Nothing Feels Better (Better Love 3)

“Senior commencement is in two weeks.” I see her grin in my peripheral. “Then he won’t be a college boy anymore.”

I run through the dates in my head. If senior commencement at Butler is in two weeks, then that means that the kids are out of school in....shit. I have to remember to call the YWCA and confirm June and Jude’s enrollment in the summer program, and then I’ll have to text Patrick and make sure he’s still paying for half of it.

“When’s your program finished?” Roxanne asks, cutting through my thoughts.

“I’ve got four more weeks. It’s not a traditional college calendar,” I tell her. “Then I take the licensure exam.”

“You’re going to blow that test out of the water.”

When we pull into the parking lot of the tattoo parlor, I want to squeal with excitement. I’m a bundle of nerves, but it’s also thrilling. This is the first real thing I’ll be doing to my body that is for me, and only me, no other opinions matter.

“You know, my Marie would have liked you,” Roxanne says with a soft smile, then she smacks my thigh. “Alright, let’s go get you tatted up, ya hussy.”