Under normal circumstances Ife might have admonished her granddaughters for spending too much time staring in mirrors — there was a fine line between looking respectable and formidable and spiraling into vanity — but tonight was as far removed from normal circumstances as a young girl could be. Her namesake could be allowed the digression.
"Let me," she said, moving between Genia and the vanity and reaching for the curl in question. With a few deft finger moments she charmed the curl straight, then with a twist caused it to bounce back into a mirror of its original shape. She let go of the lock and left the actual arranging of it to Genia, satisfied that she would be more successful now.
"Your dance card will be full tonight whether or not your hair is perfectly quoiffed," she pointed out mildly. She did not ask whether Genia was looking forward to it, or whether she was nervous; she did not ask if there was anyone particularly she was hoping to dance with. The season was as much a business as the Adebayo Trading Company was; best to approach it as such, not with sentiment.
"Let me," she said, moving between Genia and the vanity and reaching for the curl in question. With a few deft finger moments she charmed the curl straight, then with a twist caused it to bounce back into a mirror of its original shape. She let go of the lock and left the actual arranging of it to Genia, satisfied that she would be more successful now.
"Your dance card will be full tonight whether or not your hair is perfectly quoiffed," she pointed out mildly. She did not ask whether Genia was looking forward to it, or whether she was nervous; she did not ask if there was anyone particularly she was hoping to dance with. The season was as much a business as the Adebayo Trading Company was; best to approach it as such, not with sentiment.