Page 34 of The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean

Mandy got her favorite pink dress out from her closet—the one she was allowed to wear only for “special occasions”—and slipped it on. Next, she found her ruffliest socks and her shoes with the rainbow glitter. She didn’t even move or complain when Mom brushed her knotted hair and pulled it back into a single braid. Then she sat patiently on Mom’s bed while she got ready. Mom always took a lot longer than Mandy to get dressed.

Mom stood at the mirror in the bathroom applying her makeup. “Not until you’re older,” was what she had told Mandy a few months ago when she asked if she could wear some too.

The brushes Mom used weren’t like the ones Mandy painted with. Hers were dry and stiff, but Mom’s had supersoft bristles that painted on her face. How cool was that? Mom was so precise—her hand so steady as she blended and powdered andused special pencils that Mandy was not allowed to use on paper after that one time she did. When Mom colored with Mandy, she was always good at staying in the lines—probably because she had so much practice doing this. It was like its own kind of art—a kind Mandy couldn’t wait to learn herself.

“I think tonight calls for a little eye shadow. What do you think?” Mom had turned around and waved one of those brushes in the air.

Mandy nodded as she climbed off the bed and headed into the bathroom.

Mom picked her up and sat her on the counter, where Mandy held perfectly still and closed her eyes. Then that soft brush swept across Mandy’s lids—it tickled a little, but she didn’t laugh. “All done,” Mom said.

Mandy carefully opened her eyes and spun toward the mirror. Her eyelids shimmered—the color of a peach if it had been dusted with fine glitter.

“Do you want a little lipstick too?”

This was Mandy’s lucky day. Mommy-daughter date night. Eye shadow.Andlipstick. “Yes, please.” She carefully turned back while Mom made Mandy’s lips a pale pink.

Mandy studied herself in the mirror, turning her head back and forth, watching her eyelids sparkle while Mom put all her makeup away.

Mom stood next to Mandy, looking at her in the mirror. They had the same blonde hair, but Mandy’s eyes were brown like Daddy’s, not blue like Mom’s. “Now, I want you to know that you don’t need to wear makeup to make you beautiful. You are already beautiful no matter what. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Do you understand?”

Mandy turned, wrapping her arms around Mom’s neck in a big hug. “You’re beautiful too, Mommy.”

Mom hugged Mandy back, picking her up off the counter and spinning her around before setting her back on the floor. “We better hurry, the show starts soon.” Mom held out her hand.

Mandy took it. Tonight was going to be so fun.

First, they went to the movies and sawAladdin, where they got the biggest tub of popcorn with extra butter, and Mandy was mesmerized when Jasmine and Aladdin rode a carpet and sang about a Whole New World. Mandy really wanted a flying carpet—or at least to ride one once.

Even though they snacked on popcorn, afterward Mom wanted to get some “real food,” she called it, so they walked hand in hand down the busy street.

“I want to be Jasmine for Halloween,” she told Mom.

“Oh, okay. I think we still have a little time though, just in case you change your mind.”

Mandy wouldn’t be changing her mind. “I want silky blue pants and a blue shirt just like hers.”

“We will see what we can do.” That was Mom code for she would think about it, but Mandy wasn’t going to argue. She’d have plenty of time to convince Mom it was a good idea.

There were lots of people out that night, holding hands just like Mom and Mandy. Mostly adults—like how Mom and Dad would hold hands when they all went out together sometimes.

They stopped at the corner to wait for the little green man to tell them it was safe to walk. Mandy’s feet were starting to hurt. “How much farther is it?”

“We’re almost there,” Mom said.

Mandy glanced around. Maybe there was another place theycould eat that was closer. Behind her two men ducked down an alley where they stood toe to toe for a moment—smiles on their faces. One man leaned into the other, and they quickly kissed before spilling back onto the sidewalk with all the people, laughing like one of them had just told a joke, not like they had just done what they did.

“Mommy—”

“It’s our turn.” Mom tugged on Mandy’s hand.

As soon as they crossed the street, Mom told the lady at the little stand that there were two of them, and they were quickly seated.

“What do you think you want to eat?” Mom asked as she studied her menu.

Mandy’s menu wasn’t as big as Mom’s, and there was nowhere for her to color on hers, but Mandy wasn’t thinking about the menu or food. “Why were those men kissing?”

Mom peeked over her menu and glanced around. “What men?”

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