She wouldn’t have done this if Brian was alive. Brian never took a chance, neither did she. They lived a safe life. But he’d confessed to her one day – when Martin had sent them a video of him bungee jumping – that he wished he could be brave enough to do something like that. ‘I always take the safe route, worried that something might go wrong,’ he’d told her. ‘I wish I’d got Martin’s sense of adventure to go off and explore the world like he’s done.’
Tragically, Martin had died far too young in a paragliding accident. But he’d packed a lot in his short life, far more than they had done.
Brian had played safe, but he’d still died far too soon.
She messaged Patti back.
Sandra
I’m going to do it. Can you give me the number of the tattoo studio we went to?
Within seconds Patti pinged the number back.
Patti
Want me to come with you?
Sandra
Yes please!
Sandra phoned the tattoo studio immediately and luckily they could fit her in that afternoon, so before she could change her mind, she booked the appointment, then messaged Patti. They agreed to meet at the bus stop, as they had the other day. Sandra was a bit nervous, she had to admit, but if Patti could do it so could she. And the tattoo was just the start. As Patti suggested, she was going to sit down and think about what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She’d already started making her bucket list, which was rather exciting. Suddenly, life seemed full of opportunities rather than empty days.
Paul grinned when they both walked in. ‘Hello again, ladies. Any more of your friends planning on having a tattoo?’ he asked, a twinkle of amusement in his eye. ‘I might offer Senior Rates.’
‘You never know,’ Patti replied with a wink. ‘We might even be back for another one and we’ll be wanting those Senior Rates if we do!’
Paul chuckled. ‘It’s a deal.’
Patti was right, having the tattoo done wasn’t very painful,more of a scratching sensation. Although Sandra had to clench her teeth a couple of times, but Patti distracted her by chatting away just as she herself had done when Patti had her tattoo. She felt quite proud of herself when Paul had finished.
‘Do you mind if I take a photo of you both showing your tattoos to put on Instagram?’ Paul asked. ‘I often do that with my clients.’
Sandra and Patti both looked at each other then nodded. ‘Go for it!’ Patti said.
‘Can we pout?’ Patti asked mischievously as Paul took his phone out of his pocket.
‘Go ahead!’ he said with a grin.
The two friends looked directly at the camera, pouting away. They giggled and tried a few different poses, making sure their tattoos were visible.
‘That’s fantastic. We’ll take a look through the photos in a minute but first let me put a dressing on that tattoo.’
When the dressing was in place Paul gave Sandra a pot of tattoo healing cream. ‘You know the rules.’
She nodded. ‘I do.’ She was feeling quite proud of herself for doing this.
Paul held out his phone and flicked through the photos until he found one they all liked. They were both laughing, half turned towards each other, Sandra holding out her arm to show her tattoo and Patti with her shoulder turned towards the screen so that her upper-arm tattoo was visible. They looked happy, vibrant, Sandra noticed in surprise.
‘We look like a right trendy pair of “old gals”,’ Patti said with a grin.
‘You certainly do. Are you on Insta, ladies? I could tag you in it.’
‘No but my granddaughter is, so I’ll get her to look you up. She’ll be amazed to think we’re Instagram models!’
They both went giggling out of the shop.
‘Let’s celebrate with a cocktail before we go home,’ Patti suggested. ‘A trendy cocktail bar has just opened around the corner.’
