Getting Engaged (Part 1)

We had the ring.  In fact, we had the date set for our wedding, but we still weren’t engaged.  The CPA wanted to do it right.  And by right, I mean he wanted a good story that we could tell to our children, grandchildren, etc.  So, being the romantic man that he is, he planned an elaborate getaway.  I knew two things about it: 1) it was in San Francisco, CA, and 2) I would be getting my ring.  The rest was a secret. 

      

This upcoming trip was a big deal.  I had never been to San Francisco and was really looking forward to it.  I was also looking forward to getting engaged to my sweetie.  The time was right and I was anxious to make things official.

      

In preparation for the trip, I decided to get beautified.  So I went to a new salon to have my nails done.  I had not been there before, but it looked like a nice place so I decided to give it a try.  Afterall, I was just getting my nails done, what harm could come of that?  The nail tech was very sweet and the manicure went without a hitch.  I did the french manicure, even though my nails were much too short to pull off the look, but it was a special occasion.

And then she said it.  

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Salon person: “You should have your eyebrows done.”

Me: “I know, they’re awful, I only have them done a couple of times a year.”

(INSERT: in my defense, my eyebrows are very blonde, so I can get away with this.  At least I think I can.)

Salon person:  ”Well we can just clean them up a bit.”

Me:  ”Okay, sounds easy enough.”

So we go to the back room where she lies me down, pours on the wax, and gets to work.  A few minutes later I’m feeling plucked and polished.  Then she took it a step further,

Salon person: “Your eyebrows are so light, you really should darken them.”

Me: “I know, I’ve actually tried it before, years ago, when I had my hair done.  The stylist dyed them to match my hair and a day later I broke out in a hideous rash and had to go to the doctor.  My skin is a little sensitive so I don’t know if it’s such a good idea.”

Salon person:  ”Oh, but the dye we use is much better.  It’s made for this, not as strong as hair dye.”

Me:  ”Hmm… well, it would be nice to have them a little darker.  Okay, let’s go for it.”

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Do you see what happened there?  Do you see how easily manipulated I am?  How willing I am to believe the advice of someone I don’t know and who doesn’t know me, all in the pursuit of physical beauty?  I should have listened to that little voice screaming, “don’t do it, don’t do it!”  I should not have been so vain that I felt I had to have my eyebrows dyed.  I should have left.  

But alas.  I did not.  

The process only took a few short minutes.  After she was done, I walked to the front desk to pay.  I couldn’t figure out why the girls were looking at me so strangely.  As I exited the salon, I continued to get stares from passersby.  That’s when I began to worry.  But it wasn’t until I walked by a mirror that I realized what they were staring at.  

I almost didn’t recognize myself!  My eyebrow hair, which just moments before had nicely matched my face, was now a dark shade of brown.  So dark that it looked black.  I couldn’t believe it!  What happened to the “one shade darker” that we had agreed on?    

Needless to say,  I was pretty upset.  You know the feeling when you get a bad haircut and you just want to put your head under a bag until it grows out?  Yeah, it was like that.  Only I was about to have the trip of my life – I was about to get engaged in San Francisco!!  

I suddenly had the feeling that it was going to be a long week…