Chocolate Girls with Golden Hair (9 page)

As all of these thoughts came to her,
she felt a spirit of elation and a whopping dose of euphoria that
led her up from the sofa and into the bathroom. It was like a
rebirth as she stood at the bathroom mirror. She dropped her robe
to the floor, scanned over her slender body and round breasts. She
released the ponytail ring from her hair, allowing her dull black
hair to splash against her shoulders. Through her limp hair, she
ran her fingers. Her boring black hair was in serious need of some
style and a touch of color. A breath of rejuvenation exhaled from
her mouth.

Tomorrow her life would truly
begin.

And now was the perfect
time.

It was going to be her thirtieth
birthday.

The night passed fast.

Not only did Bianca sleep well but she
awakened high-spirited. She needed the entire day to make herself
over and going to the office clashed with her schedule. So she
called off and didn't hesitate for a moment.

Luckily on such short notice, Bianca
secured an appointment at Vidal Sassoon. She saw it as a sign that
she was on her way. Though she and Lee made dinner plans for her
birthday, she chose a date with herself instead. After a quick
oatmeal breakfast, she threw on some jeans from the fresh laundry
in her drawer and dressed. After checking her wallet for both
credit cards, she left her apartment on a mission.

At the ritzy Vidal Sassoon on Michigan
Avenue, Bianca anxiously waited in the reception area. She flipped
through the pages of Essence magazine, all the while relishing in
the tropical shampoo scents and hair sprays that ruminated up her
nose. The shiny black chairs and white marble counters warranted it
a star status flavor, which seemed more than appropriate for her
unique endeavor.

She imagined herself as one of the
models who graced the pages of the celebrity magazines and
fantasized about how she would feel after her makeover, causing a
warm, tingly sensation to pass through her.

She already knew exactly what she
wanted.

Bangs and something blonde.

Definitely something blonde.

Two hours had passed by the time
Bianca's stylist finished her hair, and Bianca eagerly waited to
see the end result. While Bianca's eyes were closed, her stylist
swiveled her chair around towards the wide mirror. When Bianca
opened her eyes, she was in awe with what she saw.

It was like looking through a mirror
with Camina, Michelle and her sister revealing themselves in her
reflection. Her long straight bleached-blonde hair with bangs was
identical to theirs. Her only regret was that she failed to
transform herself a long time ago. A huge glowing smile arose from
her perfectly decorated face as she ran her fingers through her
silky blonde hair. Not only was she gorgeous, but she possessed a
new attitude and saw the world as definitely a place for her. Her
new look filled her with confidence―confidence she didn't know
existed. She didn't think there would ever come a day when she
would feel this sure of herself as if she owned the world and just
allowed others to live in it with her.

She was Ms. It.

The morning would not be complete
without a French manicure to complement her jazzy new hairstyle.
This was only the beginning of much more to come. Today was off to
a magnificent start. And Bianca didn't know how it could get much
better. She departed from the salon but not without leaving her
stylist a much-deserved $40 tip. She headed towards Macy's
department store, which happened to be in the same building as
Vidal Sassoon.

Now it was time for the
wardrobe.

On the main floor of Macy's, Bianca
stopped at every mirror in her path. She wanted to constantly
remind herself of the marvelous masterpiece created─herself. What
she needed now was a theme song, and she had just the perfect tune.
It was 33 Flavors and Then Some by Alana Davis. This is the song
that she would continually play in her head as a reminder of the
dream that she had created.

Up the escalator, Bianca strolled. She
made her way to the DKNY department and tried on every outfit that
caught her eye: dresses, suits, blouses, long skirts, short skirts
and pants. There would be no more polk-a-dot dresses. No more
turtleneck sweaters. No more polyester and no bland colors. But,
there would continue to be red. Lots and lots of red.

Bianca sought adventure and excitement,
and the clothes in her closet would not do her justice. Engrossed
in esteem, a particular double-breasted designer pantsuit captured
her attention. She would do the world a favor by sporting it out
the door for everyone to see, the public having waited long
enough.

Her shopping spree would not be
complete without the purchase of several pairs of shoes and some
leather boots to match her new $400 ivory coat. The coat would not
only keep her warm during a typical Chicago winter, but more
importantly, it looked good on her, and from where she stood,
looking good meant everything.

After she maxed out both of her credit
cards to five thousand dollars each, she needed to write a check
for her new earrings and makeup. She exited the store looking like
two million dollars, much too good to wait for a bus. This
invigorating experience elevated her to the top of the hemisphere,
and she was completely in control for the first time in a long
time.

Twenty minutes later, Bianca reached
her apartment after she hailed a taxi from the Loop. She dropped
her shopping bags to the living room floor and couldn't wait to
talk to Sandy and show off her new look. She knew that her sister
would be so proud of her. For all of fifteen minutes, Bianca stood
in front of the hall mirror calling out to Sandy, but Sandy was
nowhere to be found.

Where was she?

Bianca decided to try again to contact
her sister, but for now, she would focus on her new look. Most of
what Bianca purchased would be delivered because she could only
carry so much with her. After having adored herself for several
minutes in the hall mirror, she hurried to the bathroom to try on
her new earrings. She posed in her new outfits, modeling everything
that she brought home with her. She visualized her friends at work
falling over themselves when they saw her. As she fiddled with her
hair, a stream of arrogance flourished through her. She absolutely
could not enjoy enough of what she saw. It was her new blonde hair,
her new clothes and, most of all, her new attitude that she just
could not get enough of.

After she tore herself away from the
mirror, she listened to the messages on her voicemail, most of
which were birthday wishes.

