“I meant to Felipé.” Chi-Chi grinned and left.

  Felipé pumped the chair up so he could be face to face with Luna. “I’m thinking to here.” He touched her collarbone.

  She winced.

  “It will be alright. Trust me.”

  “I have no choice, do I?”

  “No. You are in my power now,” he said in jest.

  He loosened her braid and took a wide-tooth comb and pulled it through her soon-to-be-gone, waist-length hair. “You have nice hair, and I have to tell you it is really a good idea to cut it. As we get older, our hair thins.” He rolled his eyes and leaned in. “I ought to know,” he continued. “Brushing and combing these locks will pull more hair out.”

  Luna agreed. “Yes, I’ve noticed more in my brush and comb.”

  “And let me tell you something, those celebrities who have all that long hair? Fake. Fake. Fake. Nobody has real hair like that, unless you’re eighteen years old.”

  “That’s about when I let it grow.”

  “See?” He pulled his scissors from a leather case, grabbed her hair, and pulled it into a ponytail just below her shoulder blades. From there, he unceremoniously lobbed off over a foot of hair. “For the children,” he said. “You are doing a good thing. You truly are.”

  Luna could feel the difference already. The warmth and weight of her mane was no longer there. She was surprised that it actually felt good. He continued to clip and snip until he was satisfied with the length. “Alright, my pretty. On to the next phase.”

  Luna reached around her back. It was truly gone. She took a few breaths and muttered, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

  “You’re gonna be gorgeous.”

  He next rolled out a cart with several tubs of various shades of hair color. Felipé and his assistant proceeded to part Luna’s hair in quarter-inch sections. Starting at the bottom, he began to paint, then foil, another section, paint, then foil, until her head was covered in foil strips. “Now we wait for the magic to happen!” Felipé said with great enthusiasm. “Can we get you anything? Coffee? Water? Tea? Crumpets?”

  “You have crumpets?” Luna said with surprise.

  “It is teatime, dearie.”

  “How about smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches? Or cucumber and cream cheese? Perhaps some cheese and chutney?” Luna was teasing, but there was a surprise in store.

  “Oh, darling. You have come to the right place.” He snapped his fingers, and Patrice rolled in another cart loaded with three tiers of sandwiches, scones, and cakes.

  “Whoa! That looks incredible! No wonder Ellie likes to come here. And now I know where she got her penchant for scones. We have them every morning.” Luna was delighted at the yummy feast set in front of her.

  “Shall I fix you a plate?” Patrice offered.

  Luna pointed to a few items. “I’ll have one of those and two of these.”

  Patrice added a few other things. “Just in case.”

  Several minutes later, Chi-Chi returned. “Are you having a party without me?”

  “Please. Join in.” Felipé gestured to the cart.

  “Do you do this every day?” Chi-Chi asked.

  “It depends on which clients are coming in. I must confess, Ellie phoned and told us all about you. Both of you, as a matter of fact. You will tell her we took good care of you, won’t you?”

  “Of course!” Luna exclaimed with cream-cheesed lips.

  “This is quite lovely,” Chi-Chi said. “Perhaps I should cut my hair, too?”

  “Don’t you dare,” Luna said.

  Felipé looked at Chi-Chi. “Ditto. You have gorgeous hair, and you do it beautifully.” He was referring to her box braids tied in a scarf.

  “Thank you. I occasionally take a flat iron to it, but that takes me a very long time.”

  “We have a special straightening system. It takes about two hours, but it will last for up to six months.”

  “That is very interesting. I may consider it. But not today.” She popped a piece of cake in her mouth.

  Several more minutes passed until the timer buzzed, indicating it was time to wash Luna’s hair. Within the hour, she would be leaving with a new hairstyle. When she returned to the chair, she was still facing away from the mirror. Felipé and Patrice began spraying her wet hair with several treatments. One was to protect her hair from the heat, the other was to give her volume, and the third was for gloss and shine. Like two pistol-packing cowboys, the stylists whipped out the blow-dryers and went to work, tousling, finger-waving, and primping. Luna could tell it was looking good by the expression on everyone’s faces. She was itching to see for herself. Within a few minutes, Felipé asked, “Are you ready for the big reveal?”

