Page 32 of It Was Always You

Once she was sitting in the chair, he laughed. ‘Joe was right, you look absolutely terrified. Don’t be. It’ll be done before you know it. I’m Stubbs, by the way.’ He held out his gloved hand and she took it. He had a firm grip and such a friendly face she momentarily forgot her fear. ‘So, you’re having some Gaelic script on your lower back, is that right?’

‘Yep, that’s right.’

Stubbs held out a sheet of paper with a phrase printed on it. ‘This is what you emailed in, are you happy with it?’

She looked over the words that had been written in beautiful script designed especially for her and a lump of emotion lodged in her throat.

‘Yes… yes, that’s beautiful.’

‘Right, lass, I need you to sit sideways in the chair with your feet through the arm, and you need to lean slightly forward, okay?’

She followed his instructions. Joe from the desk pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. ‘Want me to keep you company until you get used to the sensation?’ His head cocked to one side.

She breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Oh, yes, would you? Thanks.’ He pulled his chair nearer as Stubbs prepared the positioning of the script.

Joe leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. ‘So, what’s the occasion?’

She sighed. ‘It’s a long, complicated story.’

He shrugged and held out his hands. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

She took a deep breath and was about to speak when Stubbs interrupted. ‘Erm, sorry there, Lily, but I’m about to start now. Are you ready?’

She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Yes, ready as I’ll ever be.’ The buzzing began again and she gritted her teeth.

‘So… you were going to tell me, Lily?’ Joe pulled her focus away from the sting that had begun near her bottom.

‘Oh, erm, yes… Well, I fell in love with this guy years ago.’ She flinched at a particularly sore patch.

‘Is he your boyfriend, then? I don’t see a wedding ring.’

‘Sadly, no. He’s… he’s my best friend.’

The look on her face must have spoken volumes as Joe simply nodded and said, ‘Ah.’

‘Anyway, he doesn’t feel the same way about me.’

‘How do you know? Have you told him how you feel?’

‘No, but it doesn’t matter. He’s getting married.’

Joe mouthed the word Oh, and then, sitting back in his chair, he rubbed a hand over his close-cut hair. ‘That’d just about ruin things for you, I guess.’

She nodded. ‘Little bit.’

A look of confusion spread over Joe’s face. ‘So, can I ask why you’re getting that particular tattoo done? I’ve seen the translation.’

She rolled her eyes again. ‘I know, I know. It makes me look pathetic, but I felt I needed to express how I felt even if he never knows. You know? It’s out there. If ever he does see it, he’ll never know it’s for him. He’ll never know what it means, but somehow, I feel I need to do this.’

He folded his arms across his chest. ‘Lily, people come in here having all sorts of tattoos done for all sorts of reasons. We don’t judge. We just aim to do exactly what the customer wants. And if you leave here happy with our work, then we’re happy.’ The phone began to ring and Joe cringed.

She waved him away. ‘Go on. I’m actually pretty fine.’ She smiled. The pain wasn’t quite what she had expected. It wasn’t excruciating. It was okay. Suddenly a sense of pride washed over her, and she drifted off, listening to the music of Angel and the Fallen as it played in the background.

Once Lily’s newly inked back was covered in special lotion and covered in film, she left the tattoo parlour, saying goodbye to the artists who had made her feel so welcome and at ease. The whole experience had been fantastic. All of her preconceived notions had been blown out of the water. And in a strange way, she could understand why people went through this more than once. Although she was sure she might think differently at bedtime when she had to figure out how to lie down.

Adam texted and invited her around for a take-away with him and Eve and a guy from Eve’s work. She knew this was a lame-arsed way of trying to fix her up with Dominic. She had mistakenly commented on the fact that he was cute when she had met Eve for lunch at the newspaper one day. She wished she had kept her opinions to herself. Dominic was cute, yes. But that was it. She wasn’t about to embark upon any kind of relationship with him or anyone else for that matter. Not for a while. She had plans, plans that didn’t involve her staying put. Plans that involved more travelling, but this time the travel would be work related.

Another text arrived.