Heavy: A Contemporary Romance (15 page)

Cali

Over the last week and a half
, I’d developed a comfortable routine that involved starting my day by having breakfast with Zak after my morning swim. It was a way to make sure I
had
breakfast every day. Today was going to be my first one working at Reston’s with Thatch, and the temptation to skip breakfast had been overwhelming. As that could potentially lead to bad things down the road, I dragged myself next door as per usual.

“So, today’s the big day then?” Zak asked as he watched me force my oatmeal down.

“I guess. I just have to make it through this next week until my replacement arrives.”

“Or, as Bellamy puts it, you just have a week to convince Mr.
Hottie that you’re worth taking a chance on.”

“Hmmm
. That’s probably not going to happen. You should’ve seen the look in his eyes when he stormed out of there yesterday.”

Zak frowned at me
. “Did your heart go all a-flutter when you saw him yesterday?”

“In a manner of speaking, yeah.”

“Was there still that chemistry between you two that you felt when you first met him?”

“Definitely
. But his reasons for wanting to stay away from me are perfectly valid, too. I completely understand where he’s coming from.”

“
Pfft. He hasn’t even had a real conversation with you yet. He really doesn’t know a thing about you other than what he’s read on the Internet. I mean, hey, you’re the girl who worked out how to use a washing machine on her own, for Petunia’s sake!” Zak teased.

I laughed at him
. “You’re right! I did, didn’t I? Although I’m not sure I should lead with that fact in any discussion involving my small list of accomplishments.”

“Don’t sell
yourself short, Cali,” Zak said, his tone getting serious. “You’re a wonderful, kind, smart, caring, and beautiful person on the inside. You just need to show him that.”

Zak grinned before adding, “Oh, and you
ain’t too shabby on the outside either, girly. He’d be a complete idiot to keep resisting you.”

“Resisting each other isn’t the real problem though, Zak
. I mean it is in so much as we can’t seem to resist each other when we’re in the same room. I can’t help myself from being drawn to him and I’m sure it’s the same for him. The real problem is the self-loathing and hate he feels afterward. It’s just his version of bulimia. Euphoric high when we touch, followed by self-hatred after the fact. It might be a different story if I was on year two or three of my recovery… Three months is just not long enough of a time to show him I’m serious.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to prove him wrong then, aren’t you?”

***

The one great thing about working in a tattoo parlor is that apart from Bellamy’s early morning appointments, the shop
was usually quiet and I wasn’t required to come in until eleven. On the days Thaddeus wasn’t at school in the mornings, I came in early to spend some time with him while Bell worked. Now that Thatch was back, this was all going to change.

When I arrived at Reston’s at ten-thirty, Thatch
and Mo already had clients in their chairs. This unusual early morning start was probably the overspill from being down a man for two weeks. Thatch’s station was at the back, across from Rufus’s now-empty one.

“Morning everyone,” I said in the most cheerful voice I could muster
. “I’m doing a coffee run. You in for the usual Mo?”

“You
betcha. You need anything?” he asked the woman currently sitting in front of him.

“I’ll take a black coffee, no cream or sugar if you don’t mind,
hon,” she said to me with a smile. It looked like Mo was doing a colorful New School tat on her thigh.

“Sure thing,” I smiled back
. “You or your client need anything, Thatch?” I called to the back of the room, holding my breath for a response.

“We just had one, so we’re all good for now.”
Thatch answered me without pausing on his work or looking in my direction. “My dad probably wants his usual though. I assume you know what that is.”

Oooo
, he was still a little pissy.

Fine.

“I sure do,” I replied with an extra dose of faked cheerfulness.

I hurried out to grab the coffees
. I brushed all thoughts, well nearly all thoughts, of Thatch from my mind. Bellamy was due to be finished in his private room in a few minutes, and I wanted to be there when he was done. Seeing the look on these cancer-survivors’ faces once Bell had finished working on them was one of the highlights of my day. As the only girl in the shop, many wanted to show off his three-dimensional tattoo work right away and I was usually the one they wanted to show their new ‘nipples’ to. Lucky me. I mean that sincerely, I
loved
to see Bellamy’s work and how it transformed his client emotionally and psychologically, as well as physically.

Bellamy was just coming out of his room when I walked back into the shop with the small tray of beverages.

“Oh good, you’re here, Heavy,” he smiled. “You’re up,” he added, pointing with his head towards the room behind him.

I gave him a delighted grin and handed him his coffee as I walked past him and toward the private room.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Thatch direct a questioning look at his father.

“She likes to hang with my clients after they get their work done,” Bellamy
responded to him with a shrug.

I knocked lightly on the door and waited for the woman inside to invite me to enter.

I closed the door behind me and sat down next to the forty-something year-old brunette sitting in Bellamy’s chair. She held the hospital-type gown closed over her chest as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I brought you a coffee, Terri,” I said in a soft voice, placing the cup on the
workstation next to her.

“Thank you,” she stammered
. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess. I just needed a few minutes to compose myself before I get dressed.”

“Come on,” I smiled, “stand up and let me show you something.”

She looked at me questioningly and followed me over to the built-in cabinet on the other side of the room.

Close your eyes for a second,” I whispered.

She hesitated, and then obeyed my command.

I opened the door and revealed a
full-length mirror.

“Okay, open them now and open your robe.”

