“You know,” Nox went on with a giant smile on his face while he traced an imaginary path down my arm. “You could get a cool lightning bolt and the clouds around it, and it would be awesome. Like, you know, the sky.”
As he continued to talk about what he thought I should get as a tattoo and prattled on like it was the absolute best idea that anyone in the entire universe could have, I started to picture it there on my arm. The smooth flash of what lightning actually looked like, with fractured lines and light floating through the air, mixed with clouds and the night sky, really would look amazing. The kid had a great imagination.
“I think you’re right,” I told Nox when he finally took a breath and stopped talking. “If you give me my arm back, I’ll let my tattoo artist know and she can design it for me. Then the next time I see you, you can check it out.”
The look on Nox’s face was something I would never forget. Almost like Christmas, his birthday, Halloween, and every other holiday happened to land on the exact same day and I was the one giving it to him.
“Really?” His voice had faded to almost a squeak. “I can’t believe it.” Nox turned to his mom. “Did you hear? She’s gonna get my idea as a tattoo. It’s awesome. I’m awesome.”
“Yeah,” Parker said while pulling him into a hug. “You really are. You’re the most awesome kid in the entire world; did you know that?” Then she kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair.
“Mooom,” Nox groaned as he pulled away from her. “You’re embarrassing me in front of Auntie Kennedy.”
The look of pure outrage on Parker’s face almost had me peeing myself with laughter. In a moment, she flashed between about a dozen different emotions before she finally settled on the look that our mothers used to give us as kids when we were walking the line that led to us getting nothing but healthy food for dinner.
“Run,” I whispered loudly to Nox. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t follow you.”
He ran, and Parker turned her glare on me. “Why’d you let him run away like that?”
Patting her hand like she needed the comfort, I waited for her to calm down before answering.
“Because,” I said slowly. “He’s six. And you’re gonna have to come to terms with the fact that he’s going to grow up eventually. Might as well start now.”
Remy grunted from the other side of the kitchen. “Yeah, right. That kid’s gonna stay little forever.”
“Whatever, big brother.” I smiled brightly at him. “Are you speaking from experience? I mean, you are one of the most immature men I know.” Just for good measure, I tilted my head to the side and widened my eyes like saucers.
“Zip it, pipsqueak.” He picked up a can of soda from the counter and opened it, letting the hiss of the carbonation escaping the can fill the air. Then he chugged the entire thing before he burped loudly and set the can back down. “If you really want to be a jerk, we can start comparing notes on who’s embarrassed who more. I’m remembering the morning I walked out to find you sneaking out of your room after sleeping with my best friend.”
“Whom,” I corrected him.
Both Remy and Parker turned to look at me like I’d grown a second head.
I couldn’t help it, though. My brother had terrible grammar and if I wasn’t going to correct him on it, no one would. Parker liked him too much.
“It’s who’s embarrassed whom more. That’s what you’re trying to talk about.” I shrugged when they kept staring. “It’s not my fault you don’t know how to use proper language skills.”
Remy glared at me, and Parker started laughing like I’d told the funniest joke in the entire world. Which saved me, since he turned his glare on her.
“I came to kill time before my appointment.” I looked at the clock on my phone. “But now I gotta go get some ink driven into my skin that’s gonna last forever.” With a small wave, I pushed away from their table and started for the door. “Give Nox a kiss for me. I’m outta here.” I laughed at the fact that I could hear him complaining about my language as I went.
An hour later, I had a bunch of marker drawn onto my arm in a completely unique and hand-drawn image based on what Nox described, and my tattoo artist, Kassy, was getting ready to put the needle to my skin.
Rachel, another of the artists, offered me a giant jar full of Laffy Taffy, and I smiled when she reached in and handed me a huge handful of the deliciousness.
“These are my absolute favorite,” I told her conspiratorially. “You’re my favorite person in the entire universe right now.” I knew that I was using the word favorite a lot, but I was beyond nervous and excited.
When Kassy turned on her tattoo gun, I expected there to be a loud buzzing that filled the air. After all, that’s what happened in the shows. Instead, it was quiet and almost therapeutic, like a hive of bees ready for the spring.
“This is gonna look sick,” Rachel said with a smile. She couldn’t be any older than forty, with tattoos up and down both her arms and on her legs. In short, Rachel was gorgeous, and her dimples stood out when she smiled.
Kassy, the one currently stabbing her gun into my arm, had neon green and black hair. She looked like someone who’d go with me to a concert and then push through the crowd so that I could stand at the front, which I counted as a blessing since I couldn’t even get people to see me most of the time.
“Do you ever go to the Waterfront?” I asked suddenly. “I could use someone like you when it comes to concerts.”
Kassy laughed while she laid a thin black line on my arm. “Yeah, my partner and I go to concerts there every summer. Why? You wanna go with us sometime?”
“Hell yes,” I told her. “I can’t really find anyone to go with me, and you’re tall enough that you could see all the openings in the crowd.” I winced when she hit a particularly painful part of the tattoo.
We kept talking, mostly to pass the hours that it took to cover my scar in the intricate storm that Kassy had drawn freestyle on my arm.
“Your little nephew had a dope idea,” she said as she wiped blue ink off my arm. “This storm is coming out amazing.”
I sat a little straighter and looked down at the masterpiece she’d created. It was even more beautiful than I’d imagined. Swirling clouds with a dozen shades of purple and blue and pink mixed together to create a beautiful storm surrounded by streaks of white with a hint of yellow. When I turned my arm while she sat back and stretched her arms above her head, it actually looked like lightning was traveling down my arm and into my wrist.
“Holy shit,” I murmured.
Rachel, who’d left sometime during the tattoo, popped up with a soda in her hand and nodded with her lips pursed together. “That’s impressive, Kass.”
Kassy rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand and a slight blush crept up her cheeks. “Thanks. I’m not done yet. But I figured I’d give it my all, especially since it’s a cover-up, and how powerful the reason behind it is.”
Swallowing down the tears that threatened to spill out turned out to be harder than I thought, and it wasn’t until Rachel was handing me a box of tissues that I realized I was crying.