Hallway Diaries

by Felicia Pride

  CHAPTER 14

  Giselle was the center of attention, just as Juanita had been at Nana’s. “You are so beautiful,” everyone kept saying, in English and Spanish, as they fussed over her and Brian. She’d never had so many people tell her she was something that even she didn’t believe she was.

  “Thank you,” she’d say, as if really saying “Are you serious?”

  Rosita sat Brian, Giselle, and Juanita at the small table along with her husband’s parents. Everyone else sat in various spots in the kitchen and living room, eating with their plates on their laps or on little folding trays. Rosita never sat down. She moved back and forth from the kitchen to the table, adding food and refilling glasses with juice and tropical soda. After a short prayer by Rosita’s husband, everyone dug in. Giselle took a bite of the beef stew they called sancocho and opened her eyes wide. It was delicious. She had never tasted anything like it in her life. It had so much flavor. She found herself leaning over the dish and shoveling spoonfuls of it into her mouth.

  “This is delicious,” she said to Rosita.

  “I’m glad you like it,” she said, rubbing Giselle’s shoulders. “It was your mother who taught me how to make it when she came here with your tía Milagros.”

  “Really?” Giselle shouted, too excited to swallow her food first.

  “Oh yeah, she was quite a cook,” she said.

  Brian nodded with a smile as he chewed. “Yes, she was,” he said. “I never thought I would taste this dish again. It tastes just the way she used to make it.”

  “I can teach you how to make it if you’d like,” Rosita said to Giselle. Giselle never even had to scramble her eggs in the morning, let alone make a beef stew, but she beamed at the idea of making a meal passed down from her mother.

  Despite the seating arrangements, everyone found a way to talk to each other, projecting their voices from the couch to the table, the table to the kitchen. They made jokes, laughed, and filled the room with an energy that was nothing like dinners at Nana’s.

  As they sat around eating, one of the many little kids waddled over to the light switch and turned it off with a giggle.

  “¡Se fue la lu!” everyone shouted, and laughed as his mother switched it back on and picked him up.

  “Giselle,” Lisa shouted as she sat on the kitchen counter, wanting to let her in on the joke, “do you remember when the lights would go out in San Pedro?”

  Giselle tried to think but nothing came to her. “No,” she said. They explained how small towns like that are run by generators that often cut off electricity, leaving them in the dark for minutes at a time.

  “When dis happen, ebry-body say ‘se fue la lu’!” Juanita said. “Dat mean dee light went out!”

  “I love when that happens,” Evie said, pouring soda for her aunt. “Everyone lights candles and tells scary stories until the lights come back on.”

  “Yeah, well, I wasn’t loving it when it happened at my quinceañera,” Lisa said.

  “What’s a quinceañera?” Giselle asked, remembering when Juanita had mentioned something like that the first day they’d met. Everyone seemed to stop chewing in disbelief.

  “Wow, how do you not know what a quinceañera is?” Evie asked.

  Giselle shrugged. “I live in Long Island, the last time I went to DR was when I was five, and I haven’t really been around any Hispanics since then.”

  Lisa explained that a quinceañera is a Hispanic version of a sweet sixteen, except you do it when you’re fifteen. “You should be planning yours,” she added. The family and friends responded to Giselle’s statement with all the information they could offer about the Dominican Republic—the island’s history, customs, and traditions and various stories about the family.

  “You should come with us the next time we go to DR,” Rosita said. “Everyone would just go crazy over you! They’ve been waiting a long time to finally see you again.”

  The idea sounded fabulous. The more they spoke about the island, the more Giselle wanted to go back to the Dominican Republic. Brian nodded his approval. “That sounds good to me.” Everyone got excited, even Rosita’s daughters, who immediately started telling her all the places they would visit.

  After dinner and a dessert of caramel custard called flan, Juanita made Giselle show the family her new merengue skills. Everyone clapped to the music, cheered her on, and took turns dancing with her. It was an amazing night. When they finally got ready to leave, Giselle understood why Juanita loved to hug so much. She squeezed each person goodbye as if she didn’t want to let them go.

