I wish Ian could come over,
I say to Mari.
We’re on a first-name
basis with Ian
St. Clair.
We stand in the Wal-Mart
looking for hair bleach
(for me, too!)
and talking about
Mari’s upcoming boy/girl party.
A party Liz might
have come to,
if she wasn’t still in
the hospital.
That would be so cool,
Mari says.
She looks at me with
her big brown eyes.
She has the
prettiest eyes in all of Florida.
Me and Mari stand silent,
just how great it would be
if anybody really cute
showed up.
A voice comes over
the speaker saying M&M’s
are on sale
on aisle five.
We’d have to take turns
dancing with him,
Mari says,
then she looks at the bleach.
Your hair is a lot blonder, Hope,
Mari says,
after a quiet moment,
and if I’m going to match
you I’ll need something
strong.
And light.
I think I’ll go with Buttercup Yellow.
What about you?
about bleaching my hair.
I am wondering about
anyone who is cute that
might be at Mari’s
boy/girl party.
Hope, what about you?
Mari says.
I decide right then,
why not?
I like this red,
I say,
and pull a box out
with an auburn-haired girl
on the cover.
Her hair is near
the color of Liz’s,
only shinier.
And the girl smiles big,
too.
Turning all that natural blond red,
Mari says,
like she’s her mother all the sudden,
and like this wasn’t her idea.
Then
Mari grabs me tight by the arm.
Isn’t this exciting?
she says.
And it is,
till the coloring is said
and done.