  “Am I ever!” Luna exclaimed, and Felipé spun her around.

  “Oh. My. Gosh. I look like a totally different person.” She tossed her head back and forth, her hair brushing against her collarbones. “Is that really me?”

  “In the flesh, dearie.” Felipé stood back. “You’re loving it, I can tell.”

  “Absolutely!” Luna kept turning her head from side to side. “Why didn’t I think about doing this sooner?”

  “Better late than never,” Felipé responded.

  “You look beautiful,” Chi-Chi said admiringly. “No one is going to recognize you.”

  “I think that might be a good thing.” Luna took the handheld mirror from Patrice, who spun her around to check the back. “It’s fabulous! Thank you so much!”

  “A pleasure.” Felipé gave a short bow.

  Patrice removed the cape and sent Luna back to the dressing room, where she found one of her shopping bags. She smiled. Chi-Chi wanted Luna to get the full effect of her new look. Luna decided on the chambray capri leggings, a white tank top, and the denim jacket. She stared at herself in the mirror. “Hello. My name is Luna. Nice to meet you.” She was elated. Wired for sound, as some say. She exited the dressing room and was met with applause.

  “You look wonderful, my friend.” Chi-Chi embraced her. “Chris and your brother will be dumbfounded.”

  “I wonder if either of them will even be able to figure me out.” Luna laughed. It was true. She looked completely different with her new hairstyle and her new clothes. “But first I need new glasses. These whoppers are too big, and my wire-rims are too outdated.”

  Felipé crossed his arms and placed his finger against his lips. “I think maybe a cat-eye frame. Something with one of the colors in your hair.”

  “So far, you haven’t steered me wrong. I will consider your suggestion.”

  The entourage moved back to the reception area, where Luna paid the hefty tab of 500 dollars for her color. It was worth every penny, as far as she was concerned.

  Felipé gave her a peck on each cheek. “You look marvelous, darling. Good luck!” He turned to Chi-Chi. “Shall I make an appointment for you?”

  Chi-Chi hesitated. Luna jumped in. “Come on, my friend. If I can do it, you can do it.”

  “And you say it can last up to six months?” Chi-Chi asked Felipé.

  “Yes.”

  “And I can still braid it?”

  “Absolutely. You will have all the options.”

  Chi took a deep breath. “Alright. I shall do it.”

  Luna was giddy. “I’ll come with you for moral support. As long as they serve high tea.”

  “Of course,” Felipé replied.

  Chi-Chi looked through her phone calendar.

  “Make sure it’s not when I’m away,” Luna added, and provided the dates of her travel plans.

  “June thirtieth it is,” Felipé confirmed. “You girls go have some fun now, but stay out of trouble.”

  Chi-Chi laughed. “That is why I am here.”

  Luna was walking on air. “I can’t believe how good all of this feels. My transformation. My metamorphosis.”

  “It is true. You have gone from a caterpillar to a butterfly.”

  Luna frowned. “I was a caterpillar?”

  “Do not be ridiculous. I was simply using a metaphor. Do not be so touchy.” Chi-Chi gave her a tap on the elbow.

  “Ha. Let’s call Cullen and tell him to meet us for dinner.”

  “You still need to get new glasses.”

  “Right. There’s a one-hour place on the way back. We’ll stop there and then call him.”

  “One more thing,” Chi-Chi added. “You should stop at Blue Mercury and have them recommend some makeup.”

  Luna looked surprised. “Why? Do I look awful?”

  “No, you do not look awful, but with your new hairstyle and color, perhaps they can recommend something that would go better than what you have been wearing. Maybe you will not need anything, but if you are going all this way, it could not hurt. We shall pick out your glasses and go to Blue Mercury while we wait.”

  “Good idea. See? This is why I need you with me.” Luna grinned.

  When they arrived at Spectacular Spectacles, Luna gravitated to the rack of cat-eye – shaped glasses.

  “Love your hair,” one of the clerks commented.

  “Thank you!”

  “Can I help you with anything?” the clerk asked. She was a woman in her forties and was wearing a name tag in the shape of eyeglasses that said MAUREEN.

  “I need a new pair and am thinking about this shape.” Luna pulled on a pair of cat-eyes with a tortoise frame.

