He seemed confused for a moment. “Coloring?”
“Yeah. A lot of adults use coloring as a mindfulness exercise. My sister loves coloring mandalas and such.” I wanted to get Bear all sorts of coloring books, including the more childish ones. If only to see what he’d think.
“I guess that could be fun… I definitely need more things to relax with to get my mind off working sometimes.” He seemed a bit hesitant, but at least I couldn’t detect anything negative he might’ve felt as he smiled at me cautiously.
“Great! Well, I know a few things about what makes for a good coloring set, so let me figure that out for you.” I clapped my hands together, just as there was a knock at the door.
“Boss?”
“Yeah, Zain?”
The door opened and my apprentice filled the doorframe. “Oh, sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting…?”
“Not at all. This is my friend and roommate, Bear. Bear, this is my apprentice, Zain.”
Bear stepped closer and held out his hand for a shake. When Zain squeezed it, Bear’s cheeks colored a little. Then again Zain had that effect on a lot of people while being completely oblivious to it himself.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Bear mumbled.
“You too.” Zain smiled, let go of his hand, and then turned to me. “Can you take a look at couple of sketches I made for my Monday appointment?”
I tilted my head. “Why?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and seemed awkward. “I just… it’s for this girl I like and….”
“Ah.” I glanced at Bear. “Do you mind? It won’t take long and then we can go home.”
“Oh, no, not at all. Please.” Bear gestured for us to do whatever.
“If you’re not too intimidated by Sara, they’re good company. Tell them if you’re uncomfortable; they’ll stop with the flirting then.”
The whole idea of doing that made Bear’s eyes widen, but he nodded, steeled himself, and followed Zain and me out of my room. I reached back to turn the lights off after him, and watched as he walked to the front of the shop.
I closed the door and saw Zain smirked at me.
“What?”
“Nothing!” His tone suggested otherwise, so I scoffed and followed him to his tiny little workspace on the opposite side of the shop proper.
I gave him some pointers about his sketch—a Neo-Traditional pirate ship thing with some fun twists—and he said he’d work on figuring out what he wanted to change based on my suggestions. That was why he’d be a great tattoo artist; he knew enough about himself to stick to his guns even at the face of someone more experienced or the so-called rules of tattoo styles.
“All set?” I asked him when he seemed happy with the process.
“Yup, thanks, boss.”
“Anytime. Good luck on Monday,” I told him, winking.
He blushed, then glanced across the large room toward the front desk and winked back at me. “You too.”
Groaning, I left him to do his thing and went to collect my roommate. Because that was what Bear was, nothing more.
So why then, the next afternoon, was I ordering him a pile of coloring books, sets of pencils, crayons, and felt-tipped pens? I hit the order button before I could tempt myself to empty the shopping cart instead. Bear needed happiness in his life, and if I could help with that, I would do it in a heartbeat.
My phone rang as I was pushing my laptop aside, ready to make more coffee before diving into some sketches I’d been meaning to do.
“Hey, Mom,” I said in Finnish.
“Hello, Luukas. How are you? What’s new?” she asked brightly.
