Chapter Ten #2
Lucia smiled and brought her cake and ice cream with her while Regis and Ira followed.
Regis smiled. “You do nails?”
“I did. It will be a test to see if I still can. If not, I am going to owe Yorwell for all the stuff he purchased.”
She followed the directions and paused. There was a sign reading “Lucia’s Studio” in soft cursive. “Wow. So this must be it.”
She opened the door, and a soft light illuminated the space. “Holy sh—ucks.”
Regis grinned. “Nice save.”
“Thank you. I am out of practice. Well, Ira, what would you like your nails to look like?”
Ira smiled. “Can they have circuit boards on them?”
Regis moved to intercede, but Lucia went to the polishes. “Yes, they can. What colour?”
“Pink and silver?”
“Have a seat in the chair. Regis, think about what you want and take the second chair that just appeared.”
“I just want a nice buff and maybe a clear polish.”
Lucia grinned. “Keep that in mind.” She got the warm, soapy water and paused to stare at the autoclave that was sitting on the counter. “He went off my list a bit.”
Regis chuckled. “They tend to. They can, so they do.”
She filled the bowls for them to soak their hands gently, and she found a sketchbook and pencil where they should be. She drew out the design and showed it to Ira.
She grinned and said, “Yes, please.”
The next half hour went by with Ira talking about school and Regis supervising the manicure and nails. While Ira was curing the top layer, Regis got her manicure and the buffing with clear polish.
Regis asked, “What was that?”
“What?”
“The magic at the end?”
“Oh, say a colour.”
“Crimson.”
Her nails turned crimson.
“That’s...”
“Say buff, and it goes back to buff. Say clear, and things get appalling.” Lucia grinned. “It will only last for a week, but it should be fun.”
Regis grinned. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. You let everyone come together in your yard, and you are doing it again tomorrow. I will spot you and Ira this one.”
Ira had her hands out. “Can I touch things?”
“Absolutely. These are very sturdy. If you want them off, tell your mom to get some nail polish remover and take them off. Pick a different design and come back a different day.”
She smiled as she felt Ted arrive with an escort. “My cousin Ted is arriving.”
“Is that the lady with the braids?”
Lucia nodded. “Yes.”
“You are cousins?”
“Yes. We have the same grandmother.”
“Oh.”
“Our dads were brothers.”
“Oh.” Ira blinked and nodded. “Okay. So you have a mom and dad?”
“I did before the curse. Now they don’t know what to do, so I think they are just going to imagine there is no problem.”
Ira frowned. “That’s stupid.”
“That is how adults think sometimes.” She smiled and picked out the instruments to place in the autoclave. She washed them and set them in the tray.
Ira looked at her mom. “Can we show Dad?”
“Yes, but next time he might want your little nails covered in dragons.”
Ira laughed and bowed to Lucia. “Thank you, miss.”
Regis smiled. “Thank you, Lucia.”
There was a knock at the door. “Come in, Yorwell.”
He stepped in and smiled. “Is it functional?”
“It is wonderful. Thank you so much.”
The two ladies, big and small, filtered out with a wave.
She looked at him and tidied up.
“Ted is here. She brought one of your aunts with her.”
She walked up to him and hugged him. “Thank you. Send them in.”
He grinned. “Having fun?”
“I am feeling more like me, but I have to boot them out by nine. I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Do you think you can sleep?”
“Can you sleep with all the setups you gave me?”
“Yes. I may reach for you in the night.”
“I may reprogram the songs on your phone.”
He smiled. “Fair enough.”
She laughed and stroked his back. “Send Ted in with whichever auntie she brought along.”
She dried her counter and got two kits out. Everything was back where it started, and she was smiling when Ted came in and blinked at the familiar face that arrived with her.
Ted hugged her. “You are looking solid.”
“Thank you. I work out.”
Lady Olyna looked around the little salon and smiled. “This was put together for you?”
“Yes. I made the list, and he went nuts with it while I slept.”
Lady Olyna smiled. “That is a good thing. It is very impersonal, though.”
“It’s my first day back with fingers. I am willing to pace myself.”
Ted smiled. “Ready for tiny robots?”
“Oh, yeah. How long do you want your nails?”
“Give me a half-inch tip oval shape.”
“Yes, Ted. Base colour?”
Ted pursed her lips. “Sparkly blue?”
“Nice. Soak your hands and assume the position.”
Ted cackled, and Lady Olyna sat next to her.
“What do you want, Auntie?”
Olyna looked at her. “I want an analysis on why my polish keeps chipping.”
“Okay. I can do that while her first layers are curing.”
