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“Yeah. I want to make sure I get you in before I break for lunch. It’s a pretty small piece, but I still want to give myself ninety minutes.”
Mitzi squealed in nervous anticipation then nodded. “Okay.”
Steele took her jacket as Jay prepped her station. Mitzi then reached for Nora’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze.
“Scared?”
“A little. I mean, I have zero doubt that I will love it—but a needle is a needle.”
“You’ll be fine,” called out Jay. “Once your adrenaline starts to kick in, it’ll go by fast.”
“Mommy.” Evie tugged at Nora’s sleeve, beckoning her attention. “Mommy, look.”
Nora followed the direction of her daughter’s finger, her eyes widening at the sight of a tall, burly man covered in tattoos. Arms. Neck. Head. Nora was certain he had more, thankfully covered by his wardrobe.
Kneeling beside Evie, Nora gently pushed down her hand and reminded her daughter, “Baby, don’t point. It’s rude.”
“But mommy, he has tattoos on hishead.”
“You’re right. He does. I bet that hurt.A lot.”
Bringing her golden-brown eyes to meet her mother’s green ones, she shook her head and declared, “I would never get a tattoo on my head.”
“Good. I’m relieved to hear it,” Nora chuckled. “You ready to watch Auntie Belle get her first tattoo?”
“Is it gonna be scary?” asked Evie apprehensively.
“I don’t think so. You can tell me if it is, okay?”
Evie nodded, then Nora returned to standing as they turned in time to see Mitzi settle herself in Jay’s client chair.
“Right arm or left arm?”
“Left,” answered Mitzi, pointing at the spot on her left forearm she’d reserved for the art.
“Perfect.”
They were all silent as they watched Jay slip into her zone, prepping her canvas. It was actually quite remarkable, getting to see it as Jay tuned out all the noise around her in order to fully concentrate on her work.
“You ready?” she finally asked, tattoo gun in hand.
Mitzi extended her right arm, reaching for Steele’s hand. He laced his fingers between hers, and then Mitzi took a breath and answered, “Ready.”
Jay held Evie’s attention for a solid fifteen minutes before she started to get antsy. “Mommy? Where’s daddy?”
“He’s around. We’ll go find him in a little bit.”
Her answer was only sufficient for about another five minutes, then Evie was pushing herself up onto her tiptoes, trying her darndest to spot Lawson in the crowd.
Gasping, Evie cried, “I think I saw him. Can I go over there?”
Nora looked over her shoulder and, seeing no sign of Lawson, pulled out her phone. “You need to stay here next to me. I don’t want you to get lost. I’ll text daddy right now and see if he can come find us. Deal?”
“Okay,” Evie sighed impatiently.
As soon as she’d sent the text, Nora slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and smoothed her hand over the back of Evie’s hair. “Done. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”
“Oh, ow—yup, that sucks,” whined Mitzi.
