‘It really would be a very kind thing to do if you could help me out, Veronica.’ Tanya took the mug of tea Audrey had made for her. It seemed she wasn’t in a hurry to get going.
‘Well, maybe just a trim,’ Veronica relented.
‘No chance,’ said Audrey the second Veronica stood up. With one hand on her bag, she guided her out of the room towards the stairs. ‘This is a makeover, let’s go for it.’
Halfway through the transformation, Veronica had looked down and seen the amount of hair pooling on the floor. She’d closed her eyes then, letting Audrey’s warm voice wash over her, keeping her calm. Tanya even had some colour in her kit and added something called lowlights in an ash blonde that blended beautifully with the silvery grey already there. By that point Veronica had given up asking questions; she’d let the girls make the decisions, she’d put her faith in them. Tanya had mixed peculiar colours that Veronica tried not to worry about, she moved deftly with her comb, painted strands of her hair before wrapping them up in foil that looked like what she’d used to cover the beef earlier. But all the while Veronica had uttered the mantra in her head that she should just go with it. She should trust Audrey and Tanya, and think of what Layla was going to say when she’d proven she could be a part of The Kindness Club as much as anyone else could. Imagine how she’d feel crossing the item off the calendar with her blue pen.
The girls hadn’t let Veronica see her hair until after it was finished. Instead, Audrey had taken her to her bedroom for make-up and removed the mirror so she was still in the dark. In the meantime Tanya had been in charge of more cups of tea, hanging around to see the final results, and by mid-afternoon it was time for the big reveal.
Standing in the downstairs hallway with her hands over her gran’s eyes, Audrey asked, ‘Are you ready?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Gran, this is a good thing.’
‘Is it?’ With her eyes squeezed shut she wasn’t so sure.
‘Gran…’ Audrey had a hold of her hand. ‘This is the start of you thinking a little bit about yourself.’
‘That all sounds far too self-indulgent.’
‘It’s not, it’s something you need to do. For yourself, for me, promise me you’ll start thinking about what you need and what you want. I mean it, Gran.’
Veronica, eyes still closed, took a deep breath. ‘I promise.’
‘I’m going to need that in writing,’ Audrey giggled. ‘Now, are you ready?’ She made a theatrical noise like a drum roll.
She could do this, she could think about a way forwards. Even if it was within these walls, things could still change, couldn’t they? And now she’d promised Audrey, maybe she’d have to put in extra effort to ensure they did.
‘Come on, Gran, would you open your eyes already!’
Veronica knew the hallway mirror was there in front of her and when she opened her eyes she was going to look different to earlier that day when the usual image had sailed past the glass, not giving her cause to pause. Since then her hair had been done and Audrey had fixed her make-up, going for a natural but thickening lashline, brightening her eyes – whatever that meant – and curling lashes. Veronica hadn’t used make-up in years. She only hoped they hadn’t made her look like a clown. She didn’t want to scare Layla half to death.
‘Too late to back out now,’ Audrey said, doing the drum roll again.
‘Yes, I suppose it is.’ She could hear Tanya getting excited too and caught up with the moment, Veronica opened her eyes.
‘Gran, what do you think?’ Audrey, smiling, peered in the mirror alongside her, but her smile faded.
Veronica couldn’t speak. Audrey had even made her put on her favourite top – a soft teal, wool top with a high neck. And the woman looking back at her now wasn’t a woman she knew anymore. She hadn’t known this woman for years. Her hair cut short at the back but with wispy layers on top and at the sides looked more elegant than her bun ever did, and the colour in it warmed her skin rather than leaving it washed out like it usually felt. It was quite the transformation.
‘You hate it.’ Audrey panicked because she’d seen the tears forming.
‘What you’ve done…it’s…it’s…’
‘I’m so sorry, Mrs Bentley.’ Tanya was at her side, her hand touching her arm.
‘Gran, I just wanted to help.’
Veronica shook her head as a lone tear trickled down her cheek. Audrey came to her other side and touched her arm as they all stood there looking in the mirror. Veronica finally said, ‘What you’ve done is … well, it’s nothing short of amazing. I love it. I don’t know quite how to thank you.’
Layla and Charlie couldn’t believe it when they turned up later that afternoon. Charlie was obviously looking for Sam who was out and about, but Veronica supposed the sight of her standing here in the kitchen was enough of a distraction.
‘You look beautiful!’ Layla enthused.
‘You really do, Veronica.’ Charlie kissed her on the cheek. ‘Who did this to you?’
‘Guilty,’ said Audrey. ‘And the other person was Tanya, but she’s gone home now so you’ll have to blame me.’
Veronica hugged her granddaughter again, already disappointed that come tonight she’d have to take the make-up off and go to bed.
But so many people she cared about were around her now. And when Layla unrolled the kindness calendar, which had taken to being kept here at the ‘club headquarters’,
