We both laughed at the memory. My dad had cut tons of corners to make ends meet. I was grateful. I'd studied harder than my peers, who must have been watching some meerkat show instead.
"Keith loves that show," Jamie said. "Have a seat, and he'll come collect you in a minute. Becca and I are going to look at some wolf designs."
She waved over her shoulder as she followed Jamie into the back room.
Keith was a big white guy with broad shoulders and tattoos covering what I could see of his muscular arms and legs before his t-shirt and board shorts covered them up. He grinned as he looked at the piece of paper still sitting on the counter beside the discarded plastic shell. He swept it all into a wire wastebasket before walking over to greet me.
He was less excited when I told him I'd never seen his favorite show.
"You're missing out," he said with a look of pure disappointment. "Maybe this tattoo is a good excuse to start?"
I shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
He nodded and led me to the back, where Jamie was already pressing a piece of transfer paper to Becca's arm.
"Where do you want yours?" Keith asked me.
"Where's the least painful?"
"Forearm. It would look good there, too. We'll put his tail by your wrist so the rest of his body expands along the muscle. We'll be doing the most work in the least painful places." He showed me the drawing. Up close, I could see the animal's whiskers and the gleam in its eyes. It was adorable.
"Yeah, sounds good."
Keith arranged the chair so I could sit comfortably while he worked, and then a person of Asian descent with spiked hair and a nose ring asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. I ordered the delicious-smelling brew I'd wanted since we first came inside, and they moved on to Becca, who asked for a bottle of water.
They returned with our drinks just as Keith started his line work. The burning hot tea didn't distract me from the stinging needle in my arm the way I'd hoped, but it was strong. It cooled enough to drink in earnest when Keith finished the lines and began detailing.
I didn't like looking at needles, but I appreciated a fellow artist at work, even when his canvas was my forearm. I couldeven ignore the pain while I focused on the design coming to life, almost as though Keith was using magical ink.
When he finished an hour later, I could have sworn a real animal stared up at me. The eyes were so playful and expectant. The little meerkat looked like it wanted to play, but waited for my first move.
"Thank you so much," I said. "I love it."
Jamie laughed as he examined Keith's work over his shoulder. "He didn't even know what a meerkat was when he walked in here."
"He doesn't have to know what it is to appreciate it." Keith patted my shoulder. "Come back when you know, and we'll have a good laugh."
Leave it to me to get a homework assignment along with my new tattoo. After Becca and I compared our finished tattoos, both gorgeously realistic and in the same spot on our left arms, we headed toward a nightclub Bruce frequented, the next stop of the night.
The closer we came, the more my arm throbbed. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it felt weird, like maybe I was allergic to the ink.
"I think I need to go home," I said once we reached the line at the door.
"Aww." Becca hugged me, careful of our arms. "Who's going to carry my headband when it pinches my ears too much?"
I kissed her temple. "That's Bruce's job now."
I tried not to let my disappointment show, but her eyes welled with tears anyway. "Thanks for getting tattoos with me. Sorry I broke you."
"You didn't break anything," I said. "Go have a fun night, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."
Homework and an early night. This tattoo wasn't doing me any favors.
2
MIKA
I was stilltired on Monday morning after Bruce's joint bachelor-bachelorette party. My former neighbor and his bride-to-be partied late into Sunday morning with us. Afterward, I'd slept through most of the day and lay awake at all hours of the night, staring at the time on my phone.