She was thirty years old and a new
woman.

This was definitely a defining moment,
and she needed a drink. As she sipped her wine, one sip at a time,
an image of Mr. Rod Bigg came to her. If only he could see her now,
speak to her now; she would have a few choice words for him. She
was engulfed in resentment for the way that he spoke to her on that
unfortunate evening. As she replayed Rod's offensive words in her
head, a wonderful idea came to mind. She would make another visit
to Excalibur and hopefully meet him a second time. After all, it
was still her birthday, and the day was still fresh and
new.

That evening, Bianca failed at her
attempt to run into Rod at Excalibur. After downing a few drinks,
she made her way back home.

Hope was not lost though.

Eventually, she would run into him and
tell him what she should have told him when she met him the first
time.

Thirty minutes late, definitely not the
norm for her, but necessary to make a grand entrance, Bianca
strolled into her office the next morning. With her Coach bag on
her shoulder, she received stares and ogles from everyone in her
path.

After she hung up her coat, down the
corridor she strutted. She wore a kick-ass attitude and an olive
green pantsuit to match, which appeared to have been tailored for
her lean frame. For each step closer to her desk, her persona,
BeeBee, emerged. By the time she reached her cubicle, a plethora of
coworkers awaited her as if she were queen of the
heavens.

On her desk, an arrangement of flowers
awaited her, along with a dozen red tulips. No doubt the tulips
were from Lee because tulips were her favorite. After she offered
her good mornings to everyone, she read the card of her delivered
flowers and learned her assumption was correct. The tulips were
from Lee, but what she didn't know was that there was a second
arrangement for her from her boss, Lillian, wishing her a happy
birthday as well.

Bianca was feeling on top of the world
as her coworkers bombarded her workstation like she was a prominent
salesperson. She was the center of this gala and enjoyed every
second of it.

Rollie Williams, a paralegal who
dressed more like he worked in the mailroom, wearing khakis and
loafers managed to squeeze through the crowd and approach her, his
eyes scanning her from top to bottom. "Don't you look lovely," he
stated in his distinctive girlish voice.

"Thank you," Bianca said as she pushed
her hair behind her left ear.

Soon Michelle made her way over, her
eyes widened and her mouth was half open. "Bianca?"

"I like to think of myself as
BeeBee."

Chapter 7

MICHELLE DID A DOUBLE TAKE of Bianca's
appearance, seemingly even more shocked by the name BeeBee. "Okay,
BeeBee. What did you do to yourself?"

Bianca flung her fingers through her
silky blonde hair and held her head back. She was so full of
herself, and she wanted everyone to know, because it was no secret.
"You like?"

"Yes, I do," Michelle said to
her.

As Bianca absorbed the non-stop
compliments about her hair, makeup and clothes, Camina came to mind
as she lounged in the chair and crossed her legs. She couldn't wait
for Camina to see her. It was the moment that she anticipated and
thought about all night.

It was as if her thoughts of Camina
brought Camina out of hiding and into existence as Camina was now
approaching Bianca at her desk, her arms folded, not saying a
word.

Michelle was quick to speak in Camina's
presence. "Will you look at the new Bianca? I mean
BeeBee."

"BeeBee? Who's BeeBee?" Camina
asked.

Bianca elegantly stood up with a
purpose. "I am."

Camina glanced at Michelle in
disbelief, then turned to Bianca and rolled her eyes. "So, what's
with the blonde hair? What, you want to look like me or
something?"

Before Bianca could answer, Michelle
immediately jumped in. "She doesn't want to look like
you."

"I can speak for myself,
Michelle."

While Michelle seemed surprised by
Bianca's unusual tone of voice, Bianca placed her hands on her hips
and directed her attention towards Camina. "For your information, I
have no desire to look like you. I'm better than that. Much
better."

Though Bianca's new look resembled
Camina and Michelle's, it was not her intention to look like them
at all, but more so like her late sister who happened to resemble
both Michelle and Camina.

Camina appeared as if she were about to
step away, when she suddenly stepped around to Bianca's desk. "I'm
sorry things didn't work out for you the other night at the club.
It must have been tough watching me and Michelle have such a good
time while you sat there. Alone."

Bianca wore a mental venom protective
shield to safeguard herself from Camina's poisonous words. She was
not about to allow Camina to steal her joy and bring her down. "Oh,
it wasn't so bad," Bianca said to her.

The congestion at Bianca's workstation
brought an unexpected visitor─Bruce Colby.

"Bianca?" Bruce Colby bellowed. "I
almost didn't recognize you."

It was no secret to anyone that Bruce
had a thing for black women with blonde hair so Bianca was not
surprised when she witnessed his eyes snaking through her straight
blonde hair.

"You look wonderful," he
stated.

"Thank you."

Bianca noticed Bruce peering at her in
a way that he had never done before, a way that she never thought
that he would. She had successfully captured the attention of
Camina's prized possession and that was reward in
itself.

The excitement soon died down and
everyone vanished and returned to work, all except Michelle.
Michelle seemed to still be in shock by Bianca's new
persona.

Bianca plucked her compact mirror from
her purse and studied herself. She then twirled the ends of her
hair around her finger as if to doll herself up. Next, she added
another coat of her glossy lipstick.

All the while, Michelle continually
studied her as if Bianca were a science project. "Since you weren't
here yesterday, I'd like to take you to lunch for your
birthday."

Bianca was so wrapped up in the
reflection of herself in her compact mirror that she didn't hear
Michelle.

"Bianca, did you hear me?"