JENNIE
Forty isn't so bad, I think to myself as I'm lying in a warm mud bath with an algae mask covering my face. Ella is in the tub next to me; she's booked a mother-and-daughter pampering day at the spa and we're on our last treatment before we'll have our hair done. My feet and hands feel amazing from the mani-pedi and my muscles are entirely relaxed after a long, Swedish massage. The small room with exposed brick walls in the hotel's basement is dimly lit and scented candles are burning to either side of us. Meditation music is playing softly through the speakers, sending me into a tranquil state.
"You couldn't have given me a better present," I mumble, careful not to crack the mask. "Thank you so much."
"It's not over yet." Ella reaches for the glass of champagne on the side table next to her and takes a small sip. "We're going out tonight."
"I know, I'm excited." I sigh in delight as I shift down and immerse myself farther in the thick, warm goo. "But I don't want you to spend so much on me, so please let me pick up the check." Ella has never been spoiled with money or extravagant gifts like so many of my friends' kids, and with the little I give her for food and gas a week, I don't understand how she can afford this.
"Don't worry; I asked grandma for money," Ella confesses. She laughs, touches her face when her mask cracks, then laughs even harder. "If I knew it would be so easy, I'd have tried it a long time ago."
This makes me laugh too, and a green fleck falls off my cheek. "Smart girl, I hope you got a little extra for yourself," I joke.
"Nah. I thought about it but she told me to send her the receipts," she continues with a giggle. "Anyway, she was very generous with your birthday budget, and I hope you brought that red cocktail dress I told you to wear tonight."
"I did. Along with my red heels." I smile at her. "You two kept this very quiet. Mom didn't mention anything when she called me earlier."
"Of course not. That would have ruined the surprise now, wouldn't it? It's—" Ella stops herself when our beautician lets herself in and walks over to her tub.
"Sorry," I say to her. "I think we might have ruined the facial. My daughter made me laugh."
"Not at all. I'm happy to hear you've been laughing." The friendly lady sets a tray with steaming wet towels next to Ella and layers them over her face.
"Oh God. That feels so good." Ella sighs deeply as the beautician slowly starts cleaning the mask Ella her face, then brings out more warm towels. "Mom, this is incredible."
"You can go and have your shower now," the beautician says after cleaning her face, and Ella steps out of the tub and heads over to the rain shower at the opposite end of the room to wash off the mud. "Use anything you like from the pumps, but I recommend the macadamia shower oil." Then she turns her attention to me and starts cleaning my face.
"She's right, this is incredible," I say, enjoying the warm sensation against my skin and the liberating feeling of being able to move my facial muscles again.
"Just wait; you'll feel ten years younger once you've washed that mud off too." She steps aside so I can get out of the tub and join Ella under the huge showerhead. My phone on the side table flashes an incoming message and I smile when I see it's from Lisa.
'Happy birthday, baby. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.'
"What are you grinning about?" Ella asks, running her hands through her hair.
"Just a sweet message from Lisa." I try to wipe the smirk off my face as I pump some of the macadamia oil into the palm of my hand. "You're still up for lunch with her, right?"
"Of course. I want to get to know her. She clearly makes you happy and that's all I want for you." Grabbing a towel, Ella continues: "Is she bringing that cute girl of hers?"
"Lily? Yes, she's coming too."
"So, are you a stepmom now?" she asks, drying herself off. Our bodies are identical, I realize as I look at her. Ella's a bit fuller than me due to her student diet of pizza and Coke but other than that, her breasts and build are the same as mine.
"No…" I'm just Lisa's special friend with a pool; she loves the pool." In the past weeks, I've had them over regularly, and Lisa even stayed over last weekend. Lily was delighted to sleep in Ella's spacious room that has a free-standing tub, a huge TV and a star projector facing the ceiling. A 'big-girl's room', she called it. Although Ella has grown out of her teenage gadgets, she still uses the projector when she stays over; she told me it's the perfect scene to fall asleep to.
"So it's the pool that did it…" Ella says with a wink. "Just kidding, Mom. You're the best, so there's no reason why she wouldn't take an instant liking to you. And I'm kind of looking forward to having a little stepsister." She chuckles. "I bet you bribe her with ice cream too."
"Yes, she loves ice cream," I admit, rinsing the last bit of mud from under my breasts. "Just like you when you were younger."
"Hey, I still love ice cream," Ella retorts playfully. "In fact, I'm getting a craving for chocolate-macadamia just thinking about it." She puts on a robe and hands me a towel. "But first we've got lunch. It's casual, so you don't need to dress up. In fact, we can wear our robes if you want."
