“Do you know how much it would be for a good haircut, manicure, a little bit of makeup, and a dress that’s appropriate for a waterfront dinner?” I asked. Okay, so maybe it was an odd question to ask, but it was better to be weird than completely ignorant. If I wanted to get around in Seattle and make a new life for myself, I had to acclimate to my environment. I wasn’t living on the streets anymore, and my situation was far from hopeless now—thanks to my parents.
“I know a great place for makeovers where they let you try the makeup first before you buy,” she said with animated enthusiasm. “And they do hair, pedicures, and manicures. You can have an entire makeover for one fairly reasonable price.”
The thought of reinventing myself to some extent was appealing.
I hadn’t really wanted to use the emergency money that Jett had deposited, but I definitely hadn’t wanted to ask him for money, even though I knew he’d happily give it to me.
I figured if I used some money from the savings account, I could just replace it once I got my inheritance and started working. There was no way Jett was going to take his money back out of my account anyway. Not unless I had something there that was mine.
“Do I have enough in my account to cover the makeover?” I asked hopefully.
The woman finally focused on the screen. Her eyes kept assessing the account, and I was starting to fear that something was wrong.
Maybe there was nothing in the account.
Maybe the bank had screwed up Jett’s deposit.
Maybe there would be no makeover for me.
My shoulders slumped in disappointment. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was the first bold step I’d taken in my life, and it looked like it was about to blow up in my face.
“Would you like your balance?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” I answered.
“Can I see your ID? It says here that you’ll probably have an expired Ohio driver’s license until you obtain a valid driver’s license for Washington.”
I rifled through my bag and took out my ID. “It’s still Ohio.”
Jett must have given the bank instructions and information, so he’d obviously intended to leave some money in the account.
He’d already done so much for me that it didn’t matter whether or not I could buy a dress. I’d just hoped for some kind of change, a symbolic gesture that I was going to get a normal life, and come out of counseling as a healthier person.
I’d never had a real haircut, much less a makeover to see how I would look when I went to the effort of looking my best. My mother had always trimmed my thick, dark hair when I was younger, and I’d had far more important things to worry about when I was alone and on the streets.
I’d never owned a nice dress, or something that was in style. I knew I had a closet full of them now thanks to Jett, but I hadn’t chosen them. And I finally wanted to be exactly who I was, and embrace my new life.
Once I paid Jett back for the money he’d spent on the auction, I knew I wasn’t going to be wealthy. But I’d have enough to make sure I was never homeless again.
Nobody would ever look at me and call me beautiful.
But maybe I was hoping that Jett would look at me with lust in his eyes, the same kind of desire I felt when I looked at him.
The teller took a pen and a small piece of blank paper to write down my balance and slide it across the counter as she said, “You can get as many makeovers as you want,” she said.
I looked down at the balance. My stomach lurched and my knees threatened to give out as I saw all of those zeros.
Jett truly had wanted me to be taken care of if anything ever happened to him.
He’d given me more than just emergency money.
The account that had been drawn down to nothing when I’d left Ohio now had a balance of just over two million dollars.
My fairy tale was getting a whole lot crazier, and my Cinderella moniker was starting to fit me perfectly.
I didn’t know if I should feel horrified or happy, but I pushed that to the back of my mind to ponder later.
I drew out enough money to cover what I needed, and some extra so I could pick up the things I needed to make Jett a ton of pastries.
My body was still shaking as I hopped back into the car.