Escaping Reality

Chapter 32: Mystery Tattoos

About halfway there I had thought of an idea and placement and was pretty happy with my creativeness. I grabbed a spare napkin from the glove compartment and scribbled down my drawing and placed it on my thigh in varying locations trying to picture how it would look.

"What did you decide?" Lola asked.

"If I can't know what you're getting until you get it, there's no way I'm telling you what I'm getting," I said coolly with a grin on my face.

"Fair enough," she said, tersely aware of how she had set herself up.

"Wait, you're not getting like my initials or anything like that are you," I said suddenly.

"What? No, I like you but I don't like you that much" She said laughing to herself.

"Laugh all you want but I didn't want you to end up on one of those horrible tattoo tv shows," I said, slightly embarrassed for having asked the initial question.

I had been along with a couple of my friends when they got their tattoos back home and the places were always dark, dirty, and dingy. They usually doubled as piercing shops and had gaudy furniture and gothic decorations. As we pulled up to the parlor I could tell it was unlike anything I had ever seen back home.

The storefront was almost completely glass with a glossy white rectangular heading. On the heading was a neon sign reading "The Tattoo Shoppe" in cursive. The store was bright and felt clean and fresh if it's possible for a store to feel fresh. The two side walls were white and the back wall was painted bright orange. Modern furniture sat all around the studio. There was even a little desk with a computer dubbed "The Inspiration Station" where people could look up designs, not in the design book. There was only one tattoo chair in the room, placed at the back.Lola had given me a quick rundown on the place before we had arrived. There were only two workers and they alternated every other day. They had a website where all of their work was posted, along with customer reviews and rough pricing estimates. Their website also boasted their title as best tattoo parlor in the Miami area given by the cities best awards held each year. They encouraged walk-in tattoos and specialized in every style and size possible. Both of the artists had no tattoos of their own but loved designing them and inking other people.

The two owners Stevie and Johnny had been best friends in college and tasked with creating a new business idea in one of their business classes. Their business idea was an upscale tattoo parlor that appeals to people who typically wouldn't think about getting inked. Story has it that their project got a high C, they graduated and each got stereotypical business jobs and after burning out reconnected and made their old class project a reality.

Today Stevie was working and he greeted us as soon as we stepped in the store. If I had seen him on the street I would never have guessed he was a tattoo artist. He was pretty plain looking although he did have a crazy look in his eyes that would have been odd to see from an accountant or teacher. He wore plain jeans, a polo, and some sandals, pretty typical clothing. Fiery eyes aside, he seemed like an ordinary dude that you would find working at a bank, real estate office, or law firm.

"How are you two doing this fine Sunday?" he asked.

"Great, we were surprised you were open so late on a Sunday," Lola responded.

"That's the joy of owning your own business, you create your own hours." He said as he raised his arms and waved them around. "What can I do for you guys, are you looking to get tattoos, learn about them, submit a design, or just stopping in to talk to a ridiculously good looking man?"

"Submit a design? Sorry, I'm new to town." I said with a puzzled look on my face.

"Oh yeah every month we let people submit tattoo designs to us and we hold a competition. The winning design is then offered for free to the public for the first week of the next month. Anybody is welcome to submit artwork but usually, it's artists and graphic designers who like seeing other people enjoy their work."