Emory

 

Count all your blessings and wish upon a star…

 

 

 

 

When I got the call that Marcus was in the hospital, I thought my heart was about to collapse. Finding out he only suffered from an adrenaline crash should’ve set my mind at ease…but it didn’t. When I calmed down and looked at the bigger picture and thought about how it could’ve been him under the rubble and collapsed beam, I realized that had that been him, I would’ve wanted one of the guys to go back in after him. Deep down, I know that this is who he is, and I am not the type of woman who wants to change her man. I have an appointment with my doctor next week, and I’ve been biting my nails with worry of how my progression on the meds has gone.

Marcus is back on shift today, it’s my day off from the shop and I’m sitting here lost in thought when my phone rings. I go to answer it. “Hello,” I say not recognizing the number from the incoming call.

“I’m looking for Emory Masters,” the lady says.

“This is she,” I respond.

“Hi, this is Josie from Dr. Tremaine’s office,”

“Oh, hi,” I tell her.

“Dr. Tremaine would like for you to go get your labs done today if that works with your schedule. We’ve sent the paperwork over already. I can give you the time and address of where we set it up for you at.”

“Today works, I have a pen and paper right here, go ahead and give me the details.” I write everything she tells me down and realize it’s just next door to the hospital. I have an hour and a half until I have to be there, so I get up and get my things gathered up and head to the bathroom to shower.

 

 

Once I finish with my labs, I decide I don’t want to go home, so I head to the shop. When I walk in I see Levi manning the front desk. “They put you to work?” I ask him with a smile.

“Yeah, this place has been a madhouse today. Ariel, Rainey and Carson are all in their rooms with clients.” I look around and notice that there are a couple of clients on the couch.

“Are they walk ins?” I ask him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replies looking up at me.

“I can take one or two to help out,” I say as I make my way around the counter to look at the book and see what they’re here for.

“It’s your day off, Emory. Why on earth would you want to work?”

“Because I’m freaking bored out of my mind and need something to do.”

“Check in with your sisters, get yourself set up and I’ll bring the first client back. Do you have a preference on which one you want to do first?” he asks, pointing to the guys who are patiently waiting to be called back.

“Doesn’t matter, they’ll both take an hour tops,” I reply walking back to see Ariel.

“Hey girl,” I say knocking on her door. It’s partially open, so walking in isn’t an issue. She looks up at me and turns her gun off.

“Hey, sis. What are you doing here?”

“Had to go play Dracula’s victim and get some blood drawn for labs Dr. Tremaine wanted. I was bored so I decided to come and check in. Looks like y’all could use some help?”

“That would be great, Rainey’s working on a sleeve and it will take her most of the day, so I could use any help I can get. Carson is doing good, but I told him I wanted him taking his time and not rushing any work. He’s on his third client of the day already.”

“Wow, it was a great idea to bring him on board,” I tell her.

“He truly is a natural,” she says.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to work, get my office ready and take one of the clients who’s out front waiting.”

“Sounds good, thanks, Emory.”

“No problem,” I tell her and go check my inventory to see what I need to grab. The first design is a dragon. So I make sure I have the standard green, black, gold, and purple ink bottles and go and grab the client. I introduce myself and he tells me his name is Oliver. We walk into my station and I ask, “Do you have a specific style of dragon you’d like use?”

“I have a picture I brought in with me,” he tells me pulling out his wallet and removing a picture. It’s a medieval looking dragon, it’s a gorgeous picture and I’m anxious to do this. I love being able to weave and intertwine colors and put my unique twist on things. “I’d like to add some armor to the top of his head, along his back and some sort of cuffs along his wrists here,” he says pointing where he’d like them to be placed.

“I can do that, give me a little while to draw something up and I’ll be back. You’re more than welcome to wait here, or back out front. Whichever will be more comfortable for you.” He decides to go back up front and sit on the comfortable couch. I go into our drawing room, which is something that we’ve just recently incorporated into the shop. We used to just work from our stations, but the lighting wasn’t great. Now we have a drawing board desk with a light box underneath to help fine-tune the details. It was Carson’s idea, and it was such a good one that we added it. My dad and uncle’s stations have been left untouched since we took over. After a lengthy discussion and some debating, we are now using Dad’s as the drawing room and Carson has taken over our Uncle Derek’s.

It was bittersweet opening those rooms back up, but I actually feel Dad’s presence and it soothes me while I’m in here. “I miss you, Daddy,” I say and then get to work. Forty-five minutes later, I feel like I have the perfect design. I take it out to Oliver to let him take a look at it.

His eyes immediately light up when he sees it. “That’s amazing, it’s better than what I had in mind.”

“Thank you, let me get this copied and on the transfer paper and we’ll get this going.” I escort him back to my room and go to the copier. Once I have it ready, I go back into my room. He’s removed his shirt and shows me where he wants it placed. We’re putting it on his left pec and wrapping it around his shoulder. I adjust the design to fit the area and get ready to go. I put the head of the dragon directly on his pec and have it placed where his claws look like they’re digging into his skin at his shoulder, as if it’s holding on to its purchase. It’s going to be amazing! Once I have the outline done, we take a short break and I go in our breakroom and get the clay out and begin to stretch my fingers and hand with it. I roll it in circles. Keeping my limbs loose so my fingers don’t stiffen up is going to be important, especially today. The feel of the texture in my hands is soothing. While I work the clay, I grab a bottle of water and take my afternoon meds. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I go back into my station and pour the colors into their individual containers. Oliver walks back in and we get started with his shading. It’s bigger than I thought it would be so that hour-long session has turned into three by the time we’re finished. I wrap him up and give him his after-care instructions. I walk him out front where Levi processes his payment. Boy, this boring lonely day sure took a turn, at least I didn’t have time to worry about my upcoming doctor’s appointment.