  Brian topped off the night with an unexpected surprise. As he got the car out of the garage to head home, he decided to drive around to see if he could remember where Jackie’s old apartment was. It took him a while to refamiliarize himself with the area, but soon he knew exactly where he was. He turned the corner at the small Pentecostal church and drove halfway down the block.

  “Get out, girls,” he said, opening his door.

  They got out and looked at him, puzzled. “What is this? Why did we stop?” Giselle asked.

  “Look,” he said, pointing to the dilapidated red apartment building. “This is where both your mothers lived when they moved to New York City. I used to pick up Jackie here almost every day when we were dating.”

  The girls were silent. They just looked up and stared at the bit of history they shared. “Which one was their window?” Giselle asked.

  Brian pointed to the left. “They lived right there on the third floor, the one with the plant in the window, and the one next to it on the right.”

  Juanita went back to the car to get her camera. She took a bunch of pictures and promised to give Giselle copies.

  “Thank you, Dad,” Giselle said, giving him another hug. “This was the best day ever.”

  CHAPTER 15

  A few days after their New York City day trip, Giselle went in to get her hair done. She sat down in the chair as her beautician looked at the dark layer of hair growing at the scalp. “So, you want to cover up your roots today?” her stylist asked.

  “Actually,” Giselle said, “I’d like to go back to my roots. I want you to dye it dark brown, my natural color.” She had made the decision without telling a soul. She wanted it to be a surprise. It felt good to make a decision for herself, without asking her friends what they thought first.

  “I think that would look fabulous,” her beautician said.

  Giselle nodded. “So do I.”

  The stylist went to the back and mixed a solution of paste to match Giselle’s natural color, then applied the goop to every strand. She let it sit for thirty minutes, then washed it thoroughly in the sink.

  “Okay,” she said to Giselle, about to pull the towel off her head. “Are you ready to see?”

  “Oh my,” Giselle said when she saw, touching her hair and leaning toward the mirror. “It looks even better than I thought it would.”

  “Since you’re embracing your natural look, why don’t we give these curls a go?” her beautician asked. She had always wanted see Giselle go curly.

  “That’s exactly what I was going to ask you to do,” Giselle responded with a laugh.

  She leaned her head back and let her beautician diffuse her hair and spray it with defrizzing gel. Soon Giselle was looking at a full head of bouncy, curly hair. She was speechless. Giselle looked exactly how she felt—different, transformed, completely new.

  Katie and Juanita came back to the beauty salon to pick up Giselle. Their nails were still drying from their manicures. Juanita loved the color on her nails almost as much as the amazing massage and sugar scrub she’d had on her hands and arms. She was really starting to get used to the royal treatment. Katie opened the door carefully, trying not to nick her wet nails, and looked around for Giselle.

  “Do you see her?” Katie asked Juanita as she scanned the room.

  Katie went up to the reception desk. “Yes, hi. I’m looking for Giselle Johnson; she had an appointment for two o’clock? I�
��m a bit late to pick her up. She didn’t leave, did she?”

  Juanita jumped out of her chair in the waiting area and let out a scream. Katie gasped and looked at Juanita to see what was wrong only to see her staring at a girl with dark, curly—

  “Oh my word! Giselle!” Katie squealed when she realized who it was. “Oh my word, look at you!”

  Giselle twirled around with her head lifted high. “Do you like?”

  “Ay, Prima. Berry, berry pretty!”

  “Oh, Giselle,” Katie said, touching her hair carefully. “It’s so beautiful. My word, I never knew your hair had this much life! And the color is so perfect.”

  “I just wanted to try something different, you know?” Giselle said. “And this just felt right.”

  Giselle looked in the mirror one last time before they left. She not only looked beautiful, but for the first time, she felt beautiful, too.

