Pretty Girls Don't Cry (9 page)

“Good to know.”

Dr. Garrett then explained the procedure using very easy-to-understand terms, and spoke about some technical details such as angles and artistic principles for aesthetic balance. The woman didn't seem to possess much of a sense of humor, but she was clearly passionate about her work, and confident about being able to give Nora, as she put it, “the proper nose that ought to have been assigned to your lovely face.”

“How soon can you fit me in?” Nora asked.

“Next week. I do surgeries in the morning, so you'll come in at five, and you can go home in the afternoon. Someone must be here to drive you home. You can not, under any circumstances, take a cab, or ride your bicycle home.”

Nora laughed. “Oh, I'm not a bicycle person.”

“Excellent. Now, let's do the computer imaging so you can see your new nose ahead of time, and then you can take some time to think about whether or not you'd like to proceed.”

Dr. Garrett took Nora's photo and loaded it up on the computer. The software was specialized, and the results were nothing like the crude adjustments Nora had tried on her computer at home. The face on the screen was still her, but better. Her nose was no longer the focal point, it was just an organ to breathe in and out of. She saw her eyes as she imagined other people saw them, and they were pretty. She had pretty eyes.

Dr. Garrett printed out some copies of the photos for Nora to take with her.

Out at reception, Nora spoke with the short-nosed girl, and tentatively scheduled a surgery date. Nora would have to call in to confirm after she'd had a few days to think, as well as arrange for payment.

On the way home, Nora thought about the other doctor, and how nice he had been. She'd love to share a table with him at a charity function, or something like that, but he wasn't the one she wanted working on her face. If someone was going to peel back the skin on her nose, break the bone, and reshape the cartilage, she wanted it to be Dr. Garrett.

When she got home after the appointment, Nora moved some money from her savings account to her credit card and confirmed the surgery by email. She printed out the page with the list of after-care supplies, which included a medicated rinse to wash the insides of the nostrils post-surgery, and put it on the fridge, next to her mother's grocery list.

She also pinned up the modified photos Dr. Garrett had given her. Her parents needed to go through their own stages to get to acceptance of the idea, and she didn't need to be there when they did it.

*

On Sunday, Tianne called Nora to say she couldn't teach yoga that day or have lunch, due to the baby being sick. It wasn't anything serious, but she wanted to be home in case his fever went up.

“You should still go to yoga,” Tianne said over the phone. “There's a substitute teacher and he's great. He has the cutest Jamaican accent and he smells like peppermint.”

As enjoyable as that sounded, Nora had a better idea, so she called Kylie and arranged for them to go on a hike instead. “We shouldn't be inside a sweaty room on a gorgeous day like this,” Nora said.

As she took down Kylie's address so she could pick her up, Nora realized she'd never been to Kylie's apartment. After all this time of being work friends and eating lunch together—Nora her leftovers packed by her mother and Kylie her chicken and mandarin orange salads—she still had a lot to learn about Kylie.

Kylie's apartment was only two blocks away from where Bobby lived, though it was on the busy main street, and the building was an older three story walk-up. Nora rang the buzzer, and Kylie buzzed her in, so she took the stairs up to the apartment. Kylie gave her a quick tour of the modest digs, looking chipper with her wavy brown hair in a ponytail, and sporting brand new hiking boots.

“You might want to pull the tag off those,” Nora said. “Nobody needs to know this is your first hike.”

“I really admire how you don't let anything slow you down,” Kylie said, her gaze traveling down to Nora's feet and darting back and forth between the two of them. They left the apartment and Kylie locked up.

“You can't tell which one is real, can you?” Nora asked as they walked down the stairs to the lobby.

Kylie's cheeks turned red. “Oh, was I staring? I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry. I guess I'm curious, but it's rude, isn't it? You must be so sick of people being curious.”

Nora stopped in the lobby and pulled up the legs of her sweatpants, revealing the prosthetic on her right leg. “Honestly, I don't mind, not with friends or with little kids, though I draw the line at taking it off and passing it around.” She tapped lightly on the ankle joint. “The real technology is hidden inside here.”

