[it hurts to look at you]
[bittersweet]
The next morning Claire woke up earlier then usual.
"Honey, what are you doing?" her mother asked her from her bed down the hall as she heard the bustle of Claire grabbing her thick prescription glasses from the unsteady night stand that sat beside her bed that she managed to knock over every time.
"Nothing Momma," she said as she pulled her thin robe to shield the draftiness of her thin nightgown. She retreated to the bathroom where she looked at herself in the mirror. She sat there for a moment, staring at herself. She pulled at her skin, poking it and stretching it. She looked at the dark circles under her eyes, and her thin and ratty hair that rest inexorably on her shoulders.
She pumped water into the bathtub, filling it up until her arms grew tired. She stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the tub, one foot at a time. She stood there for a minute. The steam of the water exciting the hair on her arms and legs, until she leaned down, wrapping her arms around her legs. Resting there for a moment.
Then she fell back carelessly and let her entire body sink to the bottom of the tub where she sat holding her breathe chipmunk cheeks and scrunched up nose.
She took the bar of soap and scrubbed furiously at her skin, scrubbing harder and faster then she had ever done before. When she had covered every square inch of her body she looked closely at the raw skin in front her, satisfied with the result.
She rose out of the water, shaking ferociously as her inundated body left the warmth of the soapy water. She wrapped herself in a towel and stood in front of the mirror squinting at herself, reaching for her glasses. She put them on and touched her hair, it was already halfway dry considering the thinness of her hair, and she brushed her fingers through it considerably to get out the tangles. She reached into the drawer and pulled out the curlers, sloppily placing them wherever she felt necessary. She pulled and tugged at her hair wrapping it around and around until there was no more hair to wrap. The curlers hung low and droopy when she stopped to look at herself, but seemed she contented all the same.
She wrapped her robe around herself closely, pulling the string tight to her body. Then she carefully opened the door and checked down both sides of the hall.
She got up to her tiptoe-toes and snuck down the hall, trying to reach her sisters room without making a sound. She carefully opened the door, avoiding the squeak of the hinge by opening the door partially. She looked at her sister sleeping soundly in her bed and had the biggest desire to steal the scissors of her bureau and chop off her ponytail. "No, No," she thought to herself, "I'm on a mission."
As quietly as she could she reached the other side of the room and reached into her sisters lower most drawer, pulling out a soft pink box. She opened it to check it's contents and smiled a toothy grin. She tucked it snuggly under her arm and opened her sister's closet carefully. She opened the door wide and stood in front of it, exploring brilliant colors that exploded from behind the rigid little door. She admired her sister's collection before pulling out the dress that her sister had hidden way in the back so that her mother wouldn't find it. The dress her sister had worn at Irving Hall when she had to help Medda to save up some extra cash. A red and black low cut number that showed more leg then Claire had to offer. She smiled and tucked that under her arm as well, while grabbing a pair of strappy black heels from the bottom of the closet before sneaking out of the room once more.
She took the pink box and set it on the counter in the bathroom and opened it wide. A beautiful array of makeup shone at her as she thrashed it all around to find what she was looking for. She pulled out pink blush, blue eye shadow and the real clencher, the deep red lipstick. She layered on the blush thickly, as well as the eye shadow. Her blue lids disappeared within the blue of her eyes and she layered mascara onto her lashes. She uncapped the red lipstick and eyed it quickly before drowning her lips in the sea of red. She exageratingly smacked her lips together and fluttered her lashes.
She took the dress off of the hanger and slipped it on carefully, avoiding tearing the delicate fabric. She zippered it up, quite smoothly being that it was to big in certain areas. She looked at herself in the mirror, then looked at her feet in which she had tried to put the strappy heels on over her socks. She frowned and took her socks off before putting her shoes back on. She stood with her socks in her hands for a moment, before looking both ways and stuffing them down the front of her dress.
She took out the curlers carefully one by one and wrapped a big red bow around her head. She stepped back and looked at herself full length in the mirror. She put her hand on her hip and attempted all sorts of 'sexy' looks she could try.
She shrugged at herself, threw off her glasses, and headed towards the door. ((BOOM)) She next hit the door head on, gathered herself, and headed out more time, avoiding another collision.
Claire rounded many corners on her way to her destination, each step she took attracting more and more stares. She was headed to Central Park, the same place she had seen Jack Kelly the previous morning.
When she entered the park and headed towards the exact spot she had last seen him, a familiar figure stood waiting.
"Penny?" Claire said while putting her hand on her hip and slightly tripping over her own shoes.
"Claire!!!!!" Penny gasped, her jaw dropping to the ground. "Claire, what are you wearing?" She wheezed, and looked around to make sure that no one noticed that they were conversing.
"Oh Penny, you're such a child," smirked Claire as she walked closer, her ankles folding over with every step, adjusting to the heels that she'd never worn.
"Claire, you're mom is going to kill you," she squeaked, "why are you doing this?"
"For Jack," Claire said gazing off, noticing him as he approached and trying to contain all of her sexual energy so that it could explode when they caught each other's glances. "Yoo-hoo! Jack!" She smiled waving to him viciously.
"Hey Penny!" said Jack as he ran closer to the girls, running straight past Claire in all of her mature glamour.
Penny turned red and nodded a hello. "I'll take one please," she said holding out a dime and smiling shyly.
Jack made sure to touch her hand as he took the dime, brushing his against hers with utmost precision.
Claire began to get restless and couldn't watch this happen right in front of her. She fixed the socks in her bra and put her hands on her hips, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling as best she could, giving her best 'sexy' looks that she had practiced in the bathroom.
Jack was lost in Penny's eyes, but when he noticed the squirming thing that stood beside him, he slowly turned his head. He tilted his head slowly, "Are you okay?"
"I'm just fine sugar!" she said, trying to show some more leg by lifting up her dress and perk out her breasts. She smiled wider, so wide that it hurt her red covered lips.
He opened his eyes widely and looked at the ground. She winked at him noticeably and held out a dime.
He grabbed the dime reluctantly and handed her a paper, avoiding making any eye contact. Then he looked at Penny hopefully and held his arm out to her.
She looked at him reluctantly, then looked at Claire. She mouthed a sorry, and grabbed his arm.
As they were turning away, linked arm in arm, Jack stopped suddenly and walked back to Claire. "You have lipstick in your teeth," he said with a quick wink, and jogged back to catch up with Penny.