Bachelor's Baby

“I THINK I have dry skin,” the woman who looked in her late twenties countered what Lucille said. “Can you see these lines under my eyes? I got this because my skin is dry.”

Lucille sighed. “I never said that your skin isn’t dry, Ma’am.” She took the water-based moisturizer on the shelf and placed it on her desk. “You have a combination skin type. Your T-zone is oily, and also your cheeks, that’s why you’re having pimples. Excess oils caused pimples.”

Her client frowned. “Are you a professional beauty consultant?” she snarled. “How will you explain these wrinkles under my eyes?”

“The skin under your eyes is dry because of lack of sleep or too much exposure to gadgets,” she said and pointed her gloved fingers on the dark circles in the woman’s left eye. “I can see that you also over-slept sometimes. Your eye bags are a bit puffy.”

“Then my skin type is dry,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Lucille glanced at her co-consultant, Tasha, who was suppressing a laugh. “Your skin type is a combination, Ma’am.” She opened the sample of their newest water-based products. “I advise you to only use water-based moisturizers in your skin, just like our product, Sakura Bloom water-based moisturizer.”

The woman took the glass tub from her and checked it closely. “Is it safe to use?”

“Of course, Ma’am. It’s made of organic ingredients that will help your skin bring back it’s moisture without putting oil on your skin. Also, please avoid oil-based products, because it might trigger your breakouts and cause acne.”

The woman gasped. “Does it mean that I have to give up my daily night cream?” Her face distorted as if she can’t take to let go of the skincare routine that doesn’t suit her. “It caused a thousand bucks!”

“Sometimes we have to let go of the things that aren’t good for us anymore,” Lucille said in a neutral tone. She forced a smile on her face when her client turned to her. “Just like your nightly routine,” she continued. “But in replacement of the oil-based night cream, you can use Sakura Bloom as your moisturizer at night. It has vitamin E that helps restore the glow in your skin, vitamin C to lighten your acne marks and placenta extract to prevent the early signs of skin aging.”

The woman touched her face. “It will prevent the early signs of skin aging?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Plus that it’s water-based and not oil-based, it means that it’s safe and compatible for all skin type,” Lucille replied. “And, by the way, Ma’am. You can also use this moisturizer as makeup based because it has SPF35 that blocks the harmful rays of the sun.”

“Really?” the woman opened the tub and smelled the cream. “And, it’s—”

“Scentless,” she finished. “We don’t use perfume on our products. It’s not safe for sensitive skin.”

“OMG!” the woman exclaimed. “Do you also use this? Your skin is smooth and glowing.”

Lucille flipped her wavy brown hair. “Yes, Ma’am. I’m a certified Sakura Bloom user.”

______

“I WAS expecting you to blow fire at your client’s face,” Tasha said to Lucille and laughed. “She’s so full of herself. Why did she go to a skincare clinic if she wouldn’t believe anything that a Beauty Consultant said?”

Lucille shook her head. “She even questioned if I am a professional Beauty Consultant.”

“My gosh,” Tasha rolled her eyes heavenwards. “That kind of client is a ‘NO’ for me.”

“Well, at least, she bought two sets of Sakura Bloom moisturizer,” she said and focused her attention on her cup of spicy noodles.

“But, I’m sure that she’ll keep coming back to you from now on,” she said. “It’s a good thing that it was you who entertained her. I couldn’t handle that kind of attitude.”

Lucille shrugged her shoulders. “I dealt a lot of bitchy attitudes for decades,” she said. “She’s our client, by the way. We have to treat her right no matter what.”

“Yeah, right,” Tasha muttered. “Oh, today is the official release of Carlson’s comeback album!”

With a knotted forehead, Lucille watched her colleague took out her phone and excitedly searched for the artist’s social media page.

“Look! He’s so handsome!” she squealed and showed her the cellphone’s screen. “Carlson took a one-year hiatus in showbiz, and now he’s back with a new album.”

“Is he the pedophile singer?” Lucille asked blatantly.

Tasha nudged her in the waist. “Come on, Lucy. Those were just rumors made by his former manager. According to his statements before, he’s fostering children and part of an organization that supports homeless children for years.”

“Then, maybe it’s one of his ways to get near at the children,” Lucille countered. “He’ll get the trusts of the staff and nuns facilitating the orphanage so they won’t suspect him of his plans on molesting the kids.”

Tasha looked at her unbelievably. “I can’t believe you’re saying those hateful words against Carlson. Are you a hater?”

Lucille arched her brow. “Hater?” She shook her head. “Why would I hate somebody that I don’t know?”

“That’s it!” Tasha snapped her fingers in front of her face. “Same as why would you judge a people that you don’t know?”

Lucille made a ‘tss’ sound. “I’m judging him because I don’t know him. If I knew him personally and the real story behind that rumor about him, do you think I will react like this? I won’t, right? Because I already know the real story. People tend to judge other people because they seek the truth.”

“Whatever,” Tasha said with a wave of her hand. “For me, Carlson didn’t do anything bad. His former manager just can’t take the truth that Carlson doesn’t like her, that’s why she quitted as his manager and spread false accusations against him.”

Lucille laughed. “It’s easy for you to judge the former manager, huh? Says who again?”

“She was proven guilty,” she said. “And, Carlson didn’t file charges against her for the sake of their friendship.”

“As if that I care,” she said and cleaned her table. “I have to go—”

“Where are you going? I thought you’d teach me how to cook carbonara?”

“I’ll teach you some other time,” she said. She took her phone and checked for Steven’s messages. “I need to go to church now.”

“Why? To ask for forgiveness for judging my Carlson?” she snorted and looked on her phone again. “Oh, Carlson’s IG story is now on trending. He visited an orphanage again…”

Lucille ignored what Tasha was saying. She was preoccupied with Steven’s message for her. Steven is her childhood best friend and first love. But because of their different life decisions, they didn’t end up together.

“Carlson visited the Holy Grail Orphanage last month…”

Lucille paused, then looked at Tasha, who was busy reading her idol’s social media post. “He visited Holy Grail Orphanage?”

***