“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but any eight hour meeting sounds horrible.” She opened the oven and saw garlic bread baking. The smell alone made her mouth water.
“You have no clue how bored I was today.” Pulling out the strainer, Millie threw a piece of pasta at Cooper. “I mean, I was so bored I looked at tattoos on Pinterest. Your pictures are on there, did you know that?”
“What the fuck is Pinterest?” Stella inquired as she opened the fridge and pulled out the white wine she opened last night.
“As healthy as you are, you sure do drink a lot,” Millie commented.
Stella snorted. “You’ve know me for five years and you’re just now realizing this?” She raised her eyebrows.
Millie shrugged. “Pour me a glass.” Millie was still in the dress she wore to work, her cobalt shoes kicked off to the side. Her dress was black and gathered at the waist, but the collar was wide and open.
“Where are the boys?”
“I think they’re playing softball on the mall tonight.”
“Why didn’t they ask me to play?” she wondered out loud.
“Because you have a broken hand, jackass.”
“Oh, that’s true,” Stella acknowledged, setting Millie’s wine on the counter. “Duh.” Stella went over to the couch and sat down with her wine.
“Stella…you okay?” Millie didn’t look at Stella, but continued to make their dinner. She didn’t want Stella to think this was some sort of intervention. “You know I love you, but I’m worried about you. First the Jamie run-in and now you’ve basically moved in.”
“I…” Stella wasn’t offended by Millie’s statement; she understood. “I’m just having a really hard time being by myself.” She took a sip of her wine. “I’ve never lived alone,” she admitted. “To be honest, all my thoughts start swirling around in my head when I’m alone and it’s quiet. I haven’t figured out how to turn it off. I’m trying, but I haven’t got it mastered yet. It helps to be around people until I go to sleep.”
“First of all, you’d love living by yourself. You can do whatever you want—walk around naked, eat out of containers, AND watch whatever TV shows you want.” Millie stuck her finger in the sauce again and tasted it. “Perfect.”
As she began mixing the pasta with the sauce, Patrick and Billy came in the front door.
“Just in time,” Stella commented.
“We wouldn’t miss the Hump Day spaghetti.” Billy grinned as he sat down next to Stella on the couch. “What up?” His eyes raked over her strappy yoga tank top. “See, Millie, this is appropriate attire—if you have to wear clothes, that is—for this house. Spandex and strappy things.” He waggled a finger at her. “Do it.”
Patrick walked to Millie and kissed her cheek, whispering something in her ear. She giggled and he slapped her ass as he turned to walk into their room.
“Did you win?” Stella asked.
“I always win,” Billy nodded. “Our team, not so much. There are too many nerds on the team for Patrick and me to make up for.”
“You’re a nerd too.” Stella laughed.
“Yes, but I can play ball.” Billy turned on his video game. “You staying here tonight?”
Stella looked over to where Millie was still messing with dinner. “No, I think I’ll head home after dinner.”
“Damn, I was hoping you’d get drunk and take your top off,” Billy quipped.
Stella almost choked trying not to spit her wine all over the couch. At least Billy never changed.
Chapter Nineteen
Hell’s Empty
A couple of nights later, Stella pulled her car into Georgetown. The November air was crisp and the sky was clear; she actually took a moment to appreciate the beautiful stillness of the late fall night. She parallel parked her car on the second try and shivered in her light coat and dress as she hurried down the street to Skins and Needles. When she opened the door, she saw Cory and Richard involved in a heated discussion. It was her first time back in the shop since they allowed the tattoo photos to be used in the media frenzy last year. No matter what they might think, she actually didn’t blame them. She’d agreed to sit for those photos and didn’t have a problem with them being used. It was the more personal photos that haunted her dreams. The photo of her and Cooper lying on Jamie’s grave made her want to vomit every time she saw it.
“Hey, guys,” she said with a half wave.
Richard gave an “eat shit” look to Cory and turned to face Stella. “Hey, Stella. How’s my girl?” He gave her a one-armed hug and moved her towards his station.
“What happened to your arm?” Cory asked.
“I broke a bone in my hand. Awesome, huh?” she answered Cory first and then looked at Richard. “Pretty good. So, you got my email, right?”
He nodded. “Why are you so dressed up?”
“I know you’ve never seen me in real clothes, Richard, but I do have a real job.” She chuckled. “I can keep them on for these tattoos.” She self-consciously pulled the hem of her navy sheath dress.
“You broke your hand?” he asked.
“Yep, pretty, isn’t it?” She nodded toward the khaki-colored cast on her right hand.
Richard clapped his hands once, breaking up the uncomfortable conversation. “Let’s get going then. I got your email with want you want. I like it—simple and meaningful.”
They left Cory behind the counter and walked toward Richard’s station. He pulled out a drawer and started rummaging around.
“You sure you’re doing okay?” he asked, not looking at her.
She nodded, not giving in to the prickle at the back of her eyes. She sat in his tattoo chair and watched him pull out two stencils. Since she’d run into Jamie she’d been trying not to have a complete fucking breakdown; these tattoos would help her be okay.
“Which do you want to do first?” Richard asked, looking around his station for something.
Stella couldn’t speak yet; she would not cry in public. She pointed to the smaller of the two tattoos on the printout. She was getting them both tonight, but she needed to start with that one.
Richard nodded and started arranging all the instruments. “You won’t get his name tattooed on you, but you’ll do this?”
Stella found her voice. “Yep. I want him to know how much I love him, but that doesn’t mean I’ll put his name on my body. This is a true statement and will be a true statement even after he leaves me.” She put her left arm out where Richard could reach her hand.
Richard shook his head. “What makes you think he’s going to leave?”
Stella smiled sadly at Richard. “He’s smart.”
After Richard finished with the first tattoo, he took a break. Stella laid her back against the chair and closed her eyes, willing her emotions to go away. His voice jarred her back to reality sooner than she expected.
“You want it on your right bicep?”
Stella’s eyes popped open. “Yep.”
“This is the script you wanted, right?” He held the stencil up for her to examine.
“That’s it.” She smiled.
Richard smiled back, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Pretty heavy shit, right?”
“Right.”
“So Stella, what’s been going on? I haven’t seen you in a while,” he commented, making small talk, trying to keep things light.
“Trying to keep a low profile.” Stella grimaced as the needle dug into her flesh. “I’m sure my new tattoos are trending on Twitter right now.” This was probably accurate; her phone had been dinging and beeping so much Richard had her put it on silent.
“Shit, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to be so exposed. I’m sorry we contributed to that.” Richard looked pointedly at Cory, who was pretending not to eavesdrop from the counter. “Wasn’t my decision.”