‘I am and I have strict instructions to look after you.’ He grinned. ‘I have to say that I don’t get many ladies your age having tattoos.’
‘I like to be a trendsetter,’ Patti told him flippantly, taking off her coat and sitting in the chair Paul indicated. Sandra sat beside her and watched, fascinated, as Paul took out his phone and pulled up a picture of the design Patti wanted. ‘Kit said this is what you want.’
Patti peered at the screen then nodded. ‘That’s the one.’ She turned her head so she could see the top of her right arm and pointed just below her shoulder. ‘I want it here.’
He nodded and indicated the black leather reclining seat. ‘Make yourself comfy.’
Paul pulled on disposable gloves, sterilised the working area, prepared the ink then set to work. Sandra talked to Patti throughout the process to distract her as she watched, fascinated.
‘Does it hurt?’ she whispered.
‘Not really. It’s like a hot scratch,’ Patti told her but Sandra noticed that she winced a few times.
When the tattoo was finished Paul showed it to Patti in a mirror. ‘What do you think?’
It looked so neat, Sandra thought in surprise, as if Paul had drawn the design on with a pen rather than injected ink through Patti’s skin. The area around it was red and a bit raised.
Patti nodded approvingly. ‘Perfect. Thank you. When will the redness go?’
‘In a few days.’ Paul put a dressing over the tattoo and handed Patti a small tub of cream. ‘Leave the dressing on for at least two hours, then apply a thin layer of this cream several times a day for the first few days. It’s important to keep the tattoo hydrated,’ he instructed. ‘Any problems, come back to see me.’
‘I will,’ she promised.
Sandra helped her on with her coat and they left.
‘You were very brave. Didn’t it hurt at all?’ Sandra asked.
‘Not really, it was a bit uncomfortable, like a scratching sensation. Thanks so much for coming with me. I’m so pleased we bumped into each other again,’ Patti said with a smile. ‘I don’t suppose you fancy a cup of tea and cake to celebrate? My treat.’
‘I do!’ Sandra replied. ‘But it’s my treat!’
‘Absolutely not, you gave me much needed moral support,’ Patti insisted.
As they sat down, over a slice of fruit cake and two pots of tea, they chatted away and it was like they couldn’t stop, there was so much to catch up on.
‘Do you remember how we used to chat so much in our lunchbreak we had to put the timer on our watches to remind us when we had to go back to work?’ Patti laughed loudly at the memory and Sandra smiled. How she remembered that laugh! Many a time she’d heard that laugh as Patti talked to a customer at the till and everyone would turn around to see who it was. It was a laugh that filled the room.
Patti told her how her granddaughter Kit was studying art and design. ‘She’s a lovely girl, kind, full of energy. She pops in on me a few times a week. She recommended Paul to me, she’s got a few tattoos herself. I’m meeting her when she’s finished uni, she wants to check everything went okay.’ She took a bite out of her cake and chewed it before asking. ‘When are your son and his family moving away?’
‘Don’s moving next month but Laila and the children are remaining here until the house is sold. They want me to put my house up for sale now too so we can all move at the same time. They’re hoping it will all be sorted out by the summer holidays,’ she added.
‘It’s nice to be wanted. It’s a big move though. Are they expecting you to move into their new house with them?’
Sandra paused as she was about to take another sip from her cup. ‘You know, I did wonder about that myself, Don wasn’t specific but I presumed he meant for me to get my own place.’
‘Would you want to move in with them?’
‘Absolutely not. I want to keep my independence.’ Goodness, she loved her son and grandchildren but she didn’t want to live with them.
‘It might be best to establish that right away then.’ Patti finished her mouthful of cake then asked, ‘So you’ve never been to Cambridge?’
Sandra shook her head. ‘No, but Don is taking some stuff for his flat tomorrow and I’m going with them so I can have a lookaround.’ She finished her drink. ‘I’m just not sure I want to move though, Patti. It’s such a big upheaval and I love living in Worcester. But I’ll miss them so much if I don’t go with them.’
‘Well good luck. How about we meet up again on Monday and you can tell me all about it?’ Patti suggested.
‘Deal.’
‘Great. Then let’s swap phone numbers and we can message each other.’ Patti took out her phone again. ‘Read your number out to me and I’ll send you a text.’
