Page 33 of A Dye Hard Holiday
“This is going to sting a little,” Vanessa, owner of Dream Ink Tattoos and Piercings told me. “This is a very intricate design you created, but it’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I replied proudly.
“Ready? I might want to get even with you a little for all the waxing you’ve done for me over the years.”
“Please remember that I’m not the one to wax your lady bits,” I said, pleading for mercy.
“Fair enough,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Here we go!”
Sting a little? Try like fifteen thousand needle jabs per five seconds or something crazy. It took me by surprise at first, but I got used to the vibration and sting of the needle.
After about an hour, Vanessa shut off the machine and looked over her work. “Outline is done. Let’s take a little break and then I’ll do the shading. What do you think so far?”
“I think it’s amazing, Vanessa,” I said, not able to look away from the whimsical family tree she inked into my skin. Mine and Gabe’s initials were carved into a branch at the top of the tree, and our babies’ initials and birth dates appeared in dangling apples on branches below. The tree was spaced out beautifully so additional apples could be added later if we expanded our family. The roots of the tree looked like veins that formed a heart, giving it the appearance of our family tree growing out of the heart. Under the tree, I wanted a powerful message in beautiful script. I chose: Love Makes A Family.
Gabe had never said how he felt about tattoos one way or another, but I had a feeling he’d love this one. I hoped he did, because it was here to stay. It took Vanessa another hour or longer to work shading of various grays to give the tree a lifelike appearance. I expected to see the veins of the heart pulsing on my skin.
I couldn’t wait to show it off to Gabe and was glad I got home before him so that I could plan my surprise. Of course, it would have to wait until two kids and two sets of grandparents went to bed. I could show him sooner, but I suspected we’d be upstairs for a long while afterwards and Gabe hated the thought of his parents knowing what we were doing, which was hilarious because our parents weren’t at all shy. I knew damn well they weren’t always taking afternoon naps, so why couldn’t we get away with it.
They’ll be moving into their own homes soon. They’ll be moving into their own homes soon.I repeated it over and over while I got dinner started.
“Who’s ready for the Christmas parade?” Gabe asked when he walked through the door. Destiny and Dylan had no clue what they were excited about, but that didn’t stop them from clapping their hands and reaching for their papa.
Gabe kissed the munchkins then made a beeline for the little monsters’ daddy. Gabe’s hello kisses were so much better than goodbye kisses. He stopped just short of me and narrowed his eyes. “Something is different about you.” There’s no way he could know that and Vanessa’s tattoo parlor wasn’t in Blissville, so no one reported seeing my dadmobile parked there. Okay, maybe having some ink made me feel a little different, but surely it wasn’t enough for him to sense that like a bloodhound.
“Just kiss me, Gabe.”
“Okay, but then I’m going to have fun exploring your body. Those clothes aren’t new, so it’s something else.”
“The Christmas spirit is oozing out of my pores,” I proclaimed.
“I’ll make your spirit ooze later.” Gabe grimaced when the words left his mouth. Then he schooled his features into what he called his Josh face, which isn’t a compliment unless you like people thinking you look like a prim and proper spinster with a broom handle shoved up her ass. “We don’t do cheesy in this house, Gabriel,” he said mockingly. He dramatically batted his eyelashes, which wasnothinglike me, but somehow adorable and ridiculous at the same time.
“I think ‘oozing’ falls into the gross category, not cheesy,” I corrected. “I don’t imagine Chaz uses that phrase in literature. Oh my God! This one time we read a book that had an engorged, oozing penis in it and we were ill for days.” I laughed hard remembering the text exchange we had after reading it.
“That’s about as bad as describing a vagina as moist,” my mom said when she entered the kitchen.
“Ewww,” Gabe and I said.
“See?” she asked, patting me on the chest. “What’s for dinner?” She didn’t notice the way I winced, but Gabe sure did. “Isn’t that funny? We have role reversal now, son. I walk into your kitchen and immediately want to know what’s for dinner just like you used to do growing up.” Mom lifted the lid off the pot simmering on the stove. “Mmmmm, spaghetti and meatballs.” She finally realized that neither Gabe nor I had responded to her chitchat and looked at us.
“Mom, do you mind keeping an eye on the sauce for a minute?” Gabe asked calmly. “I need to speak to my Sunshine privately for just a minute.”
“I better turn this down some more because I’ve seen how long ‘just a minute’ is to both of you. Is there anything I can help you with?” We both looked at her with raised brows. “In the kitchen,” she clarified then pointed toward the ceiling, indicating the second floor of our home where the bedrooms were located. “I assume you have things figured out up there.” Her laughter followed us up the staircase.
“Are you hurt?” Gabe asked once we were alone.
“No.”
“Take off your shirt.”
“Oh, are you going to make me dance for you again. Hey, do you want to reenact that movieTrue Lies? You can be Arnold, and I’ll be Jamie Lee.” I was nervous, so I rambled, which only spiked Gabe’s curiosity more. I honestly wanted to do something sexy like a little striptease to reveal my new badass ink.
Gabe wasn’t on board with that. He crossed to me and lifted my shirt without warning. Gabe inhaled sharply then said my name on a slow sigh. “Baby, what did you do?” I had watched his face closely and saw the awe spread across his features. The worry lines around his eyes and mouth softened and smoothed out as he traced his finger over the tattoo. He didn’t seem to mind that it was covered in ointment. “Does it hurt?”
“It’s a little tender,” I admitted. “It’s an early gift.”
“It’s beautiful, Sunshine. It looks delicate and strong at the same time.”