Age Before Beauty (12 page)

A glance at her watch as she hurried from the car to her front porch gave her a shock of surprise. Time had gotten away from her. A flash of guilt shot through her. She had been away from Joanie for almost three hours, and she’d been so busy she hadn’t had a chance to worry. Her arm brushed her breast as she reached for the front door, and she winced. Her body was not her own these days. She hoped Joanie was hungry.

“I’m home,” she called as she pushed the door open.

The delicious odors of oregano and lemon struck her at the same moment the sound from the television assaulted her ears.

Eric sat on the sofa, his eyes glued to the screen. “Hey, honey,” he said without looking up. “Did you have a good time?”

A crowd roared, and Allie glanced at the box. Football, of course. It had claimed Eric’s attention all day yesterday too. She wondered if there was a support group for football widows somewhere in Danville.

“Yes, I did.” She set the bag containing her skin care samples in a corner. “Where’s Joanie?”

“Mother’s changing her. She did just fi—”

His words trailed off as his jaw dropped. He stared at her, his eyes going round. “Did you get mugged by a band of renegade clowns on the way home?”

Allie put a self-conscious hand to her cheek. “You don’t like it?”

Eric hesitated before responding, staring at her face with as much intensity as he had the television screen a moment before. “Well, it’s different.”

“Makeup is a top seller.” She tried to ignore the hurt that pricked her feelings at his hesitant tone. “My face is my best advertisement.”

He continued to stare at her with a sort of horrified fascination. “Couldn’t you just rent a billboard instead?”

Allie thrust her nose into the air. “Thanks for the support, Eric.”

She stomped between him and the television, heading for the nursery, but he jumped up to step in front of her.

“Aw, I’m just giving you a hard time. Don’t be so defensive.” He pulled her into a hug.

She sniffled. “I guess I’m just a little self-conscious. I want to be successful, you know?”

“You will be.” He dipped his head toward hers, then stopped, his brow furrowed. “I’d kiss you, but I’m not sure where to find your lips in all that stuff.”

Allie planted a big Candy Coral kiss on his cheek. “There. Now we’re both wearing the same shade.”

“Gee, thanks.” He fingered the lip marks.

Allie gave him a playful whack on the shoulder. “Go back to your football while I go feed our daughter.”

Eric returned to the sofa. “Mother just finished feeding her.”

“Oh.” Allie halted her progress toward the nursery, a wave of dismay washing over her. She’d missed Joanie’s dinner.

“She did fine.” Eric’s tone was distant, his attention already more on the television set than on her. “Ate like a little piggie, as usual.”

My baby didn’t even miss me.
“She took the bottle okay?”

He didn’t answer or look away from his game.

“Eric!”

“Huh?” He glanced up at her, his expression blank. “Oh. Yeah, she took it great.” He picked up the remote and punched the volume up in a not-so-subtle hint.

Her feelings smarting for the second time in as many minutes, Allie headed for the kitchen to get the breast pump.

10

“We all know accidents happen.” Allie stood in front of the fireplace facing her first set of potential customers, her hands clutching her next demo item behind her back. “When you’re all dressed up for a hot date and sitting across the table from a handsome man, the last thing you want to be thinking about is the stain on your skirt where you dropped that meatball. Varie Cose knows that, which is why we developed …” She let her smile sweep the room before whipping the item from behind. “… the laundry pen!”

To her right, Joan let out an audible groan. Allie cast a glare in her sister’s direction, but Joan’s attention was suddenly absorbed in playing with her little namesake.

Allie refixed her smile and picked up her demonstration cloth. “I know you’ve seen these in the grocery store, but the Varie Cose laundry pen contains a concentrated liquid portion of our patented laundry soap, so it really does work better than the commercial variety. Let me show you.”

The eight women scattered in various seats around Mom’s living room watched as Allie picked up a bottle of mustard and smeared two stains on the white cloth. She held it aloft for the women to see, trying to remember to make eye contact with each one. Mrs. Peterson returned her smile and nodded absently, while Mrs. Faber avoided her gaze by sipping from her glass. Mrs. Vaughn’s brow creased with concern at the sight of the yellow stains.

