I love my beautician. Her pedicures last FOREVER! Her eyebrow waxes don't leave me looking utterly shocked for two days, and she has seen me naked and not judged. Okay. Mostly I love her because she has seen me naked – often – and I have never felt judged.
It’s only been a year but she and I have been through a lot together. Like when I thought I would surprise my husband for his birthday with a ‘Hollywood’. Only – I got it wrong, since you can't actually 'go to Hollywood' for at least two days after the procedure. It was a bit of a belated gift.
These were good times. And now she is having a baby. Devastating. Everything’s going to change. She’s going to have to slow down, work shorter hours, take four months to get to know her new child, and may never again work till 9pm on the Saturday before Christmas to fit in all her clients.
On hearing the news, 70% of me thought, “Wow. How wonderful!" The other 30% thought, "Nooooooooooo..."
It was such a childish response. At first I couldn't figure it out, then I realised that the hour I spend with her, like the hour I spend with my hairdresser or my shrink, is so precious to me. It’s all mine, and it’s all about me. This doesn't happen that often, so I want to protect it.
Then I thought: "Grow up, chick. Just as you mostly figured out how to be a mom and a PR bunny, she will figure out how to maintain the perfect wax temperature while keeping to a four-hourly feed cycle."
Women are awesome that way.