The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

out, Blake never pulls her hand away. She sticks by me, just like she has this entire summer.
I squeeze my eyes shut and count to five, over and over again in my head, until the buzzing stops,
giving way to absolute silence.
I pop one eye open and then the other, peering down to see the result.
It looks dierent from the one drawn on the page of that thick binder, something about the colors
and the shape transforming underneath these dim tattoo parlor lights.
e sunflower on my arm looks alive. Like it was plucked straight from my mom’s garden. e
petals are an identical, glowing yellow, the stem a soft green.
“Good?” Big Eddie asks hesitantly.
I nod, trying again not to cry. “It looks just like the flowers from my mom’s garden. Thank you.”
It’s a part of her. A part of me. A part of us that can never be taken away. No matter where I go, I’ll
always have this.
He puts a clear wrap over it, taping it carefully down as he goes over basic care instructions. For
once in my life, I hardly listen, my eyes fixed on the sunflower and the bright red skin around it. My
vision blurs as I think about my mom’s forearm, her tattoo in the same spot as mine, another shared
experience we’ve now had.
I didn’t think we’d have any more of those, and now I have so many of them.
I finally relax and let go of Blake’s hand as we walk to the front, my palm tingling without the
constant pressure of hers against it. She flexes her fingers, grinning at me.
“They all still work! I’m shocked,” she teases.
I smile at her as I pay Big Eddie. A warm, happy feeling begins to build, swelling like a balloon until
it takes up my entire chest.
Soon I am pushing through the front door, the bells looped around the handle ringing noisily
behind me.
“I fucking did it! I got a tattoo!” I scream to the empty street, adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Blake gives me a big smile, watching with an amused expression as I dance around.
Before I can process what I’m doing, I throw my arms around her, my skin buzzing as her hands
wrap around my waist and my chin rests on her shoulder.
I pull away before she can feel how fast my heart is beating.