The Library of Lost and Found(51)

“Okay. Well, I’ll do your makeup next, then you can take a look.” Suki took her cosmetic bag out of her handbag. It was purple and shiny, the size of a house brick, and looked just as heavy. “Can you sit still for longer?”

Martha nodded.

She used to wear a little mascara and a favorite dusky-pink Elizabeth Arden lipstick that Joe said he liked, and which gave her lips a natural color. But that was over twenty years ago, when her face didn’t look like it needed a good iron after waking up in the morning.

She never bothered to apply makeup these days. It was supposed to enhance what you already had, but what if you didn’t have anything in the first place?

The experience of Suki tending to her face was both intimidating and strangely relaxing—a brush to the cheeks, a finger blend to her eyes, the sensation of her eyelashes briefly lifting upward with the mascara brush.

“You’ve got good skin,” Suki said.

Martha, not used to receiving compliments, wondered if this was a secret code for, You have crow’s feet and broken veins, but surprisingly no spots. When Suki said she was going to give her a smoky eye, she thought of a finger ring of charcoal she had once given herself after overcooking some sausages.

She’d lost the ability to process a compliment. If someone said anything nice to her, by the time she’d mused over the conundrum of what it really meant and how to reply, the moment had passed.

After a further few minutes of dabbing, brushing and painting, Suki announced, “Ta-da. Take a look.”

Martha pressed her lips together and they felt sticky, like she’d eaten honey. Her eyelashes felt a little crusty. “I’m not sure if that’s advisable.”

Suki pressed a small round mirror into her hand, anyway. She folded her arms and stood back.

Martha inhaled and held her breath, preparing herself for disappointment, or even horror. Her rib cage felt corset-tight as she slowly lifted the mirror, wondering what awful apparition might look back at her. She turned her face to the side and then the other, to view her reflection. The person looking back at her didn’t look like Martha Storm.

“What do you think?” Suki asked.

Martha moved the mirror backward and then forward again. She tilted it and pouted to see her lip color more clearly. The peachy color on her cheeks made it look like she’d just got back from her brisk morning walk. Her eyelids shimmered with a soft olive and gold, and a fine flick of brown liner gave her eyes a feline quality.

Embarrassingly, she found herself brimming with tears. Deep lines appeared between her eyebrows as she tried to stop them.

I look more like the woman Joe fell in love with.

“I presume you’re weepy because you like it, not because it’s gross,” Suki said. “The mascara is waterproof, so don’t worry about that.”

Martha blinked quickly to test out this claim. She peered into the mirror to check for smears or smudges and was most impressed that there weren’t any. “You’ve made me look like an antiques show presenter,” she said. “Thank you.”

Suki frowned. “Um, is that good?”

“Of course.” Martha pressed a hand to her hair, which was shorter but more full and curlier. “I look like me, only much, much better.”

“You look lovely. And it wasn’t hard to do. Next time I’ll talk you through it.”

“Next time?” Martha repeated, finding it difficult to tear her gaze away from the person in the mirror who looked like her more glamorous, prettier twin.

“Only if you want to.”

“Yes.” Martha nodded furiously, her curls bouncing. “Very much so.”

Suki took a handful of products and stuffed them back into her cosmetics bag. “Have you ever thought about tracking Joe down?”

Martha tried to process the question. “No, why would I? He got married. To someone other than me.”

“Yes, but that was ages ago. He might be divorced now. You should look him up.”

“Oh no,” Martha said. Looking to her past meant thinking about her parents, of her nana vanishing and everything around that. She didn’t want to look back, only forward, as Zelda had prompted. “He moved on. He found a new life, without me in it. I was surplus to his requirements.”

“Don’t rule it out,” Suki said. “Sometimes putting things to rest from your past can be catholic.”

“Do you mean cathartic?”

“Probably.” Suki was about to say something else when her mobile phone pinged with a text. She took it out of her jacket pocket. “Hmm.” She grimaced as she read the message.

Martha ran a finger over her scratchy eyelashes and thought about Zelda’s instruction to bring someone to dinner. She wasn’t sure if Suki classed herself as a friend yet, or if she still belonged in the acquaintance category. But they had shared a unique experience together, with the dragon’s head and her makeover. Although Suki was young and might have other offers on the table, it might help to distract her from thinking about Ben. “You said that you’re not busy…” she started. “Perhaps you’d like to join me at my nana’s house for dinner?”

“Oh.” Suki wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, but I’ve just had a text from Ben. He wants to pick up some stuff and chat. I’ll have to stay in, though I’d much prefer to go out with you.” She stuffed her cosmetic bag back into her handbag. “It’s probably time to give him my culmination.”