My heart thumped hard, and I passed him a grateful look. The tenderness in his gaze caused butterflies to explode in my chest all over again.
“He is,” Mom said. “I’m glad you see that.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Now, can I get mine over with first because I’m terrified and ready to chicken out.”
I shook my head, even though a grin spread on my lips. “I never expected the two of you to get tattooed.”
“It’s your art, sweetheart,” Mom said. “Can you blame me for wanting to carry a little of that with me?”
My heart squeezed tight.
“I’ll keep Drake here company,” Dad said. “Do we wait out in the front? Or can we watch?”
“Go grab chairs,” I said. “You can pull them up and watch if you want.” I brought Mom over to the table, my palms sweatier than normal. While this was a garden-variety tattoo, just a few numbers and marks, I hadn’t expected to be tattooing my parents. And I still hadn’t broken the bad news to them—that I wouldn’t be moving. “And you,” I gestured to Mom. “You sit here.”
“When did you two start dating?” Mom asked while I bustled around, preparing all the equipment. The motions came automatically, which was good because my brain had checked the fuck out.
“I’m so sorry but I can’t move,” I blurted out.
Silence resounded in the wake of my confession, and I tensed, not wanting to look up.
“I know,” Mom said, her voice gentle.
I lifted my head to meet her gaze. Her eyes were soft and a little sad, but she smiled.
“Did you figure out the tattoos your father and I are getting?” she asked, nervously shifting in her seat.
“Didn’t you hear me?” I asked. Why wasn’t she angry? Or upset? Or addressing what I’d just admitted?
“The tattoos, August,” she said, a gentle smile on her face.
“Coordinates, right?” I said, glancing over the papers I’d prepped for their appointment.
“For our home,” Mom said. “The one we raised you in. No matter where we go, we’ll always carry it with us.”
Oh. Heat welled up in my eyes, my vision going wobbly from the liquid there. I’d been so worried Mom and Dad moving away meant more of the same, that I was too needy, too much, that they didn’t care as much as I did about all the memories we’d shared in that house growing up. That with them moving, we’d lose what kept our family together.
But this gesture meant everything.
Not only were they getting the coordinates inked on them, but they were having me do it. No matter how far they went, they’d have a part of me with them. My heart squeezed tight.
“I had the feeling you didn’t want to go to Florida,” Mom admitted. “When you started responding to our messages less and less, that was one of the biggest tip offs.”
I wiped my eyes to clear them from the glossiness and washed my hands before getting the tattoo gun prepped. “You’re not mad?”
Mom shook her head. “Your dad and I want to make this move, but I can see you’ve carved out a beautiful life for yourself here. It was a bit of selfishness on our part wanting to drag you away from it because you’re our only kid. We’ll just miss you a lot.”
My heart squeezed hard. That was the exact way I felt.
“I didn’t want to let you down,” I admitted with a hard swallow. “And before Drake and I had solidified things, I had considered the idea. So much was shifting all at once. But this place here? I don’t thinkI’ll ever find a workplace like it again. And I know for a fact I’ll never find anyone else like Drake.”
“Glad to hear it.” Drake’s voice sounded behind me. I glanced back. He and my dad had appeared with chairs to watch Mom getting her first tattoo. Odd as fuck way for my boyfriend to meet my family, but kind of perfect in the same breath. My insides fluttered as our gazes locked, and I beamed at him, unable to contain the fierce joy flooding through me.
“You were right about August,” Mom said to Dad. “Guess I’m doing dishes for the next month.”
“You had a bet on it?”
“We’re old, bored, and retired,” Dad said. “Of course we put a bet on it. Besides, chances are, you’ll get sick of seeing us. We’ll be up to visit as often as possible.”
“Never,” I responded, and Dad reached over to ruffle my hair, as if I were still a kid, not a fully grown adult. I basked in the attention, not giving a damn it was in front of Drake. A gentle smile lingered on his lips, those dark eyes of his warm, and I loved that he’d be getting to watch me ink.
