The Odd Family's Book of Bedtime Stories

The Perfect Tan

Everyone wanted to look their best for their own wedding and Tina was no exception. She had worked very hard to get into the right shape physically, working out and dieting constantly. Then she spent weeks searching for the perfect dress and having it altered to fit her perfectly. She was determined to have the perfect wedding, to the point that some of her friends had called her a bridezilla behind her back. Tina didn't mind because it was all going to be worth it in the end.

With only a little less than two weeks left, everything was on track. Tina and her fiance had picked out and paid for all of the best for their big day and she was convinced nothing could go wrong. All that was left to do was get a beautiful, golden tan. Tina headed immediately to the tanning salon to get started. She stayed in the tanning bed as long as she could and then came back the next day only to find out that the salon wouldn't allow her to tan like she wanted to.

Not one to be slowed down, Tina developed a plan. There were several tanning salons in town and she quickly registered herself at each of them. She then spent the day driving from salon to salon, tanning. In the next few days, when that wasn't enough, Tina bought a special tanning lotion. It was supposed to work better and faster than any of the others, though she didn't bother to read the label. She continued driving around town to use each of the salons.

Tina was obsessed with getting the perfect tan, carefully adding tanning lotions and moisturizers at each stop. She watched with wide eyes as her skin began to bronze and then get darker and darker. She had a mental image of exactly how she wanted to look on her big day and now it was within her reach. She was becoming obsessed. She couldn't wait to see how much her pristine white dress set off her golden skin and bright white teeth.

Just two days before the wedding, Tina was found in one of the tanning beds, her earbuds still playing her favorite song. The women who ran the salon were drawn to her room by the smell of cooking meat. They called for an ambulance immediately but it was too late. In her drive to have the perfect wedding day, Tina had set her health aside. Somehow, ignoring the rules, Tina had managed to slowly cook herself from the inside out.