Chapter 16 #2
"I do. This is my last clean one. I didn't have time to do laundry."
Arezoo laughed and pulled back, wiping under her eyes with the pads of her thumbs. "I'm so glad you made it."
"I told you I'd be here." Drova held her at arm's length and examined her with a critical eye that swept from Arezoo's hairdo to her painted nails to the robe she was wearing. "You look half gorgeous. When do you become fully gorgeous?"
"When Angelica fixes the makeup I messed up, and I put on the dress, the shoes, and the jewelry."
Angelica, who wasn't intimidated by anyone, not even Drova, walked over with a makeup brush in hand and pointed at the chair. "Back in there, Princess." Then she pointed the brush at Drova. "Frankie, set Drova up. Her nails are atrocious."
Drova looked at Frankie, then back at Angelica. "What do you want to do to my nails?"
"You need your hair and nails done," Frankie said. "Each one here gets the full treatment."
"I don't need a treatment. My hair is fine, and so are my nails."
"You're in the wedding party," Angelica said from behind Arezoo's chair, where she was assessing the damage the makeup had suffered from the hug and the few tears that Arezoo hadn't been able to hold back. "Everyone in the wedding party gets the treatment. It's not optional."
Drova put her hands on her hips. "Who decided that?"
"I did. This is my salon, and those are my rules."
"I can leave." Drova leaned down to collect her discarded bags.
"Just let them do the nails," Arezoo pleaded. "You don't have to do the hair or makeup if you don't want to, but Angelica is right about your nails looking bad."
Drova looked down her nose at Frankie. "You really think you can do anything to my nails with these tools? Kra-ell nails are weapons, much harder than human or immortal. They're closer to talons. Your tools will break before my nails do."
A ripple of interest moved through the room. Donya, whose midnight blue nails were drying under a fan, leaned forward. "How much harder? Can you scratch glass?"
"I've never tried to scratch glass with them, but I can probably break it."
Angelica set down the brush and walked over to her supply cabinet.
She rummaged for a moment and emerged holding a compact electric device that looked like a combination drill and sander.
"This is my heavy-duty buffer. Diamond-coated head, variable speed, designed for acrylic and gel removal. This can handle even Kra-ell nails."
Drova looked at the buffer with skepticism. "The motor will burn out."
"It won't."
"Want to bet?"
Angelica's eyes lit up. "What are the stakes?"
"If your machine survives my nails, I'll let you do my hair."
"And if it doesn't?"
"You owe me a bottle of vodka."
"Deal."
The room erupted in excited chatter.
"I bet the tool will best the nails,” Rana said.
"I'm betting on the nails," Yasmin countered.
Aunt Yasmin always backed the underdog, even when the underdog was a six-foot Kra-ell warrior with talons.
Parisa shrugged and said that she wasn't a betting woman, and Soraya just looked amused.
Donya and Laleh were placing their bets, and Azadeh was taking notes.
"Five dollars on Drova's nails," Donya said.
"Five dollars on the machine," Laleh countered.
"I'll hold the money." Azadeh extended both hands.
Drova straddled the chair at Frankie's station and placed her hands flat on the table, fingers spread. Frankie leaned in to examine the nails, and her eyebrows rose.
"These are thick," Frankie said. "Really thick. They look like regular nails, but the texture is different."
"That's what I said." Drova flexed her fingers. "They're designed for combat, not to be pretty."
Frankie switched on the buffer. It hummed to life with a high-pitched whine, and as she touched it to Drova's thumbnail, the pitch changed, and everyone went quiet. The motor strained, recovered, and then settled into a labored rhythm that was distinctly different from its usual smooth operation.
"It's working," Frankie said.
"It's suffering," Drova corrected. "It's not going to last through all ten nails. The motor is going to overheat and die."
The nail edge began to smooth, slowly, reluctantly, as if the Kra-ell keratin was putting up a fight but gradually conceding to the diamond-coated head. Frankie worked carefully, adjusting pressure and angle, and after two minutes, Drova's thumbnail looked smooth.
"Well?" Frankie held up Drova's hand for inspection.
Drova examined her thumbnail with genuine surprise. "It actually looks nice. It's smooth."
"The machine lives," Angelica declared triumphantly.
"For now. Frankie still has nine more nails to go."
"Bring them on," Frankie said.
As Frankie reached the last nail, the betting pool settled its accounts, with Laleh's side collecting.
"Now to the polish," Frankie said. "I assume you want clear?"
Drova let out a long-suffering sigh. "You assume right."
Donya and Laleh started arguing about whether the bet had been fairly won since the machine had struggled.
Azadeh was counting small bills. Frankie was preparing the nail polish, and Drova was sitting at the manicure table, submitting to the treatment she had never wanted because she'd lost a bet she had entered willingly, because she was here for Arezoo.
The tears tried to escape again.
Arezoo pressed her lips together and blinked rapidly, staring at the ceiling until the pressure behind her eyes subsided. She would not cry. Angelica had threatened consequences, which involved another session with a makeup brush and zero sympathy.