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"Okay." A chair scrapes across the floor as she arranges it so she can face us. She sits with a sigh. She trains her eyes on me. "Are you the one that's going to tattoo me?"
"I can."
"Thanks, we'll trade services."
"Oh, no, four tires and a tow do not equal a tattoo."
Taylor shakes her head. "Yes, they do. I have a feeling you're going to be giving me much more than a tattoo."
Before I can reply, Sierra holds her hand up to stop me while she looks at Taylor. "Tell us about your dreams."
Taylor's fair skin flushes red. "Well, there's the sign and this guy–"
Sierra cuts her off and leans forward in a whisper. "Is it a sex dream?" Taylor nods, and Sierra continues, "And does it get a little–furry?"
Taylor squints her eyes shut and says in a small voice, "Yes."
I pat her hand and find it surprisingly warm. "It's okay, we have the same dream. If it makes you feel any better, I don't think we're turning into freaks."
Taylor takes a deep breath. "Oh, good, because it's just too weird. The whole thing is." She sighs. “I had a guy that I thought was my future, and within a week of the dreams it was over for me. I couldn’t get rid of him fast enough.”
I think about my sudden revulsion for Ray. "It kind of happened overnight for me too."
I look around the shop, and the pride she takes in running a good business shows in every meticulous detail. "Here's the thing. After I give you the tattoo, you're going to be called to move to Maine. The pull is really strong, and you'll need to leave all this. Are you sure that's what you want to do?"
Taylor nods somberly. "I'm already feeling it. A business broker is coming to meet with me tomorrow morning. And last night I had a dream about you two. I didn't realize who the women in the dream were until I saw your tattoo." She smoothes out the fabric on her thighs.
Sierra says, "It's fate. We got that flat so you could meet us. I think you need to have the tattoo in order to go." Her foot is bouncing like crazy, and I'm dying to grab it to make it stop. But it’s not the foot that’s bothering me. I think whatever I saw by the diner was responsible for the flat tire and wanted us to meet the redhead across from me.
Taylor asks, "So do you guys know much about tree farms?"
The thud of her foot hits the floor as Sierra moves to perch herself on the edge of her chair and lean closer to Taylor. "What? No, why?"
The smell of cut pine comes to me, and pieces of my dreams fall into place.
Taylor says, "Because that's where we need to go. We're supposed to move to a tree farm."
Sierra asks, "What's a tree farm?"
"Where they grow trees for harvesting wood, saplings for landscaping, and even Christmas trees."
A vision of elves and presents flash before my eyes. But they’re quickly replaced by a bear with glistening white teeth and blood. My palms get clammy as I recall the pain in my dream of being shredded to pieces.Good God, are we walking into a fairy tale? Or a horror story?
