It was the dream of every seventeen year old, during the summer before his senior year of high school to spend it miles away from all his friends and all his stuff. In case you couldn’t tell, that was sarcasm, because for Taylor Hughes, that was the last thing that he wanted. Unfortunately, he had no control over the matter. His parents were going out of the country on business for the entire summer, and trying as he might, Taylor was unable to convince them to let him stay at the family home.

“Give me one good reason why I can’t take care of myself? I’m practically an adult!” Taylor insisted.

“Someone who’s almost an adult wouldn’t have thrown the type of party you did last time we left you alone for the weekend. Besides,” Taylor’s father put his hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “Someone has to keep an eye on Great Aunt Agnes. We check up on her every few months, but we want someone there until we get back.”

“Sure… Isn’t she like a hundred? I don’t wanna be the only one around if she croaks...” Taylor muttered.

“Taylor!” Taylor’s mother exclaimed in a huff. “Don’t talk like that!”

“She doesn’t even like me!” Taylor said.

“That is simply not true. She’s just a little set in her reclusive ways. And with your cousins living halfway across the country, we’re all she has.” Taylor’s mother said. “Anyway, that’s our decision, and that’s final!”

As Taylor’s parents packed up the car with everything Taylor planned to need during the two months he’d be spending at his Great Aunt’s mansion, Taylor said goodbye to his best friend, Owen.

“We can still game together, right? You’re bringing you consoles, and your aunt has WiFi, doesn’t she?” Owen asked.

“Maybe! I dunno, she’s this weird old recluse. I don’t even know if she has running water!” Taylor said.

“I can assure you that she does.” Taylor’s father interjected. “Come on, Tay.”

“See you in September, buddy.” Taylor said.

“If you can set up your console, gimme a call. We can always video chat, too! It’ll be like you never left!” Owen smiled.

“I wish I wasn’t…” Taylor sighed.

Arriving at Great Aunt Agnes’ mansion was as much a trip as the trip up from Taylor’s house had been. She was part of the wealthy side of the family, so she could afford to live in a mansion surrounded by other mansions. Taylor and his folks had visited once or twice a year every year, and it was always the same experience. Taylor would wander around the house as Aunt Agnes and his parents talked, and Taylor spent the entire time bored out of his skull. The surrounding mansions were, much like Aunt Agnes’ mansion, lived in by rich elderly people, leaving no opportunities for a young boy to have any fun. Except her pool, but the last few visits, it had been emptied, since Agnes didn’t swim.

After parking the car, Taylor and his parents began unloading it as Aunt Agnes came walking out the front door wearing a rather fashionable housecoat and heeled slippers. Aunt Agnes was classically beautiful, looking much like an old Hollywood starlet, she’d started out as a model before meeting her late husband, who inherited his father’s oil business. Wise investments had allowed Agnes to continue living the lavish lifestyle that she’d become accustomed to.

“There you are!” Aunt Agnes exclaimed as she quickly embraced Taylor’s parents in a hug. “Wonderful to see you two again! And Taylor, I am delighted to have you spend the summer with me.”

Aunt Agnes embraced Taylor in a hug, much to his annoyance.

“Glad to see you too, Great Aunt Agnes.” Taylor forced a smile.

“And I’ve told you enough times, drop the Great. I’m just Aunt Agnes, I’m not that spectacular.” Aunt Agnes giggled.

After unloading the car, and moving Taylor’s luggage into the foyer of the mansion, Taylor’s parents returned to the car. Taylor and Aunt Agnes watched them depart from the steps.

“I’m sure you two will have a great summer together. Don’t party too hard, okay?” Taylor’s mother joked.

“No worries, dear!” Aunt Agnes waved as Taylor’s parents started to pull away.

Aunt Agnes walked Taylor into the house and started to give him a short tour.

“I know this isn’t your first time here, but I figured I should let you know of the amenities. You can have your pick of any bedroom you’d like, but the first on the left upstairs has a TV in it, and enough space for all your video games.” as she pointed up a large staircase. “If there’s anything you want specifically to eat, let me know and I’ll put it on the list. My personal shopper comes by once a week, same with my hair stylist and my manicurist. Maybe one of these days we can do something with this unruly mane of yours!”

Aunt Agnes giggled as she ruffled Taylor’s shoulder-length hair.

“No way, Aunt Agnes. This is how I like it.” Taylor said.

“Suit yourself…” Aunt Agnes sighed. “Oh, and I had the pool filled last week, so feel free to use that as much as you’d like.”

For the first few weeks, Taylor had the time of his life. Aunt Agnes wasn’t concerned with any discipline, and trusted Taylor far more than his parents did, allowing him to choose when he went to bed, when he ate, apart from having dinner with Aunt Agnes every night, and had even gotten high speed internet just for his visit. Taylor was beginning to think the summer was going to be better than he thought. He’d been able to game and video chat with Owen, hang out by the pool, and do everything he’d wanted to do at home. Sure, he missed real human contact, but being able to sleep in every day was a blessing. Not that he slept every night of course.

