Tuesday Tip from 15 MINUTES, Maizie Albright Star Detective book 1:
“In the bathroom, the ladies’ attendant noted my face, handed me a tissue, and opened a stall door. I'm not a good crier. I have pale skin, which morphs into a blotchy puff-fest within seconds of tears welling. Considering my nose was already three sizes too big, I didn't need more comments about my future in modeling.
Not that I wanted to model. You just don't want to hear your face might break a camera lens.
I commenced with the no-cry ritual. In the narrow stall, I pinched the skin between my thumb and pointer finger. Totally works. Learned it from a makeup artist. I pinched and breathed deeply. Sniffed a few times. And finished with three Tae Bo jab punches.
Back to work.
I left the stall tear free and returned the clean tissue with a twenty-dollar bill. “Hey, do you know Sarah Waverly?"
The attendant dropped the bill into a basket and leaned against the sinks. "Mebbe. But I cannot say."
The stall door behind us opened and a woman in another swishy maxi dress sashayed to the sink. She tossed her feathered blonde locks behind her shoulder and rinsed her hands in the running water that was cut on by the attendant. Leaning forward, the woman inspected her flawless makeup with a side glance to me.
"I know Sarah Waverly," she said to the mirror. "Who're you?"
"Maizie Spayberry," I said. "Who're you?"
"Amelia Brooks. Sarah and David go to my church." She shuffled in her Tory Burch clutch, pulled out lip gloss, and pouted her lips.
I watched her apply the gloss and thought about the thin ice I skated suggesting a church member might be having an affair. "Is Sarah doing okay?"
Amelia whirled around. Her gleaming lips curled. Excitement lit her eyes and boosted her voice. “What do you mean? What have you heard?”
“What have you heard?" I countered in a Julia Pinkerton tone. A bit high school-ish, but Amelia looked like she could relate. "Is Sarah having an affair?"
"I don't believe it. Although I totally would if I were in her shoes. Luckily, I have no need for that."
"Why would you have an affair if you were Sarah?"
"Turn around's fair play, am I right?" Amelia wiggled fingers heavy in karats. "What's good for the goose and all that? Why do you think so many girls around here get a little on the side? They're bored, lonely, and looking to get even."
My feelings for David Waverly took a nose dive. And they were already pretty low. "Does David know?"
"I tell you what, if David finds out Sarah's cheating, she's in some serious trouble."
The hairs on my neck rose. "Why? What would he do?”