Last Tattoo (Rehab)
January
Lily nervously sat on the black leather sofa in the waiting area of the tattoo parlour. She was surrounded by blue walls and cabinets packed with all manner of paraphernalia from mugs to messenger bags. There was a smell of disinfectant permeating the air and the sound of buzzing filled the large space. But louder than that was the thud of her pounding heartbeat throbbing in her ears.
Across the room a young man was stretched out on a black leatherette chair where a pretty, blonde haired, female artist was concentrating on an intricate design on the man’s thigh. He looked quite relaxed for the most part, except for the odd wince every so often.
What am I doing? I must be bloody mad!
The good-looking guy behind the counter smiled at her. “You look terrified,” he commented, snapping Lily from her own thoughts.
She smiled as she fiddled with her nails. “Yeah…yeah…I am a bit to be honest.”
“Is this your first time?” he asked, leaning on the counter.
She cringed. “Oh God, is it that obvious I’m a tattoo virgin?”
The man chuckled. “I can tell ‘em a mile off. Don’t worry though. You’ll be fine.” She recognised his voice from the telephone.
“I’m guessing you’re Joe?”
“Yep, guilty as charged,” he said as he glanced down at his diary. “And I’m guessing by my amazing powers of deduction that you’re Lily?”
“Yup, that’s me, lily-livered Lily.” She pointed to herself and rolled her eyes. Heat warmed her cheeks, which was a wonder considering most of the blood had drained from there.
Joe laughed and shook his head. “Honestly, you’ll be fine.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How can you be so sure, though?”
“Call it experience. It’s never as bad as you build it up to be.”
“But what happens if I pass out or throw up?”
“Well, if you pass out it takes longer coz they have to stop. If you throw up, we give you a mop and bucket.” He winked. “It happens so rarely though. Like I said, you’ll be fine. I have faith in you.”
She wished she had his confidence. “Well, I’m glad one of us has. I bet you don’t get many women like me in here, do you?” She had moved on to fiddling with the hem of her top.
He scrunched his face. “Women like you?”
“Yeah…you know…normal, boring, ink and piercing-free women.”
“Hey, you’d be surprised how many people you know have tattoos. They don’t all look like Stubbs.” He nodded over his shoulder at the other artist wielding a tattoo needle.
“Really? I thought maybe I was…I don’t know…out of the ordinary.”
Joe huffed. “Nah, not by a long way. We had an author in here not so long ago. She was a woman of about forty. She was having her first tattoo done to commemorate the publishing of her first book.” He smiled. “To look at her, you’d have thought she was the last person to have one, but like I say, you can never tell. Her husband came in a while after her to get his first done, too. He’s had a few more since then.”
“Oh? It can’t be that bad, then?”
“Well, put it this way, there’s more return visitors than not. It’s kind of…how do I put it…” He looked up to the ceiling. “Addictive, in a way.”
She sniggered at his last comment. “Erm, I’m pretty sure I’ll just be having the one.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Hmm, never say never, eh?”
♥♥♥
She appreciated his attempts to reassure her as she glanced around and took in the photographs of previous tattoos that adorned the walls. These guys are some bloody talented artists.
A muscle-bound, giant of a man with hardly a tattoo-clear inch on his exposed arms walked over. “Lily?” he asked as he smiled. She nodded. “Come on lass, you’re up.” She walked over to his workstation, which had been prepared and covered ready for her.
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 Soundgarden 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 good bye 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 lay down.
Adam texted and invited her around for a takeaway with him and Eve and a guy from Eve’s work. She knew this was a lame-assed 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.
A: Come on, Lil. Don’t be a mardy cow. Dom fancies you and he’s a really great bloke. Adam was persistent, that was for sure.
L: Sod off, Adders! I said no! Stop trying 2 fix me up. Am happy being a singleton. Lily insisted.
A: Well when u decide 2 get a house full of fucking cats for your spinster lifestyle don’t forget I’m allergic!!
L: How can I? U were a wheezing blotchy mess at my Auntie’s that time! Was hilarious! Lily sniggered as she typed.
A: One word Lil… BOLLOCKS! Came the reply.
L: Language Adders! Remember you’re a teacher. Now eff off n leave me alone. Have a hot date with John Cusack.
A: You wish, you bloody nutcase. See u 2morro Cheesy. Adam had given up finally. Phew!
Back at her tiny flat, she slipped into her most comfy jim-jams, poured herself a glass of red wine, and opened a packet of popcorn. She stuck in the DVD of her favourite film, Serendipity, and gingerly curled up on the sofa to have an evening of ogling John Cusack. Lily had thought long and hard about this. Of all the men in the world John Cusack and Chris Cornell were the only two men who Lily could ever imagine replacing Adam in her affections. So that was it. She would worship John Cusack from afar tonight and tomorrow her Soundgarden CDs would be played for the first time in ages.