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Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Pride (04/12/04)
TITLE: The Pride of Nails
By Clotilde Martinez
04/18/04
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As she was driving home from the homeless women shelter where she volunteer, Dolores thought of the auburn hair homeless woman. It was not what the woman was wearing, it was what she said when she saw Dolores' nails.
"Your nails are beautiful. I had nails like those once...Oh, I wish I had a manicure."
Dolores was proud of her nails. Every Saturday, she went to the nail salon to have them done. They were her pride and joy. Dolores made sure that everyone saw her manicure hands. The woman glanced at her hand and sigh. They were cracked and yellow and now she felt old. For the first time, Dolores realized there was more to life than Dolores' nails.
An idea came to her as she parked her car. She would organize a manicure party for the women at the shelter. Dolores could hardly wait to get inside her apartment to sketch out a plan.
As Dolores discover it was easier to conceive an idea, but difficult to carry out. At first, the director of the shelter did not think that giving a manicure was important, but Dolores was persistent with her request. Finally, the director replied that it was okay for Dolores to organize the manicure event.
The next step for Dolores was to find volunteers to do the manicures. She asked everyone that she knew. Some said yes, others turn her down. They did not want to soil their own hands by touching the homeless. Sad, isn't it.
Dolores and her group went out and bought the necessary items for the manicures. The event took place that following weekend. It took place in the main lobby of the homeless shelter. On her way home, Dolores thought of the day's events.
The women at the shelter were delighted with the manicure surprise. No one has ever bother to see them in a positive light. Dolores smiled at the delight of one women when she saw the pink nail polish bottle, because pink was her favorite color. Another women could not remember a time when she felt beautiful as that day.
The highlight for Dolores was when she saw the auburn woman standing at the door, looking amazed at the scene. Dolores went to her and took to her station. The woman sat down and look at the nail files, the polishes, the emery boards, and lotions. Dolores sat across from her and grabbed her hand.
"Can I give you a manicure?"
The woman with tears in her eyes nodded yes.
"What color polish do you want?" Dolores asked.
The woman replied that she want a peachy color. Dolores first filed the woman's nails. She then soak the woman's hand in the bowl containing warm water and liquid soap. Dolores took the woman's left hand out of the bowl and dried it gently with a towel. The right hand was still soaking as Dolores buffed the nails of the left hand. She then trim the cuticles.
She then repeated the procedure with the right hand. Once that was done, she put some lotion on the woman's hands and massage it in. Soon, the hands were ready to be polish. How beautiful did those hands look once they were done. As she parked the car, Dolores realized something this was the first Saturday that she did not get her nails done.