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Sue couldn’t help noticing the way Dawn’s eyes would briefly look back at her in the big vanity mirror before casting their gaze downward, to the peripherals, to anywhere but her reflection.
She set the hairbrush down, careful to not knock over any of Dawn’s haphazardly arranged cosmetics, accessories, and knicknacks. Dawn was still looking down at her lap as she passed a hair-tie, adorned with white pom-poms, to Sue.
“What’s wrong, Dawn?”
Sue gently pulled Dawn’s thick hair back and up.
“Well, it’s…” Dawn brought her gaze forward, and met her own eyes. “It’s me, I think.”
Sue twisted the hair-tie into one last knot and fluffed up Dawn’s high ponytail. She placed her hand knowingly on Dawn’s shoulder.
“I get it.”
“You do?” Dawn frowned. “I think it’s just different for you, you’re so pretty. Not like me.”
“Oh, Dawn.”
“Don’t tell me I’m pretty the way I am, either.”
“But you are, Dawn,” protested Sue.
Sue could see Dawn scowling defiantly at her own reflection. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind Dawn’s ear.
“We still need to pick out the earrings for today.”
Dawn reached into her pile of earrings and plucked out a pair of Valentine’s Day heart shaped earrings with ‘Love’ written on them. She had been picking those ones out daily for the past few weeks.
“These ones, please.”
Sue could feel the word ‘again?’ forming in her mouth, but she bit her tongue. Dawn needs comfort right now, she thought. In familiarity. And, she mused to herself, they’re the cutest pair anyways.
Sue looked out the bedroom window, catching Carrie picking oranges for breakfast in the misty and overgrown yard. Sue stood up and stepped back to admire Dawn’s look for the school day.
“You really are just perfect the way you are, Dawn.”
Dawn scoffed, she looked away from Sue. “The girls in class my age look older than me.”
“In the good way,” she quickly added.
“Well,” said Sue. “I understand wanting to catch up to your classmates in that way.”
“Did you have to catch up to them?”
“I won’t lie to you,” answered Sue. “I had the opposite problem, actually. I developed a bit too fast!” Sue gestured to her body. “Well, not that anyone would believe it.”
Dawn’s gaze was to the floor again. She fidgeted with her charm bracelet quietly.
“Listen,” Sue sighed. “I wish I could’ve enjoyed my girlhood a little longer more. When you look older, you get treated like you’re older too, you know. Both good and bad.”
Dawn blinked in contemplation.
“Keep this between you and me,” said Sue as she leaned in closer to Dawn. “Your mom Carrie was a bit of a late bloomer. It’s normal, Dawn. I think that might be the most normal thing about her, now that I think about it!”
Dawn’s frown broke into a toothy smile.
“Don’t worry too much about it, Dawn. You’ll grow at your own pace. Enjoy yourself as you are. One day you’ll miss looking this precious.” She pinched Dawn’s cheek playfully.
“Well, I’ll try,” said Dawn.
“That’s all I’m asking for,” said Sue with a smile.
The sound of the kitchen door downstairs opening perked Sue up.
“Come downstairs when you’re finished touching up, ok? I need to help Carrie set the table,” said Sue.
Dawn looked at her reflection, scrutinizing it as Sue made her way downstairs. She fussed with her bangs, shook her head to check how nicely her earrings swung with a turn of the head. She nodded to herself. It was satisfactory, but something was missing.
Oh! She almost forgot to put on some body splash. Dawn pursed her lips in thought, there were a few to choose from... Well, obviously the right one for today was the sweet cherry scent Carrie had picked out for her at the department store. To match the earrings, of course. Dawn sprayed herself liberally. Definitely the right one.
“Good morning, Dawn,” chirped Carrie as Dawn stepped into the little yellow kitchen.
“Good morning, mama,” Dawn said warmly.
Dawn sat at the table with Sue. The angled sunbeams pouring from the kitchen window illuminated the table like a spotlight.
Carrie hummed to herself as she juiced the freshly picked oranges and served the plates of warm breakfast with an idle telekinesis that came so easily to her now.
She poured everyone a drink from the glass pitcher by hand before sitting herself down at the table.
Carrie and Sue chatted over breakfast, but Dawn ate quietly, and Carrie took notice.
“Is everything ok, Dawn?” asked Carrie gently. “Are you nervous about going to class today?”
Sue looks knowingly at Carrie. It wasn’t like Dawn was going to a new school, or entering a new grade. There wasn’t a field trip today, or some sort of exam. But Sue knew that Carrie could understand most of all the feelings of dread that the mundanities of school days could squeeze out of a girl like Dawn.
“You don’t have to go today if you don’t want to.”
Dawn looked down at her lap, her lips pursed. She looked up, her face still contemplative but now with a softness washing over her eyes.
“I’ll be ok today,” she said. Dawn turned her head to Sue. “I’m fine to go.”
The three made their way to the bus stop down their seaside street. The marine mist was still quite opaque, but it was comforting. The streetlamp glowed softly orange in the watery grey of the morning light.
Carrie slipped a pink flip phone into Dawn’s hands.
“Call if you need to go home, ok?” she said. “We will come running, no questions asked.”
Carrie pulled Dawn into an embrace, and Sue joined in.
Sue fussed over Dawn’s sweater, she fluffed up Dawn’s hair.
Carrie was deep in thought. She could hear the splashing waves from the bus stop. A startled flock of seagulls flying off signaled the coming yellow bus. Carrie frowned a little. She glanced over and saw Dawn applying a softly pink, sparkly lipgloss as Sue held up a compact mirror for Dawn.
She smiled, knowing Dawn would be just fine.