Allie set a foam blotter on the coffee table, in plain sight of them all, and spread the white cloth across the top. Rose Mattingly leaned forward on the sofa for a better look as Allie uncapped the laundry pen and brushed gently at one of the stains, as she’d been taught to do by Sally Jo. The yellow mark faded visibly upon contact, and as she brushed, vanished completely.

Mrs. Vaughn drew a startled breath. “That’s amazing.” Allie turned a smug smile in her direction. “It really is. We have the special patented formula in another form as well.” She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a box, then held it aloft for them to see. “Individually packaged wipes for larger stains.”

She extracted a small package, ripped it open, and dispatched the second stain as quickly as the first.

“I could use some of those things.” Mrs. Peterson brushed a crumb away from her ample bosom. “I have a shelf here that catches everything. Lonnie always says he can tell what I ate by looking at my—” A blush stained her cheeks and she busied herself with a close examination of Allie’s now-clean white cloth.

“These items work on all stains and most fabrics,” Allie said, “but be sure to try them out in an inconspicuous spot on delicates first.”

In the recliner, Joan leaned forward and placed Joanie on her legs. “Do they work on spit-up?” she asked dryly, pointing at her shoulder.

“Definitely.” Allie handed her the towelette she’d just used, and everyone watched as Joan dispatched a white splotch on her blouse.

“What did you say that item number was?” asked Mrs. Vaughn.

“Three seventy-two.” Allie tried not to smile as three women wrote the number on their order form. Cha-ching! She walked back to the fireplace, dropped the box of towelettes into her bag and turned a wide Sally Jo smile on her guests. “Those are all the products I have to demonstrate tonight, but I encourage you to look through the catalog.”

“Can I take it home with me?” asked Mrs. Peterson.

“Sure.” Allie kept her smile fixed in place. Those catalogs cost three dollars apiece, but of course she couldn’t say no. She just hoped they didn’t end up on the floor of someone’s car. “My number is on the back if you decide later you’d like to order something else. I’ve set out an assortment of makeup samples on the kitchen table. We don’t have time to do full makeovers tonight, but trust me when I say Varie Cose’s skin care products are the best you can buy. And their colors are terrific. Feel free to try them, and if anyone would like to host a makeover demonstration, just let me know. You can earn some very nice hostess gifts. Plus, I offer a 20 percent discount on everything a hostess purchases the night of her party.”

Mom stood. “Let’s all go into the kitchen and have some refreshments while we fill out our order forms.”

Mom winked at Allie as she followed her guests into the kitchen. Joan remained seated, speaking in a low voice to Joanie, who lay lengthwise on her legs.

“I think that went well,” Allie whispered. “Don’t you?”

Joan nodded. “You’re a natural.” She locked gazes with Allie. “But as your sister I feel the need to tell you that you’ve gone a little overboard on the makeup.”

Allie gave her an injured look. “I want everyone to see the products I’m selling.”

Joan snorted. “Less is more, I always say. These women don’t wear tons of makeup. In case you haven’t noticed, some of them aren’t wearing any. They might buy a lipstick if it looks natural, but they’re not going to paint half their faces Pumpkin Orange.”

Allie sniffed. “It’s Candy Coral. Sally Jo says this shade is perfect for my coloring.”

“Whatever. I’ll bet you ten bucks you don’t sell a single lipstick tonight.”

“You’re on.”

Joan put a finger in Joanie’s waving hand and smiled down at her niece. Then she turned the smile up to Allie. “Don’t mind me. I’m just butting my nose in to give you some inexpert and unasked-for advice. That’s what sisters are for.”

Since Allie had given Joan a fair amount of unasked-for advice over the years, she didn’t answer. Instead, she headed for the kitchen. She was going to sell a lipstick tonight if it killed her.

“Three hundred eighty-seven dollars!” Allie could barely contain her glee as she totaled up the order forms after the door closed behind the last guest. She grinned across the kitchen table at Mom. “And three of your friends booked parties of their own.”

“Not bad.” Mom, balancing a sleeping Joanie in her left arm, slid the stack of order forms across the table with her right hand and glanced at them through her brown-rimmed glasses. “Oh, look. Rose bought the vacuum food sealer. That bumped your total up quite a bit. Odd that you didn’t sell any makeup, though.”

“Except to my wonderful sister.” Allie threw an arm around Joan, who was seated beside her, and hugged. “She bought a lipstick.”

