupt the master in her lair."

We exchange a small chuckle and Jess rolls her eyes. Mara ducts out without saying another word.

"Perfect, you look like your beautiful self again. Now, time for detail work. I like to start with eyes. Blue is a fun eye colour to play with, I like to accentuate the tones already visible in your eyes to make them stand out. Any idea what you're wearing tonight?" Jess inquires.

"I have a cream-coloured sweater I want to wear with my light blue jeans and a brown leather belt. I'm gonna wear my gold moon earrings and a thin gold chain," I respond instantly. Until that moment I hadn't made a single plan regarding what I'd be wearing, but the inspiration hit out of nowhere and I felt confident in my impulsive decision. It normally takes me forever to figure out what I want to wear.

"Classy!" Jess grins in approval. "I can definitely work with that."