“It does,” she agreed. “Though I’ve already told Nathan to bring a bottle of chardonnay to the hospital. I’m going to want a glass or three right after delivery.”
An hour or so later, Mia was sitting in a salon chair staring into the mirror at a stranger. She smiled and the reflected woman smiled back.
Okay, there had been some nerves when Tiffany had come at Mia’s head with a pair of shears. But the panic had dissolved when she’d realized that the beautiful Tiffany was only trimming and shaping Mia’s long-ignored hair. But before she could admire herself, Tiffany had mixed up some color and affixed it to Mia’s head with small sheets of aluminum foil.
While she sat under a hot dryer, wondering what she’d gotten herself into, Amanda had been right there, chatting and laughing with the other women in the salon. Even though Mia wasn’t part of the conversation, she felt as though she were.
There was that tantalizing sense of belonging that she’d yearned for most of her life. This was her home. She had friends. She had purpose. And now…she had a fiancé. Who, she told herself as Tiffany blew her hair dry, was going to be very surprised the next time she saw him.
“You’re being really quiet,” Amanda said.
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
“About today, mostly,” Mia said with a half smile. “This was a great idea, Amanda.”
“Wasn’t it?” A short, delighted laugh spilled from her as she walked up behind Mia’s chair and met her gaze in the mirror. “Honestly, sometimes I’m just brilliant. Of course, I’ll seriously owe Pam for taking diner duty herself until our extra waitress comes in. But it was worth it.”
“It was.” Mia swiveled around in her chair and stood up. “I feel more relaxed than I ever have.”
“Well, you look great, too.” Amanda did a slow circle around Mia. “I love what she did with your hair. It’s still long and it’s so thick I could hate you for it…”
Mia laughed and gave her head a shake, watching in the mirror how the long, layered waves swirled out, then shifted right back into place. It was amazing. She hadn’t even known her hair could do this.
“…and the layers. I love the highlights, too. It’s still dark brown, but there’s warmth mixed in there now, too.”
Mia lifted one hand to slide her fingers through her hair. “It feels softer, too.”
“Mia?”
A voice spoke up from the side and both women turned to look at the speaker. Piper Kindred was standing in the open doorway. “Is that you, Mia?”
“It is,” she said and grinned like a fool. How fun it was to see the surprise on her friend’s face and to imagine how much greater Dave’s shock was going to be. “Amanda talked me into a spa day.”
“And doesn’t she look fabulous?” Amanda said. “Well, except for the faded jeans and the long-sleeved T-shirt. Shopping is next on our list.”
Piper’s curly red hair was drawn back into her usual ponytail. She wore dark blue jeans and an oversized black sweatshirt covering up a curvy figure. Her green eyes were shining and her lips were curved in a wide smile.
“Good luck with that, Mia. Amanda’s always loved shopping, but I don’t envy you at all.”
“Exactly how I feel about it,” Mia admitted.
Amanda shook her head at both of them. “And you call yourselves women. Where’s your gender pride?”
“Women do more than shop,” Piper pointed out with a chuckle. “Like say…work as paramedics?”
“Yes, yes,” Amanda retorted with a grin. “We all know you’re a paramedic and that’s wonderful. But there’s no reason you can’t be female while you do it.”
Piper winked at Mia. “I’m always female, Amanda. I’m actually here for a haircut and a pedicure.”
Amanda waved one hand in front of her face. “Hold me up, Mia. I think I might faint.”
Mia laughed, delighted with the banter between the two old friends.
“Very funny,” Piper drawled, then turned her gaze back to Mia. “Seriously, though, you look terrific.”
“Thanks,” Mia said. “The terror was well worth it, I think.”
“Since she just got engaged to Dave Firestone,” Amanda was saying despite Mia’s look of stunned shock, “I thought it was time she knocked his socks off.”
“Really?” Piper’s eyes widened. “Well, congratulations. Kind of sudden, isn’t it?”