  “I think that’s too busy for your hair. The frame is good, but maybe in a solid?” Maureen handed Luna a pair of amber frames.

  “They’re perfect!” Luna exclaimed. “Can you have them ready in an hour?”

  “That’s what we do here,” Maureen assured her.

  “Terrific!” Luna replied. She turned to Chi-Chi. “Can you call Cullen and tell him to meet us at Three Brothers at, say, seven?”

  “Of course, I can.” Chi-Chi punched in Cullen’s number on her speed-dial and relayed the instructions.

  “What are the two of you up to?” Cullen asked with mocking suspicion.

  “You will see. Bye.” That was Chi-Chi, alright—blunt and to the point.

  Luna and Chi-Chi walked two blocks to Blue Mercury, where a young man greeted them with, “Love your hair!”

  “Me too!” Luna said in response. She was delighted about receiving two compliments in the past fifteen minutes.

  “What can we help you with today?” the man asked.

  “I want to be sure I’m wearing the right makeup for my hair. I just had it done.”

  He brought her near a lighted mirror and checked her face, this way and that. “Your foundation is fine, but I think you might want to ditch the pink blush and go with a more peach and russet tone. Same thing with eyeshadow. Do you normally wear it?”

  Luna was grateful her puffy, bloodshot eyes had calmed down since that morning. She removed her big glasses. “Most of the time I just do a quick swipe of light brown. If I’m doing something special, I use a deeper shade in the crease.”

  “Let’s try this.” He took a palette off a hook and began to apply a light gold pearl shadow under her brow, and then swiped a chestnut brown to the rest of her lids, followed by a few strokes of black eyebrow pencil and a smudge of brown eyeliner pencil. “Now your eyes have similar tones as your hair, but they stand out because of the eyeliner.” He stepped back. “Most people think they have to draw one steady line, but you can dot the rims and then blend it.” Then he tried a peach shade of lipstick with a little gloss. “Perfection!”

  “I think I’m going to try to wear my contacts more often,” Luna said. “Now that I’ve figured out how to wear makeup without looking like a clown!” She turned to Chi-Chi. “What do you think?”

  “I think you look beautiful.” Chi-Chi smiled warmly.

  “I’m waiting for a pair of cats-eye glasses in a solid amber frame.” She winced, hoping she hadn’t ruined her new glow.

  “That will be perfect,” the clerk replied. “Either way, you are stunning.”

  Luna did a double take. She could not recall anyone ever calling her stunning. “Cute.” “Pretty.” “Lovely.” Never stunning. Chi-Chi was stunning. Luna began to blush. “Thank you.”

  Chi-Chi was grinning. “My friend has gone through a great transformation today,” she explained to the makeup artist. “She used to have hair down to her waist, wore baggy granny dresses, and wire-rimmed glasses most of the time.”

  “You could have fooled me,” the man said earnestly.

  Luna laughed. “Well, it took me long enough to get here. I’d been sporting that look almost half my life.”

  “Now you can start a new one.” He began to pack a few samples in a bag. “Try these on your own. If you like them, you can call me, and I’ll send them to you, or you can pick them up. Or if you live close by, we can deliver it.”

  “We’re at the Stillwell Center,” Luna said. “I run The Namaste Café, and Chi-Chi is the creative genius at Silver and Stone.”

  “Wait. Are you the one who has the coffee shop there?” He ducked his head slightly and whispered, “You do readings?”

  “Uh, yes,” Luna whispered back.

  “I was going to stop in, but the café was busy.” He looked her over from head to toe. “You were the one with the long braid and maxi dress?”

  “That would be me. Correction. That was me. This is the new me.”

  “I approve,” he said.

  Luna reached into her purse and handed him her business card. “Please call and make an appointment. Gratis.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” he replied.

  “You have been very kind to me. Thank you.” She took her small bag of samples, shook his hand, and said, “Please don’t hesitate.”

  Chi-Chi and Luna walked back to the eyeglass shop and picked up Luna’s new frames. Maureen was right—they went well with her hair, and now her makeup, too. On the way to Three Brothers, Luna could not wipe the smile off her face. Chi-Chi looked over at her. “It is nice to see you smiling again. And again. Now I understand what they mean by ‘retail therapy.’ ” She laughed.

