Free Pretty Girls Don't Cry by Tony J Winn Page B

report, Kylie. I hope I haven't made your job any more difficult.”
    Kylie sighed into the phone. “I only regret I didn't slap him myself, sooner, months ago, so we could have avoided all this.”
    “You sound a little under the weather. Have you had lunch yet? I hope you're eating well. You have to keep your strength up, because we still have Yoga on Sunday with Tianne.”
    “I don't know ...”
    “It gets better, I swear. The first time is the absolute worst.” Nora wanted to address her friend's health and talk about how concerned she'd been when she'd realized how skinny the girl was, but over the phone didn't seem right.
    “Fine. I'll see you Sunday. Oh, I gave Bobby your home phone number, because—”
    “WHAT?”
    “Because he said you weren't picking up your cell.”
    “Great, that's all I need.”
    “He's really sweet,” Kylie said, and proceeded to give a rundown of all Bobby's good qualities. He was cute, he had an interesting job, and most importantly, he liked Nora.
    “He just thinks he likes me,” Nora said.
    “So, what's the difference?”
    Nora tried to explain, but she couldn't. Kylie was twenty-four, only three years younger, and yet, she seemed so young. They finished the phone call with some business talk, and after they hung up, Nora tried to nap again, but she couldn't find the same comfortable spot.
    At five o'clock, she sat up with a start. She had an appointment with the second plastic surgeon in forty minutes, across town, and she was still in her pajamas.
    *
    The second plastic surgeon's office Nora visited was the one that had the fancy website with all the embedded videos of customer testimonials. A disclaimer text across the bottom of the screen explained that the people talking were paid actors, and their scripts were composites from genuine patients. Nora wondered, how genuine was a composite?
    The waiting room was decorated with ornate oval mirrors straight out of a fairy tale, and paintings featuring inspirational words, like breathe and hearts reflect love .
    The receptionist, a short-nosed girl in a crisp, white jacket, was chatty and gave the impression it was no problem Nora was a few minutes late. “Dr. Garrett's always happy to steal a few minutes for dinner, since we work late Fridays.”
    Nora took a seat and a magazine, trying not to stare at the receptionist's short nose. Had she been born that way, or was it from surgery? Nora didn't think she'd look right with a nose quite that short. Angling up the tip during surgery does give a patient a more youthful appearance, but there was such a thing as too youthful, especially if you wanted to be taken seriously in your career. It was bad enough Nora was likely gathering a reputation for being hot-blooded and slapping people; she didn't need to look like a teenager.
    When Dr. Garrett came out to greet her, Nora did a double take. Not only was Dr. Garrett a woman, but she looked like she could be a relative of Nora's. She also had tightly curled hair, though hers was nearly brown, and the two women were the same height and build. If you were to isolate her features, you could say they had the same basic face shape, same mouth, and very similar eyes. The only difference between the two, besides the medical degree and white coat, was Dr. Garrett had a perfect nose, like one you'd see on a statue of a goddess.
    When they sat down in the doctor's office, Nora wondered if the woman would say anything about their similar looks, or if that would be considered rude.
    “So, what can I help you with?” Dr. Garrett asked.
    Nora laughed nervously. “It must be part of the training that you never assume what someone's here for, right?”
    Dr. Garrett looked at her computer screen briefly. “Nora, you're here for ... a nose consultation, is that correct?”
    “Well I'm not here for a facelift.”
    The woman blinked twice. “Oh, a joke!”
    “Just a little one. I work in entertainment. I'm on the air at a radio station, so it's a