  After the beauty salon, Katie reasoned that a new look deserved a new outfit. Juanita had her heart set on seeing the typical American mall like her mother had described, so they went to one. They also figured Juanita might agree to let them buy her something if it was a little less expensive. She did. Juanita found a pink, collared short-sleeve shirt and a faded brown denim mini skirt from Abercrombie & Fitch. The skirt was shorter than anything she’d ever owned. Her mother would probably disapprove, but Katie convinced her it was absolutely adorable.

  Giselle decided to find a dress for Alex’s party, which was in one week. Betsey Johnson seemed to be the right store. The designer shared Giselle’s last name and her designs were fun and adventurous—something Giselle was definitely feeling at the moment. She even had Juanita help her pick out some dresses.

  “Oh, I love that, Gigi,” Katie said as Giselle walked out in the third dress she’d tried. It was a black sleeveless dress with thin lace ruffles layered down to the edge and two inches of bright red chiffon gathered and peeking out beneath the hem. She had two more dresses to try on, but she already knew this was the one.

  The day of Alex’s party had finally come. As a VIP, Giselle had the right to bring a guest, and Juanita couldn’t have been happier to go. That morning Giselle had two women come to the house to give her and Juanita manicures, pedicures, facials, and Swedish massages by the pool.

  “Ay, Prima, can we do dis ebbry day?” Juanita slurred with her eyes half closed as she lay on the massage table. Her nails were flawless, she’d just had her very first facial, and the masseuse was putting her into a trance. Juanita was getting used to the good life. After their pampering by the pool, Giselle went with her father for a few hours to run errands while Katie stayed with Juanita.

  “Katie,” Juanita said, when Giselle and Brian finally left. “Can jou take me to dee beauty salon?” Juanita told her how she’d decided to have a new look, too. Why not? she reasoned. She was bold with everything else, why not her hair? Regardless of how she felt about hair dye—especially light colors—Juanita was curious to see how the streaks Giselle had suggested would look on her. If she didn’t like it, she could always go back to dark hair just like Giselle. Juanita absolutely loved the drastic change in Giselle and thought she’d be daring, too. She wanted to keep it a secret and surprise her cousin.

  “Oh, how exciting!” Katie said. “I think that will be so much fun.” They jumped into the car and took off.

  “Can I do your makeup when you’re done?” Katie asked, looking intently at the road.

  “Ay, sí! Jes, please,” Juanita said. “Make me look like an American Celebrity.”

  “Ooh! Can I tweeze your eyebrows, too?” Katie continued.

  Juanita batted her eyes like a superstar. “Sí.”

  For two hours Juanita was fussed over as if Giselle’s hairdresser were creating a masterpiece. She laughed at her funny crown of tinfoil layered and folded on top of her head. It itched so badly, but she didn’t dare touch it. After her hair was washed and scrubbed, Juanita kept her eyes closed as it was styled. The only way she knew it was looking fantastic was listening to Katie repeat her favorite phrase over and over—“Oh my word!”

  “Okay,” the beautician said, feeling as if this were a reverse déjà vu. “Are you ready to see?” Juanita looked in the mirror and gasped. She looked so different! She didn’t even feel like herself, but she had to admit she looked pretty amazing. Juanita touched her hair. It was silky soft, and she could actually run her fingers through it.

  “Sank jou berry much,” she said, giving the beautician a big hug before she and Katie went to the reception area to pay.

  Juanita took out the money from her family, which she still hadn’t had a chance to use.

  “Put that away,” Katie demanded. “Are you kidding me? Brian would kill me if I let you pay!” It was getting easier and easier to accept their generosity. After all, she’d finally rationalized, spending money was just as natural to them as saving it was to her family back home. They just lived in different circumstances.

  After the salon, Katie bought Juanita the beautiful dress from Barneys she had loved the first time she went shopping, the one that caressed her skin and had no scratchy lining. They raced home and Katie did Juanita’s makeup before Giselle and Brian came home.

