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.“Sorry.I’m an ass.I knew I’d seen it before, I just didn’t remember where, and you’ve spent all this time and—”I let go of Paul and pull Jamie to me, shut him up with a kiss.“Don’t be sorry.Not a big deal, love.Now you know where you saw the ‘P’ you want, yeah? So tell me what it looked like and I’ll sketch it.Paul can help, too.”Paul’s already standing up, going to the china cabinet.Yeah, we have china.And real silverware.Anyway, Paul gets a folder out of one of the drawers.“What’s that, baby?” I ask.“List of the stuff in the safety deposit box.When Mom and Dad died Gran made sure we kept out the stuff we could use and put the rest in the safety deposit box.Things like Mom’s wedding ring, the rest of her jewelry—you know, things seventeen-year-old guys don’t wear.” He looks up at me and grins before going back to the list.Jamie leans into me and holds out his right hand.“I wear Dad’s wedding ring.Paul’s got his signet ring.The rest of his stuff is either here or in the box.”I nod.All I ever got from my dad was a box of rubbers and a really late curfew.Mind you, my dad’s still alive.Think the boys would trade everything to have their parents back.Paul closes the folder and puts it back in the drawer.“Not in the box, so it should be in here somewhere.” He starts poking through cupboards in the cabinet.“Hey, did you know we have two teapots?” he asks over his shoulder.Jamie just shakes his head and kisses me.Finally he comes back over with a small wooden box and sets it on the table in front of Jamie, who just reaches out and opens it.It’s a small box really, only has a half dozen things in it.A picture of the twins when they were babies, a pocket watch engraved with the name “Peter”, some cuff links and a silver ring.Jamie picks up the ring and looks at it before handing it to me.“There it is.Do that for me, pretty.”I take the ring from him and sit back.It’s heavy, really nice work.It’s been hand-tooled, everything carved into it.The band is like a vine with tiny ivy leaves etched into it, and there is a flat circle on the top.It looks like there was a single ivy leave carved there at one point, but it’s been worn nearly smooth.On the right side there’s a raised “J” in stark relief to the vine, and on the left is the “P”.It’s gorgeous.I don’t even look at Jamie or Paul, just grab the paper and start sketching.I’ll get this perfect for them or go blind trying.Gemini - 93* * * *I can’t do Jamie’s tattoo after hours ‘cause of insurance shit, so the boys meet me at work after supper one night and wait until my shift is done.Fred says sure, use the chair on your own time, and says hi to Paul.I pull the curtain across the room, so the three of us are alone and get Jamie settled, lying on his stomach, jeans down around his ass.I bend down and lick his spine, making him shiver.I can taste soap and clean skin and need.I shiver too.Paul’s smiling at us as he hands over the sheet for me to photocopy.We’ve got the “P” the size we want, and I signed my name at the bottom, nice and neat.If my name is going to be on my boy I want it readable.I’m halfway to the photocopier when I see the change.Jamie wrote“love,” above my name.All three of us into one tattoo.My throat feels tight and scratchy, but I don’t say anything.I get the image transferred to Jamie’s back and move in front of him.“You ready, love?” I whisper.Fred is on the other side of the curtain.“Ready for ages now.Love you,” he whispers back.Then he kisses me and I step back, kiss Paul.I get my gloves on while the twins kiss each other and I think I need to stop thinking about this and just do it.Can’t do the work if my hands are shaking.The outlining is black, every curve perfect, every line smooth and easy.I ink over my name and then stop, catch Paul’s eyes just before I do the word “love”.“Love you,” he mouths.I smile at him and get back to work.Jamie’s dealing well.It’s never painless to get a tattoo, and I’m working real close to bone, his skin tight over his spine.Got to hurt, but he’s not saying anything about it, just talking to Paul.I get the outlining done and kiss them both again.I can hear Fred finishing up with his client right next to us and I hope he’s done for a bit.We’re open for another few hours, but it’s a slow time of the day.All the after work crowd has been in and gone and it’s too early for the ones who come in before going to the clubs.“Gonna do the color now, Jamie,” I say.He nods and I load the needles [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]