One afternoon, after a long non-stop night of gaming, Taylor came downstairs in his pajamas to find Aunt Agnes in the living room getting her nails done. Taylor had quickly learned to not question Aunt Agnes’ desire to have all her amenities delivered. Taylor yawned as he walked over to greet his aunt.

“Morning.” Taylor said.

“More like afternoon.” Aunt Agnes said. “Did you even sleep last night?”

“Depends? Is it still Thursday?” Taylor smiled.

“You know very well it isn’t.” Aunt Agnes said. “This is my Taylor, who I was telling you about. Taylor, this is my manicurist, Deb.”

Taylor half-waved as Deb did the same in return.

“You should really let Deb work her magic on you.” Aunt Agnes said, glancing at Taylor’s hands.

“I think I’ll pass.” Taylor said. “That’s totally gay.”

“Taylor! I won’t tolerate that kind of language in my house!” Aunt Agnes exclaimed. “I have very few rules, but I expect you to follow them. And using that type of language is off-limits!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it, I just meant that no self-respecting guy would do that!” Taylor said. “Only women get their nails done.”

“Having well-groomed nails is nothing to be ashamed of. Back in my day, lots of high-society men did it, since handshakes were a big part of social interactions.” Aunt Agnes said. “Plus, it’s so relaxing. Pull up a chair.”

Taylor considered the idea for a moment. He’d known a few internet gamers who had gotten their nails done in order to make them presentable on-camera. Besides, he wanted to stay on Aunt Agnes’ good side, and it’s not like anyone would ever find out.

“Okay, why not?” Taylor shrugged and pulled a chair with armrests next to Aunt Agnes’s. “Just don’t paint them pink or anything…”

Taylor sat down as Deb finished up Aunt Agnes’ nails. Then she started work on Taylor’s as Agnes blew on her nails to dry them. Against all odds, Taylor found that having his hands worked on felt really good.

“What did I tell you?” Aunt Agnes asked. “Was I right? Or was I right?”

“It’s pretty relaxing.” Taylor admitted. “I guess you were right.”

Taylor yawned as his eyes started to flutter. Aunt Agnes rolled her eyes and sighed.

“That’s what happens when you spend all night playing video games…” Aunt Agnes said. “Anyway, I was thinking for dinner we could do meatloaf.”

Taylor’s eyes stayed closed and he didn’t respond.

“Taylor?” Aunt Agnes asked. “Taylor!”

“I think he’s out cold.” Deb remarked as she finished with Taylor’s nails. “I’ll just leave them as is.”

Deb started to pack her things back into her bag.

“Not so fast, Deb… What was it he said before he sat down? Something about what color he wanted?” Aunt Agnes smiled.

“I think I know what he meant…” Deb chuckled as she reached into her bag.

Some time later, Taylor woke up, and realized he was still in the chair. His hands felt weird, and he looked down at them, seeing that his fingernails had been lengthened and been painted a bright pink color.

“What the hell?” Taylor screamed. “Aunt Agnes!”

“Why are you screaming, Taylor?” Aunt Agnes asked as she walked into the room.

Taylor held out his hands to Aunt Agnes.

“This! Look what she did to me!”

“Your nails look very nice, dear.”

“Why did she do this?”

“Well, I do recall you mentioning painting them pink… Deb has always been a bit literal, and her hearing isn’t what it used to be…” Aunt Agnes said.

“But I’m not a girl!”

“With that haircut, maybe she thought you were… I don’t remember if I mentioned that you were my nephew now that I think about it…” Aunt Agnes started to laugh. “I’m sorry, I can’t keep it up.”

“You knew about this?”

“I told her to do it… I thought it would be funny.” Aunt Agnes said.

“Maybe to you…” Taylor said.

“Let me go get the nail polish remover and you’ll be right as rain.” Aunt Agnes headed to the bathroom and started digging through the medicine cabinet.

“Is it in there?” Taylor tried futilely to pull the acrylic nail off his finger, to no avail.

“I could have sworn I had some…” Aunt Agnes muttered. “Maybe it’s in the other one…”

“Tell me you have nail polish remover.” Taylor pleaded.

“I must have run out… Oh well, I’ll add it to the list, my personal shopper will be coming by in a few days, anyway.” Aunt Agnes said.

“I have to spend a few days with these?” Taylor asked.

“Consider it punishment for your dreadful language before. Just be happy that Deb had another client and didn’t get to do your toenails like I’d suggested.” Aunt Agnes replied.

Taylor just rolled his eyes as he tried yet again to pull the nails off by force.

By the end of the day, Taylor had managed to adapt fairly well to the nails. They weren’t overly long, and even gaming wasn’t that hard to handle, though he still noticed the color whenever he looked down at his hands. Thankfully he did most of his gaming with Owen on audio calls, so no one had to find out about it. When Taylor went to sleep, all he was looking forward to was for the day of the grocery delivery and to just relax by the pool.