As he walks away, leaving Ella and me alone, she comes closer, concern lighting her eyes.
“Is everything okay? Are you okay?”
I don’t know if I’m ready to tell her what Theo did. The thought of her not believing me or casting blame my way makes me leery on being completely truthful. I wouldn’t blame her. She doesn’t know me that well. Why would she believe me over her brother? It still surprises me that Luca believed me. However, I can’t outright lie. Whether or not Ella looks at me as a friend, I think of her as such, and I really don’t want to lie to her.
“I’m fine.” I look down and force my fingers to stop twisting together. Lifting my head, I give her what I can at the moment. “Theo and I had an argument, and I needed to get away.”
Her eyes narrow, and I have no doubt she knows there’s more to the story. Luckily, she doesn’t press me, just offers instead, “If you need to talk, I hope you know you can call me.”
I smile, grateful for her offer. My memories of before my coma consisted of a family I could count on when I needed them. They may not have been the perfect family, but they were mine. I woke up from my coma with no one except a strange man who calls himself my husband and has tried to force himself on me twice. I’ve felt both scared and lost the last several weeks. My only saving grace has been Aria, and Ella the couple times she’s stopped by or taken me to my doctor’s appointment. And now Luca.
With that thought in mind and Ella’s reassuring words, I wonder… maybe I’m not as alone as I thought.
THE BUZZING OF THE tattoo machine is quieter and more soothing than I thought it would be. But it’s the complete and utter concentration on Luca’s face as he tattoos the guy named Garrett in front of him that captivates me. I never knew watching someone work could be so mesmerizing. This is Luca in his element. I don’t have to know him that well to sense this. He loves what he does. You can see it in the attention he gives the design he’s working on.
There’s low music playing in the background, and I wonder if that helps his concentration. He and the guy have spoken periodically, but even so, you can tell his focus is meticulously on his work.
The shop’s been open several hours, but this is the first time I’ve been able to watch Luca work. I sat with Ella with her first client. Her skills are almost as good as Luca’s, but she’s more vocal while tattooing, opting to joke and laugh with her client or sing to the music she had going in the background.
While Ella finished up her client, Luca ordered pizza for lunch. All three of us sat on the couches in the waiting room to eat, Ella saying they were more comfortable than the chairs in the break room. Several people came in to inquire about tattoos and they took turns answering questions or setting up appointments. I noticed the phone rang quite a bit, so after lunch, I offered to play secretary for a while. When one of Luca’s regulars came in, he asked if I wanted to come to the back to watch. I jumped at the opportunity, anxious to see him work.
The buzzing stops, and after wiping the design with a napkin that’s already half saturated with ink, he sits up from his hunched over position. Both of his hands are midair as he looks over the art he created.
Sitting up straighter on the stool I’m on, I try to take a better look. Luca’s eyes lift to mine.
“Come look.”
I get up from the stool and walk over until I’m standing beside him. The man lying on the chair that’s laid down as a bed has his head turned toward Luca, and his eyes lift to mine. He’s been so quiet the last thirty minutes I thought he had fallen asleep. Although I don’t see how anyone could fall asleep while there’s a needle repeatedly being stabbed at them. But then, looking at the guy and seeing most of his back is already covered, I’m sure he’s used to the bite of the needle.
“Whatcha think?” Luca asks. I look down at him then back at the tattoo.
“I think it looks amazing.” I state the truth.
The guy is obviously following an Alice in Wonderland theme. He has a Cheshire cat, the hookah-smoking caterpillar, a vial with the words “Drink Me” written on a tag, Alice, and the Queen of Hearts. Luca just added a pocket watch with a cracked face and the words “Time for Tea.”
I’m pleased when I see Luca smile at me, as if pleased with my praise. For some reason, it warms my heart that my opinion seems to matter to him. He tosses the used napkin in the trash and grabs a fresh one, then sprays something on the design and starts wiping it again.
I look down at the guy, who looks to be in his early to mid-forties. “What are you going to have done next?”
“The rabbit. After that will come the Mad Hatter.”
“I take it you like Alice in Wonderland,” I assert with a laugh.
“My kid does. She’s twenty, but still loves the movie. The new one more so than the old one. I’ve been working to cover my back for five years. The wife will only let me get one or two a year.”
“Whoa, whoa.” I hold my hand up. “The new one?” I ask, confused. I look to Luca. “They remade Alice in Wonderland? But it’s a classic. You can’t remake a classic.”
He chuckles as he finishes cleaning the tattoo then starts swiping on some ointment. “Most of the time they can’t, but I think they did a pretty good job with this one. Johnny Depp did a kickass job of playing the Mad Hatter.”
“Johnny Depp played the Mad Hatter?” I think for a moment. “I can see how he would make a good crazy person,” I admit reluctantly.
“I have the new one on DVD for Aria. We’ll watch it sometime.”
“I’m not so sure I want to. I don’t want to tarnish one of my childhood favorite movies by watching a remake.”
He gets up from the stool, snaps off his gloves, and tosses them in the trash. He turns back to me, his lips tipping up at the corners. “Trust me, you’ll want to.” He looks at the man still lying down. “Go take a look, Garrett, and tell me what you think.”
Garrett gets up from the chair and walks over to the mirror, turning his back to it and looking over his shoulder.