I set the envelope on the counter, knowing Ive made a terrible mistake.
Please. Find you another colored maid. A youngun. Somebody else.
But I dont know any others well enough. I am tempted to bring up the word friends, but Im not that naïve. I know were not friends.
Hillys head pops through the door. Come on, Skeeter, Im fixing to deal, and she disappears.
Im begging you, Aibileen says, put that money away so Miss Leefolt dont see it.
I nod, embarrassed. I tuck the envelope in my bag, knowing were worse off than ever[79]. Its a bribe, she thinks, to get her to let me interview her. A bribe disguised as goodwill and thanks. Id been waiting to give her the money anyway, once it added up to something[80], but its true, my timing today had been deliberately planned. And now Ive scared her off for good.
Darling, just try it on your head. It cost eleven dollars. It must be good.
Mother has me cornered in the kitchen. I glance at the door to the hall, the door to the side porch. Mother comes closer, the thing in hand, and Im distracted by how thin her wrists look, how frail her arms are carrying the heavy gray machine. She pushes me down into a chair, not so frail after all, and squeezes a noisy, farty tube of goo on my head. Mothers been chasing me with the Magic Soft & Silky Shinalator for two days now.
She rubs the cream in my hair with both hands. I can practically feel the hope in her fingers. A cream will not straighten my nose or take a foot off my height. It wont add distinction to my almost translucent eyebrows, nor add weight to my bony frame. And my teeth are already perfectly straight. So this is all she has left to fix, my hair.
Mother covers my dripping head with a plastic cap. She fastens a hose from the cap into a square machine.
How long does this take, Mother?
She picks up the booklet with a sticky finger. It says here, Cover with the Miracle Straightening Cap, then turn on the machine and wait for the miraculous
Ten minutes? Fifteen?
I hear a click, a rising rumble, then feel a slow, intense warmth on my head. But suddenly theres a pop! The tube is loose from the machine and jerking around like a mad firehose. Mother shrieks, grabs at it and misses. Finally, she snatches it and reattaches it.
She takes a deep breath and picks up the booklet again. The Miracle Cap must remain on the head for two hours without removal or results
Two hours?
Ill have Pascagoula fix you a glass of tea, dear. Mother pats me on the shoulder and swishes out through the kitchen door.
For two hours, I smoke cigarettes and read Life magazine. I finish To Kill a Mockingbird[81]. Finally, I pick up the Jackson Journal, pick through it. Its Friday, so there wont be a Miss Myrna column. On page four, I read: Boy blinded over segregated bathroom, suspects questioned. It sounds familiar. I remember then. This must be Aibileens neighbor.
Twice this week, Ive gone by Elizabeths house hoping she wouldnt be home, so I could talk to Aibileen, try to find some way to convince her to help me. Elizabeth was hunched over her sewing machine, intent on getting a new dress ready for the Christmas season, and it is yet another green gown, cheap and frail. She mustve gotten a steal at the bargain bin on green material. I wish I could go down to Kenningtons and charge her something new but just the offer would embarrass her to death.
So, do you know what youre wearing for the date? Hillyd asked the second time I came by. Next Saturday?
Id shrugged. I guess I have to go shopping.
Just then Aibileen brought a tray of coffee out and set it on the table.
Thank you. Elizabeth nodded to her.
Why, thank you, Aibileen, Hilly said, sugaring her cup. I tell you, you make the best colored coffee in town[82].
Thank you, maam.
Aibileen, Hilly continued, how do you like your new bathroom out there? Its nice to have a place of your own, now isnt it?
Aibileen stared at the crack in the dining table. Yes maam.
You know, Mister Holbrook arranged for that bathroom, Aibileen. Sent the boys over and the equipment, too. Hilly smiled.
Aibileen just stood there and I wished I wasnt in the room. Please, I thought, please dont say thank you.
Yes maam. Aibileen opened a drawer and reached inside, but Hilly kept looking at her. It was so obvious what she wanted.
Another second passed with no one moving. Hilly cleared her throat and finally Aibileen lowered her head. Thank you, maam, she whispered. She walked back into the kitchen. Its no wonder she doesnt want to talk to me.
At noon, Mother removes the vibrating cap from my head, washes the goo from my hair while I lean back in the kitchen sink. She quickly rolls up a dozen curlers, puts me under her hair-dryer hood in her bathroom.
An hour later, I emerge pink and soreheaded and thirsty. Mother stands me in front of the mirror, pulling out curlers. She brushes out the giant circular mounds on my head.
We stare, dumbfounded.
Ho-ly shit, I say. All Im thinking is, The date. The blind date is next weekend.
Mother smiles, shocked. She doesnt even scold me for cursing. My hair looks great. The Shinalator actually worked.