  “Wow!” Katie said, impressed with the whole transformation. “You look incredible.”

  Juanita danced in front of the mirror. She twirled and looked at herself from every angle. She couldn’t believe she was looking at herself.

  CHAPTER 16

  Giselle’s jaw dropped. She didn’t know what to say. When did this…How did she…What in the world just happened? Juanita stared at her cousin. She’d thought Giselle would have done something by now—screamed, smiled, jumped up and down…something.

  “Jou no like it?” Juanita asked.

  “Oh, no, of course…you look great. You look…very different.” Giselle couldn’t tell her how she really felt, not as excited as Juanita was, twirling about in her new dress. Juanita looked exactly like Giselle had just days earlier, the same way she’d looked for a long time.

  Juanita was the one who had inspired her to be her own person, accept her own natural beauty, and stop trying to look like everyone else around her. And here she was, her inspiration, combing through her straight highlighted hair, looking like everyone Giselle had ever tried to imitate. Not only that—Juanita seemed to absolutely love it. It was as if she’d come to a realization that this look was a huge step up from her old look—Giselle’s new one.

  “You look great,” Giselle said again. “Seriously, I can’t believe you did that.” Giselle excused herself quickly so she could start getting ready for the party. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure about her new look. Maybe she should have waited until Alex’s party was over. It was too late; there was nothing to be done now.

  Alyce and Dahlia rang the bell at nine o’clock sharp as Alyce’s driver waited in front of the house. Giselle had told them to come inside so she could unveil her new look. Little had she known when she’d told them that there would be two unveilings. Brian answered the door. Giselle was still upstairs working on her makeup and Juanita was at the top of the stairs, ready to make her grand entrance.

  “Hi, Mr. Johnson,” the girls chorused as they walked in. As if on cue, Juanita waltzed down the stairs.

  “Ohmigod!” Dahlia said, looking at Juanita. “Ohmigod, you look so hot!”

  “Turn around!” Alyce shouted. As Juanita did, they both went into a frenzy of loud shrieks and repetitive compliments. Juanita was flattered. No one had ever made such a fuss over how she looked. Getting that sort of attention had never been very important to her, but now that she was getting it, the feeling was actually incredible.

  “Sank jou berry much,” she said, fidgeting with the Tiffany bracelet Katie had lent her.

  Giselle heard the commotion downstairs and rolled her eyes. Her nerves were shot. She still wasn’t ready; she wasn’t feeling the new look, and she wanted to look perfect for this party. Giselle heard the girls running up th
e stairs. She wanted to lock her door until she was ready, but they were already nearing the room. She looked once more in the mirror, shrugged, and stood up.

  “No way!” Alyce screamed with a laugh. “What in the world is going on here?” Dahlia screamed, too. “Oh my goodness, Giselle, you look so different! Wow! Like, now you really look Hispanic.”

  “I know, right?” Alyce chimed in. “I was just about to say she looks so ethnic.”

  “So, what is this,” Dahlia asked, “you guys just decided to switch your looks?”

  Giselle shrugged. “I guess so.”

  When the girls got in the car, the conversation switched to the party.

  “I heard this party is going to be ridiculous,” Alyce said with a burst of excitement. “Alex’s dad rented like three Hummer stretch limos to take all the VIPs from the first party to the second one on the beach.” The girls talked with an electric enthusiasm about the party, but no one was more excited or nervous than Giselle. She pulled out her compact mirror to check her makeup again. No one in the car knew that she liked Alex, not even Juanita. At that moment, with all the excitement and nerves, she wanted nothing more than to blurt it out. But she had already learned that to share your hopes meant that everyone knew about your disappointments, too. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. The last time she had told her friends about a crush, they’d seen him kissing Jennifer Lackley a week later.

  “Aw, I’m sorry, Giselle,” Alyce had said with this look of sympathy Giselle never wanted to see again. From that day on, she’d kept her infatuations to herself.