“Yeah,” Joan’s lips twisted into a disgusted smirk as she tucked a lock of straight brown hair behind her ear. “I’m a sucker. I just torpedoed my own bet and paid fourteen dollars for something that would have cost me six-fifty in the store.”

“But Varie Cose’s quality is much better,” Allie told her. “And it’s guaranteed. If you want to return that lipstick for any reason at all, you can.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Joan heaved an exaggerated sigh and then grinned at Allie. “You did a good job. At your very first party, you’ve almost made back all the money you paid.”

“Well, not exactly.” Allie shuffled the stack of carbonless order form copies and slipped them into the accordion folder she’d bought at Wal-Mart. “Only half of the total comes to me. Even less of Mom’s order, since she gets the hostess discount. Plus I have to pay for her hostess gift, the
lovely assortment
of Varie Cose kitchen utensils in an attractive, unbreakable
container
.” She flashed a Sally Jo smile toward Mom.

“You don’t have to give me those,” Mom said.

“Of course I do! You were my first hostess, and I want to follow all the rules. Besides, Sally Jo says it’s a tax-deductible expense.”

Allie didn’t see any reason to mention the other expenses she’d incurred, like the shelves and skin care demo kit and catalogs and plastic bags with the Varie Cose logo on them and order pads and … she could give herself a headache just thinking about it.

“Hey, I thought of something I want to run by you.” Joan turned in her chair to look at Allie, an arm resting on the table. “You could donate some Varie Cose stuff to the auction.”

Allie stared, mind blank. “Auction?”

An irritated blast escaped Joan’s throat. “The dinner and auction my church group is conducting to raise money for our mission trip to Mexico. I’ve been talking about it for weeks.”

“Oh, yeah.” Allie avoided her sister’s eyes while she stored the makeup sample pouches into their compartmentalized plastic box. She was a brand-new businesswoman and not really financially stable enough to be giving away a bunch of product. But sisters should support each other. “What kind of stuff?”

Joan lifted her shoulders. “Whatever you want. It’s a charitable contribution, so it’s tax deductible. Plus it would be a good advertisement. I’m one of the auctioneers. I’ll make sure to talk you up a bunch when your stuff goes up for bid.”

Allie tilted her head as she considered. That sounded like a good investment, actually. Joan’s church had been working really hard to publicize this dinner and auction event, so it was likely to draw a large crowd. “Okay, let me see what I can put together.”

Joan sat back with a pleased smile. “Thanks.”

Allie scooped up the ballpoint pens scattered across the table and dropped them in the file with the forms. “It’s getting late. I need to get the baby home and in bed.”

“When’s your next party?”

“Thursday at Gram’s apartment, and Tori’s on Friday. Tomorrow night I’m going with Darcy to help with her first party. She was supposed to come tonight to help me, but she couldn’t find a sitter.”

“Which reminds me.” Mom’s expression was tender as she looked down into her granddaughter’s face. “Though you know I love any and every opportunity to see Joanie, I’d recommend not taking her with you from now on.”

Allie looked at her beautiful sleeping daughter. “She did kind of steal the limelight, didn’t she?”

Beside her, Joan laughed. “That, and it sort of spoiled the effect of trying to demonstrate your water purifier with a nursing kid hanging off your—”

“I get the point.” Allie cleared her throat. “You’re probably right. Mom, do you want to babysit tomorrow night?”

Mom shook her head. “I have to work a double shift at the hospital.”

She looked at Joan, who shook her head. “Wednesday night Bible study.”

Allie shrugged. “She’ll get some time with Daddy and Grandmother, then.” She stowed her things into her big consultant bag with the Varie Cose logo emblazoned on the side and stood. “Thanks again for doing this, Mom. I really, really, really appreciate it.”

Mom stood and came around the table to place a kiss on Allie’s cheek. “I was glad to do it. That’s what family’s for.”

11

Allie studied the face turned up toward hers. She’d stayed up late last night studying the color charts included in her skin care demo kit, and she mentally reviewed the pictures of various models and their ideal color options. The problem with selecting a color for Lisa was her hair. It was an artificial bright auburn, but her eyebrows were light brown. What would Sally Jo do in a case like this?

Seated beside Lisa at the round dinette table, Tori pawed through Allie’s box of eye color sample packets and pulled one out. “Try this. That pale green is terrific.”