“May I?” Kylie reached forward, and with permission, touched the surface. “It's squishy! Like a ...” Her cheeks turned even more red.

“Yes, it's silicone, just like they use for certain toys. Or so I've heard.” She used her joking radio voice, the one of the uptight old lady character, “I'd
never
use such a thing.”

“Oh, me neither,” said Kylie. “And I certainly wouldn't give it a name.”

They got in the car, and even though Kylie didn't look over, Nora pointed out the adjustments she'd had made to the car to accommodate her foot. Some people with a right leg prosthetic choose to get a left-foot accelerator, but because her prosthetic was below the knee, Nora had more than enough control to use a right-hand pedal. She did, however, have the metal bar added alongside the brake pedal, to protect against getting her foot accidentally lodged underneath.

Kylie nodded and moved on to admiring the silly figurines attached to the dashboard.

Nora noted Kylie had only brought water, no snacks for the hike. She'd thought ahead and brought extra. Maybe Kylie was one of those people who didn't eat because she didn't get hungry. Nora hoped that was the case.

*

The trail was called Billy Goat Lane, thought it should have been called Billy Goat Incline or even Endless Stairs, because of the constant uphill angle.

Her prosthetic was rated for light sport use, such as this, but it was still a challenge to keep her balance when she got winded.

Nora hadn't attempted the climb in over a year, and she regretted not hitting the stationary bike more often for cardio. The women stopped for bottled water and to catch their breath. Kylie accepted a granola bar and bit into it cautiously.

A man's voice came from down the slope, behind them, “See, I told you there'd be hot girls. Hello, Nora and Kylie!” It was Bobby, with his red hair dappled by sunlight, and his cheeks flushed from exertion. He spoke to his companion, another man of about the same age, or possibly as old as thirty-something.

“Hello yourself,” Kylie said, crumpling up the granola bar wrapper and stuffing it in her pocket.

“This is my new friend Ivan,” Bobby said of the other man as they made introductions, including Nora and Kylie's place of work. Bobby seemed calm and professional, not letting on he had any hurt feelings toward Nora, but it could have been his sales training. Ivan was less polished, and puffing from the climb. He was thin and wore his brown hair in a low ponytail. His clothes looked like they might be hemp, and he wore sport sandals with wool socks on his feet. The man did not work in advertising.

“I work for the enemy,” Ivan said, shaking Nora's hand. “I'm at The Badger. In promotions.”

“No kidding,” Kylie said. The Badger was the rock frequency of the other family of radio stations in town. Nora's uncle Don would have loved to have bought up every station in town and not had the competition from The Badger and its siblings, but the CRTC didn't allow such things.

Bobby asked Nora, “Can we join you ladies, or are you going to punch us?” He gave her a smirking look.

“Great,” she said. “Does everyone in town know?”

He shrugged. “No. Just the people with ... internet ... and ears. I think your ratings are going to hit the roof when you get back from your, uh,
vacation
.”

The four of them started back up the hill. Kylie stumbled, and the two men raced to grab her by the elbows to steady her. They were attentive the whole way up the mountain, with Nora a few steps behind, thinking dark thoughts about the two men who were clearly charmed by adorable Kylie, in her little pink gym shorts, showing off both of her tanned, smooth legs.

When Kylie stopped to drink some water, Bobby offered to carry her the rest of the way on his shoulders. Nora wondered if he was fawning over the girl to make her jealous, but then Ivan offered Kylie the same. Nora imagined the two of them as actual billy goats, butting each other with the tops of their heads to compete over Kylie.

Nora tripped over a branch and went sprawling. The other three stopped and watched, none offering to help her up. She'd seen that happen before, and imagined it was about her disability, and people not being sure if they should help or if it would be an insult. Ivan probably didn't know about the leg, though, and he didn't offer a hand either. No, it had to be about the looks from the chin up. Kylie had the kind of face that made men want to be helpful and Nora did not.

Nora counted down the number of sleeps until she had her surgery.

*

They reached the top, and made a picnic out of their shared food. To outside observers, like the other families and hikers, they probably looked like they were double dating.

