And there it was. Another mediocre, five month relationship was over for Ramona.
She had hoped that maybe this year, she would have someone to take home to her family for the holidays, but being dumped mid-November kind of prevents that.
Her boyfriend had broken up over text. What a shitty thing to do. She didn't even want to cry. He didn't get to make her cry anymore. Jackson. You're never supposed to trust guys with named that start with J. She should have known better. Instead, she shoved all his shit that he left at her apartment into a cardboard box and left it by the front entrance. If she was lucky, she would never see him again after he sent that text.
It hadn't even been "we need to talk." It was just "We're through." After five months. How ridiculous.
She sprayed air freshener all over her place, getting the stink of his cheap body spray out of the furniture. God, it stunk. The artificial scent of clean linen wasn't much better, but at least it wasn't a lingering memory.
All she had to think about was his worst qualities, and she would be over him in no time. He didn't shower often enough, and would layer that cologne on until she absolutely couldn't take it anymore. He always left the milk out on the counter. He was a bad kisser when he was drunk.
But at least she had had someone to kiss, she thought to herself.
Going to bed that night by herself was hard, despite her determination to not let the breakup bother her. She contemplated re-downloading her online dating apps, but it just felt too soon for any of that. Instead, she booked herself a day at a boutique in town, called the Ravishing Rose.
It would be a nice day, she thought to herself as sleep took her. Getting her hair done, a massage, waxing her legs, the full experience. After getting treated is such a mediocre fashion by Jackson, she deserved to be pampered.
By the time she fell asleep, she had nearly convinced herself that it was a blessing they were no longer dating, and that in fact, she should have broken up with him sooner.
The next morning, Ramona slept in. She took a shower, a really long one, with plenty of hot water, and she walked around her apartment with wet hair, and a hideous t-shit four sizes too big for her.
She pulled out her laptop to check the confirmation email she had received from the boutique. Her appointment was at one PM. Payment would cover hairstyling, waxing services, and a massage, just as she had picked out last night. It was pretty expensive, but honestly, she had been putting away money for a rainy day, and she wanted to splurge to make herself feel better.
Moving away to a different city had seemed so appealing, but what Ramona hadn't anticipated was how lonely she would be. That's how she ended up dancing from partner to partner, settling for mediocrity just to have someone to talk to. That was all going to change, though. She was going to get this makeover ad turn a new leaf, maybe start trying to befriend some of her neighbors in her apartment. Her work, or lack thereof, didn't lend itself to lots of coworkers. She mostly just did art out of her apartment and scraped by, eating lots of beans and rice off of whatever she made off her online store.
Breakfast was buttered toast. She spent her morning working on her latest drawing, a commission of a fairy wearing a dress made of rose petals. Someone had ordered it for their daughter's new bedroom. Applying layer after layer of pastel glitter, Ramona waited for the hours to pass. After she wrapped up the last layer of paint for the morning, she put on clean clothes and made herself a quick lunch before heading out the door.
The map on her phone lead her to the building, which was only a block or two from her apartment. She really didn't know this city as well as she would have liked to. Moving here had been going way out on a limb, and she was far too stubborn to ever move back home.
The Ravishing Rose. Step one in the plan to turn around her life for the better.
The boutique sat on the main floor of an old brick building with all sorts of wrought iron detailing. The windows were frosted, but funky-shaped lights behind them caused a pink glow to pour out onto the street. It was daylight, but the cloudy sky lent just enough darkness that they really glowed compared to her otherwise drab surroundings.
A pleasant bell rang as she pushed open the door. Inside, smooth R&B music played, and the lobby seemed to ooze elegance.
There were a few neon signs contributing to the pink glow. In fact, the whole boutique was dripping in rose motifs in a similar shade. A few racks of clothes and accessories lined the walls, the only spot of color other than pink in the lobby. She sat herself on a blush velvet chair and waited for the chubby woman at the front desk to have a free moment. She was a bit early for her appointment, after all.
Behind the desk sat three chairs with big marquee mirrors for hair and makeup, but only one was occupied. Behind that were several doors, no doubt for things like massages and waxing. It smelled faintly of perfume, light and floral, but not overwhelming.
"Hi there, are you Ramona?" The woman behind the desk asked her.
"Yeah, I am. I'm here for my one o'clock appointment," she explained.
"All right then. It looks like the first thing for you today is a wax, does that sound right?"
Ramona nodded her head.
"Okay then, I'll just take you back to the waxing room and our esthetician will get you taken care of."
The woman wore a name tag that had Becca written on it in pink cursive. She was polite as ever as she lead her to one of the closed doors that she had seen from the lobby and into the waxing studio.
It certainly wasn't the most pleasant part of her afternoon. No one really enjoyed getting a wax, but the feeing of bare legs was so worth it. Normally, she wouldn't bother dealing with her body hair, it was just a lot of upkeep she didn't want to deal with, but having it taken care of by a professional every few weeks was more feasible.
Her body stung from the procedure, despite the cooling ointment the woman had applied to her legs. Next up was her massage, though, we she assumed would be a much more enjoyable experience.
Becca greeted her as she left the waxing room, guiding her to the next door over, where a massage table sat. Ramona was given the whole "undress to your comfort level" spiel and then was left to wait for her masseuse.
She ended up nearly fully naked on the table, wearing only her underwear. What the hell, right? It wasn't like she knew any of these people.
Finally, the masseuse, a strong woman with a fair complexion and pin-straight black hair, entered the room and introduced herself (Her name was Leah), and before long, applied a sweet-scented rose oil to Ramona's body. As the woman kneaded her muscles like pizza dough, she imagined every bit of frustration and sadness over her breakup being beat out of her, smothered into nothingness.
"So, any special occasion for your visit to the Ravishing Rose today?" The woman asked as she pressed the heels of her hands into a knot at the base of her neck.
"Oh, not really. I just wanted a special day."
"That's always good to have for yourself, you know."
"Yeah. It is." After a moment of contemplation, she decided to give the whole story. Why not, right? Best case scenario, she would maybe get something for free out of pity. "You know, my boyfriend just broke up with me, so it felt like a fresh start."
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."
"That's the funny thing." Ramona cracked a smile. "I'm kind of glad we broke up. He was kind of an ass. I just wish I would have been the one to do it." It wasn't entirely true, but she figured she ought to try to convince herself that it was.
