Her Good Thing

Danetta and Ryla spent the rest of the day looking for clothes that didn’t make her look, as Ryla said, like “a tired old granny.”

“If you want a man to be interested, you need to let him see what you’re working with,” Ryla said as she put back a dress that Danetta thought was perfect.

“What’s wrong with that dress?” She pointed at the shapeless cloth hanging on the hanger.

“It’s too long and it billows out at the waistline,” Ryla criticized. “Need I say more?”

As if a lightbulb finally came on, Danetta smiled, saying, “No one would be able to see my curves in that dress.”

“Exactly. Now this little number is designed get a man’s attention in a hurry.” Ryla lifted a black nightclub dress off the rack. The fabric was stretchy and designed to be formfitting so it would show off every curve. The quarter-length sleeves and one side of the hem had been slashed so many times, the dress could have been made by Freddy Krueger.

Danetta’s eyes widened as she said, “Ryla Evans, if you don’t put that dress back, I’m ending this shopping trip right now.”

Laughing, Ryla put the dress back on the rack. “Hey, I was just trying to see how desperate for a man you really are.”

“Would you wear something like that?”

“Not in this life,” Ryla admitted.

“Then why on earth would you think I would go anywhere in a dress like that? It’s way too revealing.”

“You’re the one looking for a man,” Ryla joked. “The last thing on my mind is some knuckleheaded man, so I don’t have to worry about dressing to impress.”

“Ryla, everything you wear is stylish. And whether you know it or not, you attract men to you all day long. Why do you think I asked for your help?”

Ryla put her finger to her chin as she took a moment to think. “Okay, then I’m going to take you to Galleria Mall. My mom and I shop there every time she comes to Houston. You’ll love it.”

They drove over to Galleria Mall and Danetta got excited when she found a two hundred and fifty dollar Donna Karan dress that had been marked down to fifty dollars. The dress enhanced her curves, but did not make her look like a stripper. She rarely found deals at the Galleria, so she snatched that dress up real quick. Then they went to Stein Mart, and Danetta found several other outfits. When she was tired of shopping for clothes, Ryla told her that they needed to make one more stop.

As they stood in front of the cosmetic counter, Danetta thought about changing her mind. She thought that if she needed to change that much just to get a man, then maybe she was okay being alone for the rest of her life. Just then a woman pushing a baby stroller walked past her. Danetta looked inside the stroller and watched the baby cooing as she lifted her chubby little legs in the air. That was all it took. She felt like she didn’t have very many baby-making years left, so she wasn’t going to waste her time complaining about a little makeup if that’s what it took to attract her husband.

Danetta’s face held no blemishes whatsoever, which was one of the reasons that she’d never bothered with foundation. So she asked the makeup artist, “Do I really need foundation if I don’t have any freckles or blemishes to cover up?”

The woman smiled. “Foundation serves as a base for all the other makeup that we will put on your face, it helps to smooth everything out. And you are correct that you don’t need a heavy foundation. But we have a light coverage that will work for your face. Would you like to try it?”

“Yes, she would,” Ryla responded before Danetta could answer. “The foundation she needs should have a natural finish with golden/olive undertones.” Ryla spoke as if she’d worked as a makeup artist herself.

The correct shade of foundation was applied to Danetta’s honey-toned skin. Then came the eye shadow, blush and a pinky-brown lip gloss. All the things that Danetta felt were so unnecessary for daily living. However, when the makeup was applied, and Danetta held the mirror and looked at her reflection, she was stunned at the vision she saw. “I-I look beautiful!”

“If Marshall Windham could see you now, he’d turn in his playa card and become a do-right man,” Ryla said, with a knowing glint in her eye.

“Don’t kid yourself. Marshall has seen me dressed for awards banquets and business dinners. The man wants nothing from me but friendship.”

“He hasn’t seen you like this, Danetta. No one has.” Ryla took her digital camera out of her purse and snapped a few shots. “Don’t get the big head, but girl, you clean up real good.”

Danetta felt herself blush. “Thanks, Ryla. I never had on this much makeup before, and I never imagined that a new hairdo and some makeup could make this much of a difference.”

“Come on,” Ryla said, “We’ve got one last thing to do before I can get back home to my child.”

Danetta purchased all the cosmetics that were used for her makeover and then turned to walk out of the store. Two men were in front of the store having conversations with the women who were with them as Danetta and Ryla walked out. As if by sheer force of nature, both men stopped talking and turned their heads, staring in Danetta’s and Ryla’s direction.

“See what I mean, Ryla...those men will even risk the wrath of the women they are with just to stare at you.”

Ryla looked over at the men and laughed. “I don’t know how to break this to you, Danetta, but those men aren’t staring at me; they’re looking directly at you.”

Unable to fathom that any man would be staring at her while Ryla was with her, Danetta turned to see for herself. One of the men winked at her and the woman he was with punched him in the stomach and then turned and started screaming at Danetta.

Ryla grabbed Danetta’s arm, and they ran to her car. Once inside they looked at each other and began laughing hysterically. As they drove off, the woman was still fussing. “Can you believe she is mad at me? I didn’t tell her man to wink at me,” Danetta said.

“You didn’t have to. I told you before, these mongrels do just what they want to do.”

“Ryla, don’t you think it’s about time you stopped calling every man you meet a mongrel? There are some good men in this world.”

“Well, I don’t know any of them,” Ryla said and then held up a hand to halt the conversation. “But don’t let my bitterness dissuade you. If a man is what you want, then I will help you find one...mongrel or not.”

Shaking her head, Danetta leaned back in her seat. It amazed her that Ryla was so beautiful and yet so bitter at times. Danetta knew that Jaylen’s father had something to do with her friend’s attitude toward men, but Ryla never talked about him and she didn’t want to pry.

Ryla dropped Danetta off at the salon so she could pick up her car. “I’ll meet you at your house, so we can work on the final phase of our little Get Love Now plan.”

Danetta drove home anxious to discover what Ryla had planned next. If the changes her friend had suggested so far were able to garner her stares and a wink, she wondered what the final phase would bring. Danetta had high hopes that it would bring the husband and the baby carriage.

“Okay, so what’s next?” Danetta asked, once she had brought all of her new clothes and cosmetics into the house.

“Turn on your computer,” Ryla instructed.

“Has it been so long for the both of us that we need to research how to find a man?” Danetta joked as they sat in front of her computer.

“Oh no, my sistah, I know how to find a man. And I am going to show you just how to do it quickly.” Ryla turned to Danetta and asked, “You did say that you didn’t have much time to waste, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay, then the first thing I need is a USB cable so I can download the pictures I took of you at the mall.”

Danetta opened her desk drawer and produced the cable.

Ryla then downloaded the pictures of Danetta from her camera onto her computer. “Sign in to Facebook.”

“What for?” Danetta asked.

“You’ll see once you get there.”

Danetta did as she was told and then relinquished her seat to Ryla. Ryla then uploaded the picture of Danetta that showed her all dolled up, to replace the one she currently had on her profile. Her previous profile picture showed Danetta with no makeup and her usual ponytail. She was holding a briefcase, looking like she was posing for Business Woman of the Year or something. Ryla updated Danetta’s info page to say that she was single and interested in men. She also changed her status to say, “Today I’m single, tomorrow...who knows?”

“Why’d you do that? Now I’m going to have a bunch of men bothering me.”

“I thought you wanted to be bothered?” Ryla lifted an eyebrow, daring Danetta to make more of a fuss.

“Well, yeah, but there’s no need to advertise that fact, is there?”