When Bobby pointed out some chicken salad Kylie had dropped on her shirt, Nora looked at his hands, with their smattering of freckles and reddish hair, and decided she did want to sleep with him again. She wanted to throw him down on his dark gray sheets, with the lights on, and spank that butt. She wanted to get on top of him and make him forget about every other girl.

“You're quiet for someone on the radio,” Ivan said to Nora.

“Just thinking about some things I want to do,” she said, giving Bobby a hard look. He pulled away from Kylie and tilted his head, as though he could read her mind. They stared into each other and a smile played across his lips. Maybe he was picking up on what she was thinking. If the other two weren't around, she would have jumped on him right then and there, kissing and groping him like some horny teenager.

*

The hike back down Billy Goat Lane was more difficult, and Nora remembered why she didn't come more often. Going up was easy, but coming down the steep inclines, even with the wooden steps that volunteers had installed in some of the trickier sections, would be hard enough for a person without a disability.

Halfway, she caught up with Bobby and grabbed onto his muscular forearm for support. “You need me?” he asked her quietly, so the other two, ahead of them, wouldn't hear.

“I don't need you. I
want
you,” she said, squeezing his arm. “If you'd like, I could come to your house after this, for coffee.”

Bobby slipped his arm around her waist and gently helped her over a log. Huskily, he whispered near her ear, “I am at your service. Any time, anywhere.”

*

Nora made an excuse about doing errands for her mother and dropped Kylie at her apartment right after the hike.

“We miss having you at work. I don't even want to go in tomorrow,” Kylie said as she unfastened her seat belt in front of her apartment building. “It's no fun without you.”

Nora was touched by this, and felt bad about considering career opportunities away from the studio. “I'll be back in no time, but I should probably warn you. I am getting that nasal surgery, so I might look a little different.”

Kylie smiled and squealed with excitement, to Nora's surprise. “I'm so glad! I've been trying not to stare at your nose, and I do think you're lovely exactly how you are, but I can understand why you're doing it, and I want you to know, I support you completely.”

Nora leaned forward and gave her friend a hug inside the car. “You're like the sister I never had,” she said, surprising herself with her honesty.

Kylie got out of the car, but not before making Nora promise to call her immediately after the surgery, and every day after, to check in.

Nora waved goodbye and circled the block a few times to allow Bobby enough time to get home, then she went to his building.

*

In the light of day, the metalwork chandelier in the lobby looked macabre, and the floor, with its bold black and white geometric circles, looked scuffed. She should have been tired from the long hike, but her blood was racing, especially below the waist. She hadn't felt this excited since the early days with Andrew, back in college.

Bobby opened his door, nude except for a towel around his waist. “I thought you could join me in the shower.”

“No shower. I would need something to sit on, and you don't have any bars in there for me to hold onto.”

“You can hold onto me.”

She peeled off her shirt and bra, still standing in the living room. “That's gallant of you, but I wouldn't be comfortable.”

He pulled open the coat closet and retrieved a folding, plastic chair. “Will this work?”

He put down the chair, cupped her breast with one hand and kissed her.

“Sure,” she said. “I'll try anything.” He kissed her again. “Well, not anything, but, yes, I could use a shower after that hike.”

He kissed her neck and chest. “You taste salty.”

Chapter 6

They got everything set up in the shower. At home, Nora had crutches to help her get to and from her ensuite bathroom without her foot. She could hop, or shuffle over on hands and knees, but neither were dignified options, so she stood still, arms out. Bobby scooped her up and brought her into the spacious shower stall, where she sat on the chair.

She'd never showered with a man before, because Andrew had been too self-conscious, and she marveled at what she'd been missing. He felt different covered in sudsy water. They shared the bar of soap and took turns washing each other. He complained of being ticklish when she lathered up his armpits.

When he turned his back, she gently sunk her teeth into his delicious, round bum cheek. She remembered biting Stevey on the arm, that day at the office, when he'd pulled her away from Murray, and how good it had felt to act without thinking. On air, she always had to think, three sentences ahead of what she was saying, so she didn't drop a beat or say something politically incorrect. It felt good to bite, and to grab what you wanted. She reached around to grab onto Bobby, and he stiffened in her hand.