He stood behind the divas, his arms covered in swirling designs. A dragon, maybe? Something that might've been a wolf. Tribal patterns around his wrists. The longer I studied the designs, the more I realized how poorly they had been applied. Had they spent all morning with a Sharpie drawing on one another? They might be horrific designs, but the effort forced a smile onto my face.
“What the hell is going on?”
"It was all her idea," Nick said, hands up. He couldn’t have been any more adorable if he tried. He and I had a long talk ahead of us. That’s why I wanted to get to the woods as quickly as possible. There, I felt we could be the best versions of ourselves.
“Damn, Lacie,” I said.
Both she and Mabel let out an audible gasp.
"No." Nick pointed at my mother. "I meant your mum."
I turned. The architect of this insanity continued nibbling on her bacon as if insanity hadn’t just burst through the door. She set the fork down, her eyelashes fluttering as a devious grin appeared.
Mum rolled up her sleeve. There on her forearm in thick Sharpie marker sat a firefly. Lopsided wings. One antenna was longer than the other. The ink was already smudged at the edges. Harvey and Walter snickered at the reveal. Whatever was going on, I don’t think we had reached the grand finale.
“I am so lost?”
Behind me, Walter lost it. The sound bounced off the small space. Harvey joined in, both wheezing, their table rattling.
“You're all insane. Every last one of you.”
"Oh, honey," Lacie said. "We're just getting started."
“Girls!” Mabel shouted.
Bonnie walked in first, bringing the smell of her lavender soap, arms covered in flowers and hearts. The quilting guild filed in one by one, displaying their Sharpie artwork like a runway show. The six women didn’t show as much skin, but from hands to biceps, they had pitched in. Gloria, with her plunging neckline, had what I could only describe as a tiger attacking a man. The bistro was getting cramped, bodies filling every space between tables.
Gladys entered.
Unlike the others, she still wore her signature cardigan. Her hands and neck were virgin skin, untouched by ink. Without a word, she turned around and lifted the back of her shirt. Faded by time, the flower surrounded by filigree was the last thing I expected. While others had drawn their tattoos, Gladys revealed an authentic tattoo.
Lacie whistled.
“Nice ink,” I said.
“Thanks.” She gave me a wink. “I had an adventurous youth.”
Not to be outdone, Walter jumped up and pulled his t-shirt over his head. It was difficult to tell what was real and what had been drawn on. The anchor on his chest looked real, but what I could only guess was a tattoo of Harvey had been drawn. Whenhis buddy lifted his shirt, I saw the resemblance of Walter caught in a wink.
“You’re all…” My throat felt tight.
Lacie stepped forward and took a bow. "Have you learned nothing? We can lift any curse." She emphasized the we in her statement.
Mum slid something across the table. When she pulled back her hand, it took my brain a moment to process what I was looking at. Small white rectangle. On it:
Ink on the Green
Charlie Sandford, Proprietor
“Think about it,” Mum said.
I looked around. Simon sat across from me, coffee cooling between us. Lacie and Mabel blocked the doorway. Nick smiled, covered in terrible Sharpie art. The quilting guild took their seats at nearby tables, raising menus ready to order. Even Mum had her lopsided firefly on her forearm.
They were trying. Firefly had never apologized, but they didn’t need to. Instead of looking back, I could acknowledge that they were looking forward.
"You don't have to decide now." Mum reached across the table. Her hand was warm when she took mine. "My foot's healed. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."
The words landed hard.
