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appointment before they leave the salons. We could use some more action in product sales though.”
    “People don’t want to pay the prices,” Angela said. “ Project Runway killed us. I mean, how do you convince people that Aveda hairspray is worth the money, when they were on TV
    raving about a two-dollar can of Finesse Très Two?” Summer Blowout
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    “I don’t know,” I said. “It can work both ways. Everybody knows Maybelline Great Lash is the best mascara, but I spray paint the outside gold before I put it in my case, so my clients think I’m using all high-end products.”
    “Do you really?” Mario asked. “I didn’t know that. That’s a great idea.”
    I struck a pose. “Lots more where that came from,” I said.
    “Yeah, right,” Angela said.
    “Bella knows everything,” Tulia said. “Hasn’t she told you yet?”
    “Sure she does,” Angela said. “She even managed to airbrush an entire crowd at once this week.” I wondered if all big families who traveled in a pack turned on their own like this. I knew enough to wait it out and not rise to the bait. Eventually they’d start picking on somebody else. I probably would even have kept my big bocca shut, except I caught a glimpse of Sophia. I really wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.
    “Well,” I said. “I know enough. In fact, someone approached me this week to see if I wanted to create a makeup kit.” I reached for details. “You know, to be sold.”
    “You mean that guy hitting on you at the college fair?” Mario asked.
    “If anybody does a kit, my Tulia should do a kit,” Tulia’s mother, Didi, said.
    “He was so not hitting on me,” I said. “He just thought I was talented.”
    “Sure he did,” Angela said.
    “That’s not a bad idea,” Todd said. “I bet we could get the companies to kick in some product samples. I mean, why not, it would be free advertising for them. They might even pay for placement.”

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    C L A I R E C O O K
    “What if we added recipes?” Angela asked. “You know, spa cuisine?”
    My father was snapping his fingers again. “I’m loving this,” he said. “The Salon de Lucio Beauty Kit. All soft and Romany, maybe tied up like a toga. When they open the box, it’ll be like they died and went to Italy.”
    I cleared my throat. “Excuse me?” I said.
    “Sophia can add something about celebrity makeup, since she’s got all the high-profile clients,” my traitor brother Mario actually said.
    “Bath salts and massage oils would be good, too,” Tulia said. “And I love that gel that turns hot when you rub your hands together.”
    I jumped up, since nobody seemed to be hearing me.
    “Hello-oh,” I said.
    “I have a great recipe for lemon mayonnaise. You can use it for a hair mask. Or eat it, obviously,” Angela said.
    “Stop,” I yelled. “Stop, stop, stop. Stop.” Everybody stopped.
    “I’m sick and tired of everyone taking everything away from me,” I heard myself saying. “It’s my beauty kit. It’s my life. It’s my . . .”—I looked right at Sophia—“. . . husband,” I said.
    And then I ran out.

    • 5 •
    THE TEARS I WAS FIGHTING DRIED RIGHT UP AS
    soon as I saw Craig in the parking lot.
    Craig started up his Lexus as soon as he saw me coming.
    I bent down and picked up a rock.
    In his haste to get out of the salon parking lot, my ex-husband burned some serious rubber. That couldn’t possibly be good for his little leased tires.
    “Go lease a brain,” I yelled after him. Finding my inner bully was surprisingly exhilarating, so I threw the rock at his car. It bounced off his rear license plate with a satisfying clunk. I brushed my hands off and headed for my own car. The sign in the front window of the salon mocked me: summer blowout. Ha.
    “They’re not your kids, Bella,” I said to my rearview mirror.
    “Forget about them.”
    I pulled out of the parking lot and took a right. I’d been repeating this over and over to myself like a bad mantra ever