  “And hair, and makeup, and glasses therapy.” Luna chuckled.

  They were the first to arrive at the pizzeria. Gorgio greeted them. “Nice to see you, Chi-Chi. And who is your new friend?”

  Chi-Chi didn’t answer, and Luna stared at him without saying a word. Then her face broke out in a big smile. It gave her away immediately.

  “Luna! Que bella! I didn’t recognize you!” Gorgio was truly surprised.

  “I needed a change,” Luna explained.

  “Molto bene! Change is good.” He inspected her new threads. “Everything. Bellissima! You want to sit inside or outside?”

  Luna looked at Chi-Chi. “Outside?”

  “It’s your day, my new friend.”

  Gorgio walked them to a table on the sidewalk and handed them menus. “Something to drink?”

  “I think I’ll have a pinot gris. Really chilled,” Luna said.

  “I shall have the same,” Chi-Chi answered.

  Gorgio walked briskly inside and returned with a bottle in a stainless-steel cooler, along with two glasses. “Make that three glasses, please. Cullen is joining us,” Luna explained.

  “What are you in the mood for?” Luna asked Chi-Chi.

  “Nothing too heavy. I put too many little cakes in my stomach.”

  “Cappellini? It’s light. Maybe pomodoro or with lemon and garlic?”

  “Now I am hungry,” Chi-Chi said while perusing the rest of the menu.

  “I think I’ll have shrimp scampi over capellini,” Luna said. “And a side of broccoli rabe. I’ll stink of garlic!”

  “That sounds delicious. I do not mind you smelling like garlic.” Chi-Chi laughed. “But I will have my capellini with lemon.”

  Luna and Chi-Chi toasted to Luna’s “refurbishment” and waited for Cullen to arrive before they placed their order. Several minutes passed, and then Wylie trotted toward the table, with Cullen lagging behind. Wylie immediately nudged Luna’s arm. Cullen stopped. Who is that? he wondered. Then he heard his sister’s voice. “Holy Toledo!” He pulled out a chair and stared. “Wow. Look at you.” His mouth was agape. “Is this a permanent thing?” He eyed her hair, then her clothes. She pulled off her glasses so he could see her makeup before she plunked them back on.

  “What do you think of your sister’s new look?” Chi-Chi asked.

  “She will always be the same character, but now it is in a different costume,” Cullen roared. “I have to admit, you look pretty darn good.”

  “Why, thank you. I feel pretty good, too,” Luna said.

  “What brought all of this on?” he asked.

  “Believe it or not, the dresser. Going through all my old stuff made me realize part of me was stuck in the past. Trapped by things that I hadn’t really resolved on a subconscious level.”

  Cullen hesitated, then said, “Do you think the news about Brendan had something to do with it?”

  Luna let out a sigh. “It was the final push I needed. Going through the box was illuminating, but getting the news about him was the catalyst.”

  “Well, it might have been bad news, but some good came from it. You really look terrific.” He could not stop staring at her.

  “I agree,” Chi-Chi chimed in.

  “Does Chris know about this?” Cullen poured a glass of wine from the bottle that was sitting on the table.

  “No. I want to surprise him,” Luna replied.

  “I can tell you this—he will be blown away.” Cullen raised his glass. “To the new you!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ten Days Later

  Off to Sedona

  Luna was a whirling dervish prior to her trip. She had several readings to do, a few wardrobe tweaks, organizing the café schedule and deliveries, and making sure all of Wylie’s needs were taken care of. Chewies? Check. Toys? Check. Food? Check. Doggie bed? Check. If she missed anything, Cullen could manage.

  She was disappointed she hadn’t been able to see Chris before she left. Between her travel plans and his schedule, it was too much of a crunch, and neither wanted to put the other one or themselves under additional pressure. She had been so distracted with her to-do list that she almost forgot he hadn’t seen her renewed look. A lot of people did FaceTime on their phones, but Chris wasn’t into it, and Luna couldn’t care less. As long as they had frequent conversations, there wasn’t any need, and even if he’d asked to do a video call—which he didn’t—she would have made an excuse. She wanted to see his reaction in person.