Free The Fold by An Na Page A

unforeseeable events that can change your whole life and the way you feel. Even the best doctors can’t always anticipate the way your skin will react or heal after the surgery.”
    Joyce gulped. “Oh.”
    Arlene stepped back. “Now, if you go with this color for your lips, your eyes will look even more luminous.” Without even waiting for an answer, Arlene lightly applied the lipstick to Joyce’s lips and then layered it with some gloss. “There,” Arlene said and swiveled Joyce around.
    Joyce stared at herself in the large display mirror. It was her and not her. She could feel the layers of makeup like a film of plastic over her skin. Her lips were plump and shiny red as a new car. The smooth plateau of her cheeks, dewy and flawless, glowed with a pearlescent sheen. And her eyes! Joyce leaned in closer. Her eyes were lightly outlined in black with gradations of smoky browns on her upper lids. Joyce’s eyes definitely looked bigger. They smoldered with an intensity that Joyce couldn’t believe was coming from her. She scowled and found her image mimicking her.
    “I can’t believe that’s me!” Joyce said.
    Arlene crossed her arms. “All this without one cut or stitch. And there’s no recovery time.”
    “Yeah,” Joyce said and shifted her weight on the stool, painfully aware of sitting still for all that time.
    Arlene began arranging the products she had used on the counter. “Now, for the wedding, you’ll want to make sure to layer a little more gloss on your lips, especially if you are going to be taking pictures right after the ceremony.”
    “Uhm, Arlene,” Joyce said, hopping off the stool.
    Arlene turned around. She saw Joyce standing awkwardly by the stool.
    “About my sister’s wedding.”
    Arlene leaned her weight back and rested her elbows on the counter. “There isn’t a wedding.”
    Joyce nodded.
    “I thought purple and green sounded pretty suspicious, but then those are the kinds of colors people are picking these days. Always trying to be different and original. I thought I was getting old for a second.”
    “Oh, no,” Joyce said. “You don’t look old at all.”
    Arlene’s lips twitched. “Thanks, honey.”
    Joyce slowly backed away. “I love what you did to my face. And if I had money I would buy all of it. Really, I would. But I just paid back my friend Gina,the one who was here a minute ago. I just wanted to see what my eyes could look like.”
    Arlene waved her away. “Just be careful and make sure to research your doctor. Get references and check them out.”
    Joyce nodded.
    “Remember, there’s always makeup!”
    Joyce waved and headed over to the escalators. She was going to kill Gina. Right after Gina had finished admiring Joyce’s amazing makeover.

NINE
    all the way home, Joyce had to fight the inclination to touch her face. Gina, even while driving her mother’s car, could see Joyce’s hand go up and she would reach out and swat Joyce’s fingers away.
    “Joyce, you’ll ruin it.”
    “But it itches!” Joyce scratched her neck, which was as close to the real itch as she could get.
    “You look fabulous. At least five years older. Don’t you want people to see?” Gina asked.
    “I feel like I’m drowning.” Joyce checked her fingernails. “Gross, look at all that makeup.” She held out her hand for Gina to see the foundation caked under her nails.
    Gina continued staring forward. She said three words. “John Ford Kang.”
    Joyce stopped studying her nails and slouched back into her seat.
    At a red light, Gina shifted around and faced Joyce. “Do you want him to mistake you for Lynn again next year?”
    “No.”
    “Then stop acting like a child.”
    Joyce tried not to pout. “I’m just not used to wearing this much foundation.”
    Gina rolled her eyes and sped up as the light turned green. Gina dropped Joyce off in front of her apartment complex.
    “Promise you won’t wash it off and you’ll go to work with it on?” Gina asked.
    Joyce groaned.