Grand Adventure

Chapter 26

 Dani and Eddie walked into the tattoo parlor that he'd found by talking to some locals. It wasn't hard, just walk up to some of the most inked people you could find and they would know where the best tattoo parlors in the city were. Then he'd called from a payphone to see if they had time and they'd been able to fit them in this afternoon. It was called Battle Scar Ink, and he liked it. It was very fitting because didn't they all have battle scars, whether you could see them or not? He knew lots of people who had gotten tattoos to cover old scars, an artistic reminder that they survived, that something hideous in their lives could be molded into a work of art.

He could tell Dani was nervous. Her knee has been bouncing the entire ride until he'd placed his hand over it, attempting to settle her. Eddie had explained everything to her, being honest, because it would do no good to lie to her. Getting a tattoo hurt, and she would quickly realize it once that needle hit her skin. He remembered his first tattoo. It stung like a bitch but he powered through and if you can get past a couple minutes of pain, it eventually dulled.

Eddie headed up to the counter, a girl that looked not much older than them greeted him. She had a sweet neck tattoo of birds flying from her neck up to behind her ear. She also had a sleeve of flowers winding around her arm.

"Hey there, looking to get some ink?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually. We have appointments, Dani Miller and Eddie Munson," he answered.

She looked down at her sheet, "Yep. Got you both here. Do you know what you're getting?"

Eddie pulled the folded up napkin from his pocket, handing it to her as he explained, "We're both getting that. I want it on my left arm and she wants it on her right."

"Alright, yeah, we can do that. This shouldn't take more than a couple hours depending on the size you want. Were you thinking smaller or larger?"

"Smaller, definitely smaller," Dani answered quickly. "I mean, not teeny, tiny, but maybe like this." Holding her thumb and forefinger over her arm, she indicated a few inches high.

"Perfect. Well, I am Lilah and I can handle one of you. Don is in the back and he can work on the other at the same time so we can get you done quicker. If you're okay with that."

Eddie glanced over at Dani, knowing how nervous she was, "Are you okay with that or do you want me to sit with you while you get yours done?"

"I'll be okay," she assured him, nodding with a smile. "I can do this." Dani turned to Lilah. "Would you mind doing mine?"

"Absolutely, no problem. Let's get you over to my chair and I'll call Don out."

Lilah headed into the back, returning a moment later with a guy. Don was short, skinny, and rocking a blond mohawk that was spiked up sharply. If he let it down, his hair would probably fall halfway down his back. He had a nose ring, a lip ring, an eyebrow ring, and both arms were covered in sleeves. Approaching, he shook Eddie's hand as Lilah led Dani back to her chair.

"Hey man. Lilah showed me what you're looking for," he said and then leaned over, dropping his voice. "She said your girl seemed pretty nervous so we're going to set you two up right next to each other so you can talk her through it if she needs you."

"Thanks man," Eddie said gratefully. "She's trying to be brave, but this is her first tattoo."

"Yeah, we can tell. We can always tell," Don laughed, gesturing for him to follow him and sit in the chair right next to Dani. "Alright, we're going to create outlines of your tattoos. Once that's done and you've approved of the design we'll get the inks and equipment ready and then we'll get going."