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“I know,” she said. “I want to learn to do it on other people.”
“Your friends?” Janessa asked.
“Yes. But mainly on Amelia. She said she wanted braids like mine the last time I had them, and her dad doesn’t know how to do them.”
Charli closed her eyes because of the emotion that surged through her at Layla’s words. She loved her daughter so much. She was blessed beyond reason and so very grateful that Layla had a heart for others.
Charli couldn’t say that had always been the case for her, especially after Blake had disappeared. But over the years, God had softened her heart as He’d presented her with situations, both at school and in her family, that had touched her heart and given her a new outlook.
“We should get you one of those mannequin heads that I see people using to do hairstyles on social media,” Janessa said. “Then you could practice whenever you want.”
Charli liked that idea, so she looked to see what she could find online. She found one that wasn’t too expensive, figuring that if Layla put it to good use, she could get her a better one later.
“Maybe if I’m good at this, I can become a hairdresser,” Layla said as she carefully followed Janessa’s instructions. “Do you think I could be a hairdresser, Mom?”
“You can be whatever you want,” Charli said, which was her usual answer. “If you really enjoying doing hair, it’s always a possibility.”
“First, I have to learn how to do this braid,” Layla muttered. “It doesn’t lay flat like yours, Auntie.”
“Practice, sweetie. Practice.”
Charli tapped the button to put the mannequin head into her cart, then checked out, glad to see it would be there in two days. She wouldn’t say anything about it until it arrived.
“And if you really like to do hair stuff, maybe Kayleigh could teach you how to do Black hair like mine and Ciara’s.”
“Really? Would she teach me?” Layla asked.
“I think she might if she has the time.”
Layla continued to mutter her way through braiding Charli’s hair with help from Janessa. Finally, she patted Charli’s head.
“All done. But it’s not very good.”
Charli lifted her hand and ran it over the braid, feeling the bumps, but also feeling very proud. “For your first try, it’s great.”
She kept the braid in for the rest of the day, only taking it out after Layla was in bed, and Charli was getting ready for bed herself.
She had changed into her pajamas, removed all her makeup, and was doing her skin care when she heard her phone’s text alert. She’d left her phone in her bedroom, so she went and got it.
Blake: I wanted to thank you again for coming by with Layla. We ate the rest of the soup for supper, and it was great.
Charli sat down on the edge of the bed as she tapped out a reply. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ll be sure to tell Will’s mom. How is Amelia feeling?
Blake: She seems to be doing fine. No other complaints, and she was able to stay awake until her usual bedtime. Guess it was just too much excitement and then not sleeping well last night.
Charli was glad to hear that because they were moving into that time of year when colds and the flu started popping up among the students at school.
That’s good! Hopefully she’ll still be fine tomorrow.
Blake: I tell you… parenting Amelia when she’s sick is terrifying. I always worry that it’s worse than she’s saying, and that I might miss something serious.
Charli understood his worries, since she’d experienced them herself—every parent probably had. Thankfully, she’d been surrounded by people who supported her through those times. Having doctors to call on was a real blessing. And perhaps she could offer that support to Blake.
You know that if you ever have questions or concerns about anything health related, you can call Gareth, Misha, or Janessa. Or if you don’t want to go to them directly, let me know and I’ll get hold of them.
Blake: Thank you for offering that. It would probably help me not stress so much when Amelia seems off. All I want is to take care of her in a way she wasn’t cared for during so much of her life.
It was hard not to admire that quality in the man. And maybe she didn’t need to fight that admiration. After all, she’d agreed to these conversations with him, with the possibility of them turning into something deeper.
