I walked back to the employee room and grabbed my bag. I made my way back out to the counter and started pulling my books out. Within a few minutes, I was working on my homework as I waited for Rick’s six o’clock to arrive.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, a woman walked into the shop, looking around nervously. She was a first-timer, I could tell. They always looked like they wanted to bolt before the door even closed behind them.
“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to put her at ease.
She stepped up to the counter and looked at me. “I have an appointment with Rick.”
I pulled out a clipboard and put our new customer form on it, not even bothering to ask if she’d been here before. “I’ll let him know you’re here. Just fill that out while I go get him.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled as she took the clipboard from me with shaking hands.
The woman was terrified.
“Ma’am?” I called as she turned to walk to the empty couch in the waiting area.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry if I’m being presumptuous here, but I’m betting that this is your first tattoo, and you are terrified.”
She gave me a weak smile. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah, a little bit. I just want you to know that Rick told me a little bit of your story, and I think that your daughter would be so proud and honored by what you’re doing. You’re keeping her spirit alive even if her body is gone.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable. I wasn’t good with handling tears.
“What’s your name?”
“Erm, Jesse.”
“Well, Jesse, I just want to thank you for what you just said. I wasn’t completely sure that I could go through with this, but now, I am. I want to remember my baby girl always, and I want to make her proud.”
“You’re welcome, and I’m sure she was proud of you before. You were her mom, so that made you her idol.”
She put the clipboard down and walked around the counter to stand in front of me. “Thank you, Jesse. You’re a good soul. I hope you know that.” When she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me, I froze, unsure as to what to do. I’d never had a customer hug me before, and I wasn’t exactly the type to like physical crap like this.
I patted her on the shoulder gently until she pulled away. “You’re welcome.”
Rick appeared out of nowhere and stood beside us. “Hi, Martha. Are you ready to get started?
“Yes, definitely,” she said. She finished filling out the forms, and then she followed him back to one of the rooms.
I breathed a sigh of relief when she disappeared. I was glad that I’d helped her realize just how important her tattoo was, but the hugging wasn’t cool. I didn’t like people to show me their emotions, especially when they did it physically. Unless it’s Emma. She could get physical with me any day. I groaned to myself as I pictured us getting physical together. Way to give myself a hard-on at work. Hopefully, Rick wouldn’t come out of the back for a while until I could get my dick in check.
We didn’t have another customer the entire night, and by the time the shop closed, I was ready to bolt. I’d finished all my homework two hours ago, and I wasn’t good at sitting still and doing nothing.
I couldn’t help but smile when I started my car. I really owed Emma for helping me. What could I do to thank her though? I was pretty sure she’d laugh at anything that I could offer. Maybe I could buy her a burger or something?
Yeah, that’ll work. I’d offer to buy her dinner as a thank-you.
The lights were on in our trailer when I pulled into the driveway. I was glad to see that Mom had actually made it home on time tonight instead of being stuck with a double again. As soon as I walked inside, I saw her standing in the kitchen.
She glanced up and smiled when she saw me. “Right on time, kiddo. I made us dinner.”
I glanced at the clock on the wall as I walked to the table. “At ten o’clock at night?”
“Oh, shush. We never get to eat together anymore, so I thought this would be nice.”
I kissed her on the cheek before I sat down. “It is nice. Thanks, Mom.” “You’re welcome. I made your favorite—chicken and dumplings.”
My mouth watered as she set a plate down in front of me. Even though
I’d grown up in Santa Monica, my mom was originally from Kentucky. When I was younger, all the kids in the trailer park would come to our house because my mom would always make Southern comfort foods. It was something that none of them were used to. My mom was an amazing cook, but over the years, she’d started working more, so she didn’t have time to make dinner very often.
After my mother said grace, I grabbed a fork and started shoveling food into my mouth. “This is awesome.”
She laughed, and then she started to eat as well. “I thought you would like it. I wanted to talk to you about something while we have a chance.”
My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. So, that’s why she took the time to make my favorite food. It’s a bribe. “Okay...”
“It’s nothing bad, honey. It’s just...I met someone.” “Met someone?” I asked, confused.
“Yes, his name is Mark. He just moved here a few weeks ago, and we met when he came into my work for lunch one day.”