“This is Sloane.”
“Briar’s kid?” He asks, and I nod.“Oh really? Heard your brother’s going to the NBA.”
“Yeah, Athen City drafted him,” I say with a small smile.
“That’s great, and what about your sister?”
“She’s just finishing law school and going to get her Master’s degree.”
“Who knew that Briar Monroe would’ve made kids that would be something?”
Charlie and Beckett laugh as if they are sharing some kind of inside joke, making me feel even more left out. Charlie doesn’t ask about me; he just starts talking to Beckett like I don’t exist. Somehow, I blend into a room with only three people.
“Alright, what can I do for you?” Charlie asks, turning his attention back to me.
“I want to get maybe one or two little tattoos.”
“Ok, whatcha thinking?”
I pull out my phone and go to Flykr, showing him what I have in mind.
I show him the little mountain outline that I want on my ribs.
“Ok, and you said that you might want a second one. What would that one be?”
Beckett looks at me, too, since I’d only mentioned the one when we were talking about it earlier.
“Just the words ‘Fake it till you make it.’ It’s the title of one of my favorite songs.” This song helped me get through some of the hardest times of my life, and I want a reminder of it.
Charlie and Beckett both look at me for a minute before Charlie nods and goes behind the front desk, grabbing some papers and an iPad.
“Alright, I’ll get something drawn up real quick if you’ll start filling out this paperwork, and then we can get started.”
Beckett also fills out a form. I give him a questioning look, but he doesn’t say anything, just winks at me.
Charlie takes me back first. He shows me what he’s drawn up. The first is just a simple mountain outline. The words having been typed in a cute, elegant script.
Once I approve of the design, we move on to placement and sizing. Once everything looks ok, we get started on the process.
We put the words on the outside of my right wrist, and I hardly even feel it as he does it. It only takes a few minutes for him to finish up the first tattoo.
The ribs on the other hand, while not as horrible as I was expecting, still hurt, and it takes a lot for me not to wiggle around.
Beckett offers me a small smile and rests his hand on my ankle to help comfort me while Charlie works.
“Thank you, they look great,” I say with a smile once we finish. I love them. I look at them in the mirror, before letting my shirt fall to cover the mountains, rolling my wrist, and looking at the words.
I smile to myself as I think about the song.NOXstill holds a special place in my heart, even though I don’t listen to his music as much anymore. A song of his will still play in one of my playlists, occasionally. I think a part of me will always be in love with his story, his lyrics, and the man who hides behind the mask.
“Alright, my turn,” Beckett says. I stare at him for a few seconds, curious about what he’s going to get.
I take some pictures of myself and make a little collage to post to my social media.
“Do you have a Flykr so I can tag you?” I ask.
“Yeah, it’sDC.Charlie.tatts.” I nod, looking him up and giving him a follow before posting.
While waiting for Beckett to get done, I scroll through my Flykr and upload a video that I filmed earlier in the week.