Terri gasped when she followed my instructions and saw herself – all of herself – for the first time. Her reconstructed breasts, which this morning had been just two soft, mounds of white skin with the remnants of her surgical scars, now had perfect, realistic-looking, pink nipples tattooed in the center of each one.

“Oh my God
. He showed me in the hand-mirror, but I didn’t take in how real they looked!” Her smile was contagious and her tears were joyful and full of relief.

“They’re amazing, Terri,” I smiled, my own eyes glistening at her happiness.

Terri hugged me tightly and then I stayed and chatted with her for a few minutes as she kept looking at her reflection.

“I’
m going to let you get dressed now,” I said, making my way back to the door. “Take all the time you need in here. Leave whenever you’re ready. Did Bellamy give you the instructions about when to remove the plastic wrap and how to clean the tattooed area?”

“He sure did, Cali, thank you.”

I gave her a wink as I left the room.

Bellamy was waiting for me just outside the door
. “Nice job, Heavy. She had her procedure over five years ago. She only just found the courage for the tattoos recently and she was really nervous about everything,” he said, as I headed over to the reception desk while trying to not look in Thatch’s direction.

“You did a beautiful job, Bell,” I smiled as he came over to lean on
the counter. “You’ve given her back a sense of self she lost along with the double mastectomy.”

I knew Bellamy didn’t like too much praise, so I changed the subject quickly so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

“What else do you have planned for today? That’s it for morning appointments, right?”

“Yeah, I’m going to head over to pick up Thad in about an hour
. Or are you going to do that today, Thatch,” Bellamy added, turning to his son who was evidently listening to us as he worked.

“I’ll do it after this, Pops
. I want to spend some time with him before my next appointment at two,” Thatch answered.

“Okay, I’ll make sure I’m aroun
d at that time then to take him from you. You going to be around tonight, Thatch? We have a meeting.”

“I’ll be done before six
. Is that okay?”

“Perfect,”
Bellamy answered before focusing back on me. “The meeting’s at eight, Heavy. Don’t be late.”

“Yes sir,” I said as I gave him a mock-salute.

Bellamy chuckled as he left the shop and made his way upstairs.

About thirty minutes later, Thatch came up to the desk with his client.

“It’s going to take at least two more sittings, Greg, but I made good progress today and we’re definitely past the halfway mark,” Thatch said, as the client began to pull several one-hundred dollar bills out of his pocket. “Speak to Cali here about your next appointment, but let’s give your skin at least a month to recover, okay?”

“Thanks,
Thatch, will do,” Greg replied as he paid Thatch for his work.

“No problem, man,” Thatch smiled again and then went back to his station to clear up his gear.

I made Greg another appointment three months away. It was the first available slot Thatch had and Greg didn’t seem to mind too much.

“Seeing as how you’re going to need two more sittings, do you want to go ahead and book another sitting for a month after that?” I asked
. “May as well before he gets booked up again.”

“Great idea,” the young man agreed
. I passed him a card with the two appointment dates written on it. “See you in a few months,” he called over his shoulder as he left the shop.

I answered a couple of calls and got into my receptionist groove for a bit
. When I looked up I was surprised to see Thatch leaning against the counter watching me.

“Can I help you with something?”
I asked.

“Can we do this?” he asked softly
. Mo was busy chatting away with his client and paying us no attention.

“Can we do what?”
I swallowed nervously.

“Can we be in the same room as each other without biting each other’s head off or
jumping each other’s bones?”

“You’re asking if we can be friends.”
I posed it as a statement and not a question.

“Yes,” he said
. “I can only do friendship right now, Cali. And whatever my dad is hoping for, that’s all that I have to offer.”

“I understand, Thatch
. I can do friends. I’m only here for another week or so, then I have to head back to L.A., for a few days anyway.”

Thatch shifted uncomfortably before he posed his next question.

“Are you coming back afterwards?”

“To Vegas
? I’m not sure. I’ve made some great new friends here – something I don’t have back home. I might, yes.”

“But not to work here?”

“This was always just a temporary position, Thatch. I’m just helping your dad out for a bit. I’m still trying to work out what I want to do with the rest of my life. Maybe give college a try… I haven’t really decided yet.” I paused before I worked up the courage to ask him one of the things that had been troubling me ever since his return.

“Are you going to stop me from seeing Thaddeus?”

“I think it would break his heart if I did,” Thatch replied in a resigned tone.

“I know you don’t like the fact he’s
becoming so emotionally attached to me, but I’m already attached to him, too. My last week working here would be soul-destroying if you kept him away from me.” I hated the begging almost-whine, in my voice, but the thought of not spending time with Thaddeus made me sad.

“As long as either my dad or
I are with you, you can hang out with him.”

“I’ll take it
. Does this mean you’ll consider bringing him over on Saturday to swim in my pool. He really wants to meet my neighbor, Hayley. Her dads are wonderful and have become close friends since I moved here. Please?”

“I’ll think about it, California.”

“Thanks,” I smiled.

“Just one thing,” he added as he was about to turn and leave the shop, probably to pick up his son from
preschool. “No matter what my dad is hoping for, I won’t ask you to stay once your time is up. Do you understand, California? I’ll do the friendship thing and I’ll let you see my son, but I’m not going to ask you to stay – no matter how much I might think I want you to. Nothing emotional can ever happen between us.”