"To see your face of course. Do you see how beautiful you are? You are a damn gorgeous woman, sexy in fact. You know I would kill to have amazing hair like yours. Instead, all I have is this mop of dishwater hair" Amara said as she picked up a handful of her hair for emphasis.
"You know your hair looked amazing. You are just saying that" Serena said in a miffed tone as she collected her ribbon back.
Amara sighed then she smiled "Yes, I admit that, moreover Bo loves it, his ash blonde hair coupled with mine seems to be what gave Tanya her platinum blond hair. I swear I can already picture how much of a fashion diva that girl will be"
Serena tucked her hair beneath her ears and briefly pondered packing her hair up back into a bun "If she ended up as one, she would have gotten it from you. At least the diva part" she said cheekily.
"Hey, I can be fashionable too," Amara said in protest then she grinned as she remembered all her makeover flops in college. Serena had been the one that saved her from herself most time. She had been her fashion analyst, and now Bo had taken over that position. She looked over at her friend and saw the contemplative look on her face. "Don't do it" she said in warning.
Serena looked at her wide-eyed "Don't do what?" she couldn't possibly know what she had been thinking of doing when she had seen a passerby look at her appreciatively, could she? The same man who had passed her before when she was waiting for Amara without giving her a second look.
She knew it had to do with her hair. The hair was just like a beacon and Mathew had once suggested that she dyed it brown. It had been one of the few things she had refused him as she promised that she would tone it down when his mother had said quite loudly amid a family gathering that the hair gave her migraines whenever she looked at Serena for a long while or she was having a conversation with her daughter-in-law.
Mathew had said nothing then when his mother was talking with her perpetual smile in place that was always present whenever she was directing any stinging words towards Serena. Serena felt embarrassed like she had done something wrong but typically, Mathew had said nothing.
When he caught Serena looking at him, he asked her to pass him the almond bowl and then told her to eat more. His mother satisfied she had passed the message she wanted across had changed the topic.
When they got home that day, Mathew had revisited the topic "I don't want to tell you what to do with your hair, you know I wouldn't want to disrespect you like that but don't you think you could maybe dye it a bit, you know say maybe brown. Even your friend's hair colour looks cool and calming without jumping at someone's vision" When Serena said no, he told her they should change the topic as he wouldn't ever want to change her. He loved her the way she was but didn't think it was a good idea to give his mother constant migraines whenever they were having a conversation.
Then he changed the conversation. Serena did not dye the fiery locks but then she had started packing them into a bun especially when she would be in the vicinity of her mother-in-law. The woman had grumbled for a while but when she realised that Serena wouldn't back down on her decision, she had jovially said that Serena had the right to make her decision.
It was not as if there was any need for a daughter-in-law to listen to her mother-in-law anyway. Mathew had not talked much to her when they got home that day, and Serena had decided to ignore him as well. That was how she had got to keep her hair but she continued to put it up in a bun just to let peace reign.
She was not used to having her hair down anymore. She had convinced herself that doing her chores and moving about without having long distracting hair to deal with has its perks too.
"I can see the wheels turning in your head right now about whether you should pack it up. Be careful you don't end up with steam coming out of your ears. Don't do it. Did you see the way those guys have been checking you out since?" Amara nodded to two men sitting on the closest stone bench to their right.
Serena looked over and truly the guys were checking her out. One looked away while the other waved at her with a smile.
She looked at her friend with a wide-eyed expression "This is not right. I am a married woman for God's sake" she said, uncomfortable with the looks she was getting.
"You said it right, a married woman. Not a dead one, girl. What on earth are you putting your hair up like a nun for? You are not married to lose yourself, you know. You are married to complement each other. Not for you to let go of the Ser in you that I know and love so much. You are one damn gorgeous, hot lady that any man would kill to have. The fact that that as.. That your husband makes you feel different doesn't mean that is the truth. Do you see those two drooling over there? They wished you were the woman they are going home to. That is how beautiful you are. You don't get to turn yourself into a frumpy old woman around me, girl. Na na, not on my watch"
"You are really on a roll, ain't you?" Serena said with a smile "You are quite the motivational speaker now"
"I can be the Pope if that would make you get it into your head that you are nothing like what your as…ah your husband and his momma are trying to turn you to. Let's not forget your mama as well. God, I wish mother was still alive. She would have gone full round on your mama, looking down her glasses as she said "Bridget, what are you doing to that wonderful girl?'' They both laughed as Amara mimicked her mother's voice, looking down her nose like she had glasses on.
"Your mum would have surely done that '' Serena wiped tears of mirth off her eyes, it's been a while since she laughed that hard and the last time had been in the company of Amara too.
"Of course" Amara replied as she hold her side "I swear that woman was a terror with those glasses. I think she used it more to terrorize people than for her visions" she sobered "I miss her. A lot"
Serena hugged her "I miss her too. She was dear to me"
Amara patted her friend's leg "And she loved you too, you know? You were like a second daughter to her"
Serena nodded.
Amara thought of what she wanted to ask next but she knew she had to ask "Is he still hellbent on twice a month?" she asked softly.
"Ama!" Serena whispered harshly as she looked around to see if anyone had heard her friend's embarrassing question. She still regretted blurting that out to her friend the other day. It doesn't seem fair on Mathew.
"What?" Amara replied with a dramatic whisper of hers as she waved her hands around "Nobody here is interested in our conversation, nor would they even understand what I was talking about even if they were interested. Did you notice my stealth? Give me some credit, girl"
"Pfft, what stealth? You and stealth are of the alternate universe"
"Whatever. Don't even think you can evade my question. No, girl. Won't work. Is he?"
"Well, we don't really talk about that, you know," Serena said evasively as she looked around to see if Bo was heading back their way, there can only be so much one could show a toddler in a park before she lost interest, right? No way was she going to tell Serena that she brought up that conversation with Mathew, remembering it now made her cringe inwardly. It had been embarrassing, she had not thought much of it when she was saying it but thinking back on it now and the look he gave her; no, she was not repeating that.
"Well, why not? If sex is not part of at least forty per cent of what couples are talking about, I don't know what they are doing. Okay, what about in actuality? Has it changed?" she moved closer to her friend in curiosity.
"Ah, yeah" Serena lied and looked away. Amara held her head and turned her back to face her. She narrowed her eyes at her friend "Serena Angrov, are you lying to me now, girl?"