Tattoo

The Love Heart

               1

Snow fell in a graceful shower accross the road.

Beads of white piled up atop the surface of the black pavement, creating an ocean of ice. My lips tugged up into a smile at the sight of it. I watched as it coated the surfaces of a public bench, blanked out the view into a small, dark red car and gently frosted the glass window that seperated me from the freezing weather. A tingle of goosebumps rose across the skin on my arms and legs, sending a shiver through my body. I pulled my beanie down further over my forehead and neck and pulled the sides of my black pea coat over my chest and legs.

"You waiting, Miss?" A man, with a grough demeaner and tattoos spilling out of the sleeves and collar of his simple grey t-shirt, appeared beside the counter. His voice was deap and heavy, coated thickly with a brittish accent, unconsciously viscious. I stood from the comfortable lounge chair I had been waiting in for a short ten minutes and smiled at the man nerously.

"I am, yes." I watched as the man's eyes raked my body from head to toe, obviously curious about my clothing style. A smile tugged his mouth quickly. He leant over the counter and grabbed a newly printed form from the desk before turning to the side and gesturing down the hall.

"This way then." My worn brown boots made light thumping noises on the dark grey cement floors as I moved over to the man. Nerves sparked inside my stomach with anticipation. "You know what you wanna get?" The man asked from behind me. His heavy footsteps joined in with mine as we moved down a short hall and into a brightly lit room with a black chair surrounded by a complicated machine and walls covered in sample images.

"I do. I was thinking of a heart. Not a real looking heart or a stupid looking love heart but a cute little black one with cracks and stuff through it and like veins coming out of all the sides and disappearing into my skin." The man was silent. Surprised by my choice. Another smile dazzled his thin pink lips.

"I can do that." He said happily. I smiled excitedly in return. "I'm Mick." His voice was a deep rumble as he cooly put his hand out for me to shake. My hand felt tiny and fragile whilst it was consumed by his large, rough one.

"Kenzie." I said politely. Mick gestured to the chair in the middle of the room for me to sit. Once I had, he moved over to the small table beside the chair and began a design on a blank page that he pulled from a shelf to his left. In moments, he put the pencil down and sat back. He held the paper up to show me and I smiled. "That's perfect." I complimented. A nod rocked his focused head as he pulled out the tattoo gun and got to work.

***

I sat in the chairs in front of the front counter once again. My hand gently pressed on the white bandage that Mick had stuck on top of my new tattoo just moments after it was finished. I flinched as a stab of pain exploded over my left wrist under the bandage. The sound of a wheeley chair moving across the floor swirled into my ears. Mick appeared in front of me with a funny grin.

"How's it feel?" He asked before he pumped the chair down so he was eye level with me.

"Kinda sore, you know?" I told him. He chuckled and scratched the skin above one of his dark, pointed eyebrows.

"Totally normal. Now, I'm gonna need you to fill this out for me." Mick handed me a clipboard with a blank form clipped on the front. I took the form curiously and looked it over. I nodded after reading over the questions. A pen appeared in front of me, held firmly in one of Mick's large hands. 

"Thanks." I murmured and filled out the form. Mick plodded around behind the counter until I was done and took the form with a smile. For a man with such a scary appearance, he smiled a lot. He stamped the form and I paid for my first tattoo.