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“Wax,” Richard comments, “I always follow your instructions, you know that.”
I grin as I trace and Richard stands up, taking a slow tour of the studio while I’m busy. Once everything is ready I have Richard take his shirt off and settle down on the bench. I put on my gloves and shift everything within reach before starting on the outline of the tattoo. I work steadily and in silence, ignoring the world around me as I concentrate on the design and how I envision it to come out.
It takes me awhile to realise that Richard has asked me something and I pause to look up. “Sorry?” I ask.
“What does the microphone on your arm stand for? Your love of music?”
I start working on the tattoo again as I talk, “It’s for Terry,” I comment.
“Who’s Terry?” Richard asks.
“An ex of mine from High School,” I explain.
“Ah, a tattoo with regret,” Richard chuckles and I give him a look to stop him from moving.
“Regret?” I ask.
“You know, you get a tattoo when you’re dating someone and then you break up?”
“Oh no, no, no,” I smile, “Nothing like that. All my tattoos represent a relationship of mine.” I continue to explain, “I like to think of it as being positively inked.”
“Positively inked?”
“Yeah, every time I’ve gone through some sort of heartache, I try and focus on one amazing memory I had with that person and tattoo it on as a reminder of that moment; reminding myself that despite the bad there was something good.”
“That sounds really poetic,” Richard says, and from the corner of my eye he looks impressed. “So all your tattoos are break ups?”
“Not all,” I admit, “but quite a few of them.”
“No luck in that department, hey?”
“Not really,” I say, smiling up at him as I dip my needle in blue ink, “But I like to focus on the positive aspect of it.”
“That’s ridiculous,” a voice sounds from next to us, and we both look up to see JJ standing by his daughter, staring at me in disbelief.
“Sorry?” I ask, starting on the tattoo again.
“Why would you want to be reminded of shitty relationships every day you look at yourself?” JJ asked, “Why would you torture yourself that way?”
“That’s how you see it,” I say, pursing my lips, “I see it as a positive reminder that there’s good in everything.”
“That’s naive,” JJ says. I don’t know what he’s doing because I’m concentrating, but I can feel he’s looking at me. I feel slightly embarrassed but don’t look up at either JJ or Richard, preferring to focus on my work then rise to his words.
I can feel the awkwardness in the silence that follows and I feel bad for Richard; he’s a customer and shouldn’t have to feel awkward while he’s getting a piece done. I smile and start to ask him about his wife and children, and we’re soon having an easy conversation with him doing most of the talking.
By the time I’m finished with the tattoo and wiping it down, it’s as though nothing had happened. As Richard admires his piece in the mirror, I glance at JJ’s daughter who is curled up on the sofa staring up at the unicorns on my shelf. I smile softly at her and when she sees I’m looking at her, she buries herself under her blanket shyly. She’s quite cute.
Richard thanks me again for the tattoo and lets me take a few photos of it for my portfolio before he throws his shirt back on and goes to Sheldon to pay. I start cleaning up my booth while he does that and I can see that the little girl is peeking over her blanket, looking at my unicorns again. I grin and reach up, taking them from the shelf and to her. Her eyes widen as I put them next to her.
“My name’s Lyra,” I say gently, “What’s yours?”
“Heather,” she says, sniffing softly.
“Would you like to play with my unicorns?” I ask.
“Yes!” Heather exclaims and a voice rings out from JJ’s booth.
“Yes, what?”
