Page 38 of Hey Girl
“Oh, that’s the intercom to the driveway gate,” she explains. “Hang on.” She turns and heads for the door.
I pace and look around the room, seriously considering hiding in Mayzie’s hamper when I hear a duet of voices coming up the stairs and getting closer. Fuck-a-duck!
“Maze, I don’t have time for this ridiculousness,” I hear a high-pitched man’s voice. “Outta my way, biatch!”
“Don’t you biatch me!” She admonishes back. “If you go charging in there before I can prepare her, you’re going to scare her and set her back weeks of self-care!”
“Prepare her? What am I, some big, explosive personality that is too much for some people to take?”
“Yes.”
“Really? Oh Em Gee, that’s so sweet.” That seems to calm Crazy Boy down a bit before Mayzie speaks again.
“So just calm your face while I go talk to her a minute.”
“Fine. Just don’t take too long.”
“And just where do you have to be right now?”
Silence.
“Thought so.”
Mayzie reappears in the doorway.
“Okay. Hair and clothes. Do you trust me?”
“Uh…”
“This is a good friend of mine,” she goes on to explain. “He’s been styling me for years. And I haven’t kept him around that long just because he’s damn good at what he does. He makes me feel like the best version of myself when I need him to, and once you get past the very overwhelming first impression, he’s such a sweetheart.”
“Hell-OOOOO?” I hear the guy call out as Mayzie rolls her eyes.
“And a bit of a pain in the ass. But will you meet him? Maybe he can help you look exactly like you want, and even give you some tips so that you don’t have to make regular trips to salons and clothing stores. What do you say?”
“Mayzie, I can’t. I… I just…”
“Your daily challenge!” Her eyes go wide with her own statement like it took her just as much as surprise. “This will be your daily challenge!”
“Mayzie! This is t-too big of a challenge!” My stutter ramps up along with my nerves. “I do little challenges every day. N-nothing this big! Oh God, do you have a paper bag?”
“How about…” Mayzie’s eyes look to the ceiling as she thinks. “You do this huge challenge, and you’re set for the week! You’re off the hook with the little daily challenges for a few days!”
And just like that, my agitation halts its rapid uphill climb. I do like the sound of that. But shit, I hate this. I really hate this. This is too much.
But that’s the point of a challenge.
Mayzie looks like she sees the battle taking place behind my eyes and walks over to take my hands.
“But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” she reminds me, giving them a soft squeeze. “I’ll send him away, or you can go if that’s what you want.”
I think about my options as I press my lips together.
I could meet this guy, let him scare the shit out of me (possibly literally) and have a panic attack on my way out to car and try to drive home sobbing. That would really do me in for a while. I wouldn’t be able to leave my house for days.
I could just go home. But then what? I ask myself as I think this through to the end. I’ll sit on my couch and wonder if this guy could have helped me look spectacular, giving me a confidence boost. I’d also wonder how it would’ve felt to be able to say I jumped my biggest hurdle to date.
“I’ll meet him,” I tell Mayzie in a trembling whisper before I can change my mind.