“The event planning company has reached out to local vendors, so I’m excited to finally share the list with you,” I tell them before I rattle off a bunch of names of restaurants and cafes in the area. Everyone looks excited to hear who’s involved, and they start chatting about the best places to eat in the area.
Soph raises her hand like in school. I nod at her. “Why aren’t we having the company party in one place?”
Considering she just started working with us, it makes sense that she doesn’t know. “There’s more than one reason. The first is that we wanted to celebrate fifteen years of King Tattoo with the communities we’re part of. Meaning that we have invited our local clients to celebrate with us.” I take a sip of my coffee before continuing. “Then there’s the fact that getting every employee and guest to one location would cost us much more money than local parties. This way, we can spend that money locally and on things we seem to fit.”
Spade smirks. “Don’t forget that the boss hates flying and almost shat himself the last time he was needed at a tattoo convention across the country.”
I give my friend adon’t-even-fucking-startlook as everyone else laughs, including Soph.
“Jax, I could have held your hand if you needed that,” she gets out between her laughs. I like that laugh so fucking much; it’s like angels singing.
“That’s such a lovely offer, Soph. I bet jefe wouldn’t mind,” Dom whispers loudly to ensure I hear him.Asshole.
“I think I should be able to speak for myself,amigo. But thanks for saving me time.”
My comment gets me groans from Dom and more laughter from others. Even if my team can sometimes annoy me, I don’t know what I would do if I had to work with someone else.
It’s finally the night of the party, and I’m happy but tired. This week has flown by as we got ready for the main event. Our shop and the street in front of it are packed with our loyal customers, their families, and local shops with their stalls and food trucks. It’s the street festival my cousin envisioned it to be. The band should be here any minute too.
“Hi, man, thanks for coming tonight,” I say to one of the Peacocks hockey players who arrived with his teammates earlier. I’m not into hockey, but I know something about these guys, thanks to hours spent tattooing them. For example, the guy I’m currently talking with, is the best goalie in the league and comes from Germany.
“We were glad to be invited. It’s good to get out for a few hours between all the training,” he explains.
“Good to hear. How is your trai—” I’m interrupted by someone testing the sound system on the stage we built for the event. When I look over, I see Soph holding a microphone. I can only focus on her in that little black dress. Her hair looks glossy, thesmokey eye makeup suits her well, and her face is lit up with her authentic, happy smile, the one I love seeing.
“Welcome to the fifteenth anniversary of King Tattoo!” People clap their hands, and there are cheers around me.
I’m so fucking captivated by her that I miss her next words and only hear a portion of what she’s saying.
“—Before I hand things over to our manager, Jax, I wanted to remind you to participate in our gift card giveaway. All the proceeds go to three charities we support locally—” Shit, I forgot that I was supposed to give a short speech today. Well, maybe I can speak straight from my heart. “—without further ado, please welcome Jax Bennett, the shop manager of The King Tattoo Brooklyn, on the stage!”
Showtime.I high-five many clients on my way to the front. Being a part of this massive community of tattoo lovers feels incredible. It’s like I have found my tribe. Soph gives me the microphone and leaves the stage.
“Good evening from your favorite Kingston family member. Just don’t tell my cousins and uncle that I just said that. Shit, I just realized someone is recording this. Sorry, fam.” The audience laughs with me. “For those who don’t know, my oldest cousin Ethan “King” Kingston started King Tattoo at the age of twenty. It was his passion project from his teen years, and he never expected his brand of high-quality tattoo shops to get this far. With twelve locations around the country, including the flagship shop in Chicago, and our latest addition in Seattle, which opened earlier this year, I’m proud to be a part of the success story that King Tattoo has become.”
More cheering and claps. I look at the crowd, and my chest expands with happiness. The number of people who’ve come out to support us is mind-blowing. I can’t believe my luck.
“Just like my cousin, I found my love for tattoos in high school. And years later, here I am, standing in front of you as one of The King Tattoo shop managers. Life is?—”
“Jax, nobody needs your sob story,” Spade shouts, making people laugh more.
“As you can see, my team loves me. Especially Edmund Spade, who started at our Chicago location and was happy to move back to his stomping grounds when we started planning the Brooklyn location. Make some noise for him, Dom, Nelly, Johnny Rogue, and Sophia, who make a great team to work with.”
When the cheers and claps fade away, I smile into the crowd as I say, “Let me be sappy for just one more minute…without you, we wouldn’t be here. That’s the fact. Please consider tonight a thank you to our local community and everyone here.”
The ones who hold drinks raise their glasses. My team manages to gather on the stage behind me without me noticing. Nelly taps my shoulder and gives me a glass of bubbly.
“A toast to King Tattoo and the power of art,” I say as I clink my glass with my team, including Soph. And I’m happy that she’s part of this group, no matter what.
Someone in the crowd starts singing “Happy Birthday”, and we all join in. Taking in all the love around me, I feel moved and swallow a few times to stop the tears that try to make an appearance.
Tonight is for my cousin. For our family. For King Tattoo.
After the last guests have left the after-party that started at midnight, I look around the shop. There are dozens of empty bottles and cups around me, but the mess is worth it because the night was such a success. I have seen updates from other store managers on our group chat, and everyone had a top-notch time celebrating fifteen years of the business. I can't wait to hear from the West Coast locations later.
Even if the cleaning crew comes here tomorrow morning, I want to clean a bit before going home. I can’t leave all the mess to them. Spade and Soph are still here, talking animatedly about the latest TV adaptation of a romance book they both have read.
I shake my head in amusement and go to the break room to get a massive black garbage bag. Starting with empty cups, I make towers out of them and throw those in the trash. Soph joins me in cleaning after Spade says his goodbyes.
