it made no difference. She immediately got what she wanted from her father. That’s not the kind of father I had.”
Joan’s attention had drifted from Sandra’s tale to the wigs. She lifted one with long, wavy, blonde hair from its display stand and tried it on in front of the dressing table in the bedroom. “This doesn’t look bad,” she said. The abundance of blonde hair did something to her appearance that she liked. Naturally, she was a medium-dark brunette and only used dye to conceal grey hairs. Her straight hair was never allowed to touch her shoulder. With the wig, she looked like a different person, a very different person.
Still busy searching through the jewelry, Sandra turned to look at her. “It’ll certainly get Bill’s attention,” she said. “That’s the hairstyle centerfolds mostly have. I’m sure he knows how they look.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” replied Joan. Actually, she had been thinking something else. “It’ll give Bill a whole new opinion of Helen, since she’s so set on having him.” Joan took off the wig and threw it on the bed. “Let’s see if there’s some more that would help her.” Ostensibly she was looking for Helen, but secretly she was eager to see how different wigs became her. The way that the blonde wig had changed her appearance was a small revelation. The change went beyond her looks. She felt it affect her personality, her thoughts, even her desires.
While they were ransacking the jewelry and wigs, Helen re-entered the bedroom in her bare feet, wearing the strapless dress and jacket, looking rather pleased. The others stopped what they were doing. Without any theatrical introduction, she gave them a full view of the outfit, turning around so they could see all sides. “I think this’ll do,” she said. Although she expressed herself with restraint, she was deeply happy with how elegant the clothes were and how well they fit. She had never worn such finely made, beautiful clothing. She thought that if these were the types of clothes she had to wear to impress Bill, the adventure would be a pleasure.
Sandra and Joan took a long, hard look at her.
“This could work, but you need to put on heels,” said Sandra.
“And a wig,” said Joan.
“And some simple jewelry, like a necklace and earrings,” said Sandra.
“And makeup,” added Joan.
“And you need to lift your chest,” continued Sandra.
“And you need to swing your hips when you walk,” declared Joan.
“I have to do all of that?” exclaimed Helen. Her happiness became clouded at the thought of all the extra fuss.
“Yes,” asserted Sandra and Joan, simultaneously and loudly.
“Bill won’t be bowled over by a pretty dress alone,” remarked Sandra. “After you get his attention—that’s just the first step—you’re going to have to use every means in your power to hold his interest.”
“It’ll be easy to shock him,” said Joan. “This dress looks fantastic on you, and even he will notice. But you’ll need to pull him in with other tricks, other allurements to keep him under your charm.”
“Yet you shouldn’t look fake or act artificial,” explained Sandra. “A natural glamour is the most potent.”
“The French know the art of seduction best,” enthused Joan. “And we’re going to help you out-French the French at entrapment and fill Bill with l’amour fou, crazy love. He’ll be crazy about you.”
Joan ran to fetch a few wigs for Helen to try on, while Sandra began to give Helen lessons on how to walk. Helen was ambivalent about what they wanted her to do. It all seemed too deceptive, too laborious, too unnatural, too much. It didn’t seem to her that they were giving instructions in any true French seduction skills, either. Yet she played along with what they advised. She practiced walking as they demonstrated, swaying at the hips with an uplifted chest. When she put on the high-heeled shoes they selected for her, she had to learn how to walk all over again, because they were the highest heels she had ever worn and she wobbled with every step. The simplest task they gave her was wearing jewelry she could never afford, but that didn’t make her feel any better.
While they decided which wig complemented the outfit she had on, she sat patiently at the dressing table in front of the mirror. The wig they chose was a mass of straight black hair, which they coiled into a chignon and adorned with a large mother of pearl hairpiece. They left some strands loose, because they said