Her Bundles Of Joy

The hairstylist raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I can. Sit, I’ll show you why they call me the Brooklyn Donatello—”

“Nobody calls you that—”

“These hands, they make wonders. Just wait and you’ll see.”

*****

Miriam was great with haircuts but that was it. She wasn’t at all the ‘Brooklyn Donatello’. In fact, Donatello was probably turning in his grave after hearing such a profane comparison. Her Afro curly hair was styled in an updo that Miriam had referred to as the ‘pineapple’. It wasn’t exactly the hardest hairstyle ever known by mankind, nevertheless it made Nicole look really nice and chic. She had once thought of getting rid of her curls, but as the dancer saw how beautiful she looked with them, Nicole knew she’d made the right choice by keeping them intact. There was no point in not being proud of who she was and of how she looked. The young dancer had just finished her makeup and she had to admit it went really well with the updo. Miriam wasn’t a prodigy but she’d done decent work with her hair tonight. Not to mention that she’d charged way less than any other hairstylist would, especially on New Year’s Eve. Nicole knew her almost spotless skin didn’t require that much makeup, so she stuck to the basics: smoky eyes and dark purple lipstick. The highlighter accentuating her cheekbones did give the makeup a slight look of ‘hey, this makeup wasn’t that basic’, on top of making her skin look really healthy. The makeup did a pretty good job at hiding any signs (the bags under her eyes) that could have indicated that Nicole was a working-class woman who went to bed at 1am and got up at six in the morning every day.

The dancer had an internal debate on whether or not she should eat before going to the party. These types of parties usually never had a buffet available for the guests, but Nicole didn’t want to risk not fitting in her black, tight-fitting sparkly cocktail dress. It had cost a fortune, way more than Nicole should’ve spent on a single dress, so she wanted to make good use of it. Being an heir to such a large empire, Evan was quite popular, so his party was bound to be crammed with beautiful women wearing beautiful clothes. Nicole wanted to at least stand a chance against them in the race for his attention…in a friendly way, of course.

But drinking alcohol without eating anything beforehand was definitely not the option. Doing that usually had negative effects on most people, but it affected Nicole even harder. The young dancer knew that if she took the tiniest of tiny sips of alcohol, she’d get drunk immediately. And drunk Nicole was overwhelming and the complete opposite of how she wanted to act in front of Evan. He was so not ready to see her drunk.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text message.

Speaking of the handsome, painfully sexy, and charming devil…

Can’t wait for tonight! I’m really excited to spend this New Year’s eve with my best friends.

Ignoring the pang in her heart after reading the word ‘best friends’, Nicole sent back a text with similar content. Why would she feel upset that Evan had called her his best friend? She should be jumping for joy for knowing that he considered her one of his best friends, right? Nicole cursed her stupid heart for making her feel this way. She also felt upset by his choice of words because it kind of triggered a string of sadness in her. She missed Dani so much it hurt, but the Latina refused to speak to her anymore. Worst of all, Nicole would probably never know what happened. Christmas and New Years were their traditional ‘best friends season’. The two former friends would go on shopping sprees, they’d decorate each other’s homes, exchange gifts, have special dinners together…It really felt like being punched when Nicole realized that this year would be her first holiday away from Danielle and George ever since she’d left Ohio. It was as if she was being abandoned by her family all over again.

Nicole was brought out of her reverie once Evan’s apartment building came into sight. She hadn’t realized she’d arrived. It was a huge, modern building at the Upper East Side that reflected accurately the blond man’s wealth. Evan was so simple and…human…that sometimes the dancer forgot her friend was a billionaire. It wasn’t like they ever spoke about money, though. Handing the cab driver a fifty dollar bill, Nicole stepped out of the yellow car and stared at the building in amazement. She’d only heard about it before, even in East Flatbush people had gossiped about the new condos in Manhattan that cost more money than they’d be able to make in three lifetimes. Dani had even joked about the two of them taking a day off to go visit the building and try to seduce a rich old man into marrying them and buying them an apartment there. If only Dani hadn’t suddenly decided to ignore Nicole’s existence…they could be here together right now.

The sweet elderly man working as doorman opened the doors for Nicole with a warm smile plastered on his face. She was then greeted by the concierge, who also smiled and treated Nicole as if she were a rich person visiting the building. It felt entirely different than the treatment she’d received at Campbell Brothers, with their shrew of a receptionist. The concierge asked Nicole what the purpose of her visit was and she told him about Evan’s party.

“Oh, of course, ma’am. Mr. Campbell’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza is taking place at the penthouse. Just go to the elevator and Lucius, our very best operator, will take you there. Have a good evening, Ms. Carter.”

“Thank you, sir. Happy New Year’s Eve!”

Lucius was a very nice and polite young man. He led Nicole to her destination and wished her a great holiday. The young dancer was so pleased by the treatment she was receiving that she even tipped the charming elevator operator. She rang the doorbell twice and waited for Evan to open the door. It was almost eleven pm, even though Nicole had promised she’d arrive early. She hadn’t expected the ride from Brooklyn to Manhattan would take so much longer than usual, but she should’ve known. It was New Year’s eve after all. When the blue-eyed man opened the door, Nicole could immediately tell that he wasn’t exactly sober anymore. He slightly stumbled as he tried to lean sideways against the wooden door. Evan flashed her a lopsided smile.

“Hello there, gorgeous.”

“Are you drunk already?” She chuckled.

“Not at all…” he drawled. Nicole noticed his Southern accent was stronger than usual now that Evan was in an alcohol-induced state. “I thought you wouldn’t come anymore. Brandi had a last-minute change in her schedule and now she won’t be able to make it.”