Proserpina
I was more than a little surprised when Melissa turned up in the afternoon, bringing along with her, a hairstylist and a beautician.
“What?’ I gaped at her in alarm.
‘You are beautiful as you are,’ she said smartly, hands on hips like she was addressing one of her first graders, and then wagging her forefinger at me severely, she went on,
‘But right now, I think you need to look your Best. Which is not true as of now. You need to look at your hair. It’s a mess.’
I shrank. It was true. I had not been sleeping or eating well. My long brown tresses looked dry and brittle. I sighed and turned away but she grabbed my arm.
“Look, you dish up the best food in the world and you are an amazing Mom. But you need to take care of your body, your looks, too.’
I nodded slowly.
So the next two hours of the afternoon went by in giving me a manicure and the works. I dozed off as the beautician worked on me, massaging my body with her deft hands. When I came awake, I felt rejuvenated, my body was tingling and my face was glowing.
Then my hair was set and when I saw myself in the mirror, I gasped. The woman had artfully arranged my hair in cascading curls that began from my shoulders. It looked magical. With a pang, I realised that I had stopped dressing up; I simply pulled on one or the other of my outfits and buried myself in the study or in the kitchen.
It was okay, for Lucien did not care, he only wanted me without clothes, I thought bitterly. But I had stopped dressing for the fun of it, dressing up for myself and I was reminded of that as I stood before the mirror, while Melissa looked on, her pretty face gleaming with pride at the effect.
The reflection showed a woman whose eyes had been made up skilfully, smoky and secretive. She had painted my lips a soft plum, making them look luscious and inviting. Melissa had also brought along a dress for me.
The deep purple maxi dress went well with my mahogany hair and as I twirled before the mirror merrily, my spirits lifted. It was a flaring maxi dress in deep purple with buttons down the front and a bodice that lovingly cupped my full breasts. The only problem being that I could not wear a bra as it fitted so snugly. When I pointed this out to Melissa in despair, she threw up her hands and cried crossly,
“Proserpina Delano, you are such a FOSSIL! I have something similar and do you think I bother to wear a BRA under that number?’ She huffed in disgust and I quickly agreed to wear it. But I knew I looked different; not like a Mumma of seven kids anymore.
“Come on, woman!’ sighed Melissa in exasperation, ‘You are just in your mid-thirties.’ She looked down disapprovingly at my slightly rounded belly which was cleverly hidden by the flare of the dress.
She pursed her lips. I sighed. Melissa was very firm about not having any more kids; no more, she had told Tristan Lord, after her daughter, Lynne-Ann, was born. And of course, Tristan had agreed.
If only, I thought, biting my lip, if only things were like that with my Mafia Don. Not that he had said he wanted more children but he did not like the idea of sheathing his powerful shaft when he was mounting me in his savage way.
“You look years younger, Proserpina.’ cried Melissa and I laughed, throwing my arms around her and hugging her.
‘Thank you, Lisa.’ I said softly.
*
‘Holy Molly!” shouted my son Lou when I entered the living room that evening, “Mumma looks Hot!’
*
Piers sent him a lethal look but then my eldest son turned to look at me, a warm look of admiration on his face as he took in my appearance. Tara clapped her hands in appreciation while Ria laughed in joy and Claude whistled. Even Paddy smiled in embarrassment and as for Louis, he was grinning from ear to ear.
Camille and Beatrice stood in the doorway and Camille cried loudly,
‘Bravo!’
Beatrice mumbled something about it being about time and I realised that she had not really cared for my choice of clothes till now. “Bea, I admonished lightly but she shook her head firmly, “Gal, you gotta live. You ain’t no old woman.’ And she thrust out her chin defiantly as she met my gaze.
‘Those skirts and blouses should be thrown far away.’ she went on severely and muttered something about wearing a nun’s habit.
Melissa stood behind me but I knew she was chuckling.
‘Time to rush,’ she said, giving me a swift hug .’And Proserpina, don’t you get hassled. There’s a life out there, husband or no!’ she declared. Even as I stepped back to look into her eyes, I marvelled at this new Melissa; confident and strong. Tristan Lord might dominate her in bed, I thought, dimpling but outside of it, it was Melissa Lord who wore the pants.
We all turned as someone clapped.
Handsome James stood in the doorway, an enormous bouquet of flowers, beautiful white lilies, in his arms. The fragrance wafted across to me and I laughed delightedly.
I loved lilies. The white flowers with the scent that permeated your senses, made me feel wonderful. At one time my favourite flowers had been roses; but after a particularly ugly episode that revolved around my being kidnapped, and almost sold, I had grown to loathe them.
As Schwartz lowered his hands, a look of astonishment crossed his features and I laughed at the comically bemused look taking over his classic features as he studied the change in me.
‘Whew!’ he said and Ria ran to him to throw her arms around him. James had aged well, the grey at his temples adding to his boyish good looks, giving him a mature, irresistible charm. I smiled as I met his eyes, blushing at the look of admiration on his features.
‘Had I really hidden myself in frumpy clothes for so long?’ I asked myself as he strode over to me and drew me into his arms, kissing my cheek gently, as though afraid that I would break. So different from Lucien’s brutish embraces, where he took my mouth in the manner of a lord demanding his vassal service him. But that was Lucien, I thought sadly, and he was the man I loved…
Schwartz continued to hold me in his arms and he said softly,
“Wee yin.’ he said softly, “little one…’ I smiled up at him and wondered why I had not been lucky enough to fall in love with him instead of my brutish Mafia Don.