Ted smiled, her fingers were dried, and Lucia got to work. While Lucia filed and shaped the nails, she asked, “Auntie, why are you here today?”
“I want to speak to you on behalf of the family. Anya’s children don’t want her to commit to you, but she feels different.”
“I don’t need commitment. I needed to know where I stand, and now I know it is miles away from family.”
Olyna sighed as the length was arranged with gel, and the UV light was put over Ted’s first hand.
“I offered because, until recently, my entire family was under a curse. My youngest mate’s mother put a curse on them to make them the most favoured of my children.
Friends of Nora broke that curse, and we are slowly spinning into the new situation.
One of my granddaughters has wings; another was nearly destroyed as a teen before I even met her.
We have had many changes, and there is always a time of silence after each new shock.
Your family is in shock. Not only was their most visible member missing and no one remembered, but their least visible family member disappeared, and no one noticed.
There is a lot of guilt with that. I am still dealing with the guilt of the curse that no one noticed for over forty years. ”
Ted grinned. “Oh, speaking of the kids from him, Venka has a den. Other snakes and an omega with a serpentine-leanings.”
Olyna smiled. “And Venka is the registered second mother for Lya’s baby. And Lya has quite the arm on her when you insult Tamara. I learned that the hard way.” She put her hand to her cheek.
Lucia smiled. “Flashback?”
“Yes. Now when they attend family events, everyone keeps a respectful distance. Their primary alpha is very venomous.” Olyna sighed.
“They are all venomous. Tamara is going to be a lovely alpha. I am glad she is picking up Venka’s fashion sense.” Olyna smiled.
Lucia stared. “That sounds like evolution, Auntie.”
Ted grinned. “Yup. That is what it sounds like.”
Olyna twisted her lips. “Becoming mother to an omega at my age has caused me to think about the family I want raising them if anything happens to me.”
Lucia and Ted nodded. “We know.”
Olyna blinked. “What?”
“We were there. We saw it all.” Ted said.
Lucia nodded. “I have all the phones of the family tapped. I know all the tea. So do you want to know anything about your kids or siblings?”
Olyna paused and leaned in. “What is Anna doing with her hair? It’s so rich gold.”
Lucia grinned, and they started gossiping while tiny robots took shape on Ted’s nails.
When Ted was setting again, Lucia took a look at Olyna and smiled. “Stop eating fries before your appointment. Or dipping dumplings into sour cream. You are putting fat deposits on your nail tips. I can fix it.”
Olyna blushed. “I barely have time to eat lately.”
“Uh-huh. Use chopsticks.”
“What?”
“Eat what you like, but before your nail appointments, use chopsticks, and during the appointment, too, if anyone brings treats in.”
Olyna grimaced. “Lady Fen will make fun of me.”
“So? Let her. You share grandchildren. You can be an adult, and if it saves your manicure, you can teach your granddaughter to use chopsticks before she can, just to be petty.”
Olyna smiled slowly. “How did I not know you were devious?”
“You never actually had a conversation with me.” Lucia shrugged and fixed the nail chips.
Olyna asked, “How are you dealing with that... giant?”
“It has been less than a day, but he is trying to anticipate what I need. Any physical stuff has to wait until I figure out if it works. Digestion seems to be working okay. Bladder is functioning.”
Olyna frowned. “So you really didn’t have a body?”
“No, it... faded.”
Olyna asked, “How?”
Lucia got her touch-ups curing, and she returned to clear coat Ted’s nails.
“I was jumped by three grey men outside my apartment. They grabbed me, and everything got dim. When I woke up, I was shackled to a wall, and there were three bands on my collarbone and wrapping around me. I felt weak. I had no idea what had happened. Food showed up every day at first. No people. Just food. I ate and figured out how to relieve myself. No bathing, same clothing. Months went by like that. I got sick, so they stopped drawing as much power. Then they started missing feeding times. Then more. The lack of food gave me something. Skinny wrists. I pulled out of the shackles. Left a lot of blood and skin behind, but I was able to get out of the cavern, and I ran for it. Well, it was a zombie stagger with some crawling. I found another cavern and needed to hide, but I also needed to call for help. So... I called.”
She got a second light and put it over Ted’s finished nails.
“I called emergency services, and they found me. They thought I was dead until I started moving. Then it was a very fast ride to the hospital, where they asked me my name, and I couldn’t remember it.
I fell into a coma, and when I woke up, my body was no longer a concern.
Organ failure. It was cremated and is in an unclaimed vault somewhere, waiting for family to find me. ”
Olyna didn’t interrupt, but tears were running down her cheeks.
Lucia moved the light and took Olyna’s hand, removing the residue and buffing the nails until they shined.