Italian Liaisons

A Day at the Spa Ari parked the car, and she and Melina headed into the spa as part of the recommended workup her doctor had suggested. Only Melina had no idea at the time just how "worked up" that would be. She'd never really been pampered before, but she would enjoy every minute of it. The too-thin girl had grown up poor in a harsh desert in America and with very little health care. They entered the spa, and a lady asked Ari about her in Italian as she filled out a form. Melina's Italian wasn't perfect yet, but she still understood much of what Ari was telling the woman—that she was 21, that the doctor had started her on vitamins and recommended she trim her overly long hair so she wouldn't get as many headaches. Melina was brought into a room in which she'd never seen so many shampoo bottles and hair accessories before in her life. She was amazed and dazzled by all the beauty supplies around her. People sat happily in their chairs—mostly women—as they had their hair washed, cut, and styled. A young, friendly-looking lady approached them and greeted them with a smile. She knew enough Italian to understand that she was telling Ari how cute she was. She led her over to a chair, in which she stood beside, since her hair was too long to be cut while seated. The woman then brought her wavy blond locks from just below her buttocks to her waist. After that, she was seated in the chair where her hair was washed and then placed upon her head in a twisted towel. With the towel securely in place, she was next led to an area where small private hot tubs were located and given her choice of scented oil to be added to her bath. She wasn't sure she understood all the fragrances named by the lady, but when shown a picture of the various fruits on the bottles, she decided on the peach. Melina had never been in a Jacuzzi before and practically squealed with delight once she managed to get her body submerged in the hot, bubbly water, foaming with the scent of peaches. Ari urged her to quiet down, though the amused smile she exchanged with the beautician told her she was just as happy as she was. Melina was given a loofah mitt with which to scrub her skin. She remained in the hot tub for about 20 minutes. When she got out, she was given a towel to wrap around her, and then she was led into what sort of looked like an examination room. In the exam room, she was told to remove her towel and to lie on the table on her back. The woman brought out an electric shaver, and this alarmed Melina at first. She was afraid the woman was going to shave her pubic hair off, something she was never interested in. It was too little girlish. She began to protest, but Ari explained she was simply going to trim her. Guess this must be what it’s like to be a dog at the groomer’s, Melina thought to herself. The thought was kind of funny, too. After her pubic hairs were trimmed really short, she got to pick out another fragrance, this time for body oil. She chose the raspberries. After the oil was rubbed into her arms, chest, stomach, legs, and feet, the beautician had her turn over onto her stomach so she could oil her back. The last stop was the manicuring room. While she waited for the lady in that department, she was presented with a tray containing small bowls of various fruits and asked to make her selection. She chose the blueberries. Melina offered some to Ari, who sat next to her at the counter as they waited for the manicurist at, but Ari passed them up. A few minutes later, another woman appeared with some papers in her hand and read the instructions off in Italian. “Let’s see, no makeup… nail polish in light pink…” she turned around to gaze at the dozens of bottles that sat on a shelf behind her, “…light pink.” Putting down the papers, she then selected five bottles in various shades of pink and showed them to Melina. Melina chose the one she liked best, and the woman told another woman who had entered the area to get another bottle in that color. Melina wondered why two bottles were needed, but then she quickly learned why as one woman did her toenails while the other did her fingernails.