Haunted

by Merrill, R. L.

  “Or maybe you’re just a psycho who needs to quit getting tattooed.” Marcus threw that last comment over his shoulder and then proceeded to stuff his mouth full of popcorn.

  “If you’ve got room, why not get more is what I always say.” I winked at Jade and showed him the revised sketch.

  “YES! Can we do it? Can we do it?”

  “Sure,” I chuckled. “Just give me a bit to get set up. I’ll be right back.”

  Star jumped up to help me. “You need any help getting your stuff?”

  “I think I’m fine. I’ll just go grab my table and my bag.”

  He followed me anyway. This whole chivalry thing was killing me.

  “Hey Jaylene, you really don’t have to do this now. Aren’t you tired?” Devon still looked worried and while it made me gooey inside that he would be so concerned, I really was fine and I told him so.

  “The shop stays open until 11:00 on weekends anyway. I’d probably still be tattooing if I were at work. Besides, you guys are paying me to work, right? So I’m getting to work.”

  “Yeah, but...” He was frowning now.

  Oh that was just making me feel even gooey-er.

  “No yeah-buts! I want to. It’s not every day that I get to tattoo scenes from one of my favorite movies. There aren’t as many horror junkies in New Orleans as you might think. This is good! That way, if you guys think it’s crap you can send me packing.” I smiled sweetly at him over my shoulder and heard him groan and slide back down the couch.

  “If you show me where your table is, Jaylene, I’ll carry it over. What else do you need?”

  Star was so eager to help, it made me smile. I was looking forward to sharing my craft with the guys after watching them practice today.

  “I’ll need my lamp, a chair, and something to set my inks on. Then I need to sterilize the workspace. I have all I need in my bag.”

  I had packed everything in my travel case so it made things easy. Star carried my table out and I set it up while he nervously watched to make sure I didn’t hurt myself. I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up as a little girl surrounded by men like these. In my family girls were expected to be seen and not heard and to act appropriately for every occasion. Other than that they were mostly ignored. It seemed like with these guys, at least from what I’d seen so far, girls were to be treated like they were fragile and it was important to make sure they were taken care of. It was precious.

  “There. Now Jade, since I don’t have my copy machine here, I’m just going to freehand this on your leg and then tattoo you. Sound good?”

  He frowned. “Freehand? You mean, not use a stencil? Can you do that?” He was totally serious, so I couldn’t help but mess with him.

  I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. It can’t be that hard.”

  His eyes got wide and you could have heard a pin drop in the room, even over the screams from the movie.

  “I’m kidding, Jade. I do this all the time. C’mon, let’s get that leg shaved.”

  He looked only slightly less nervous. The other guys were laughing hysterically.

  “Dude, you should have seen your face!” Mage was shaking Jade by the shoulders. Jade hadn’t completely recovered and still looked worried.

  “Oh, relax! I already told you I’ve only almost messed up once. I’ve got a pretty good track record, right?”

  I grabbed his hand and walked him down the hall, taking him into my bathroom. He looked back over his shoulder at Marcus.

  “Marcus? Uh, if I don’t make it back, tell Mama I love her.”

  More laughs followed us from the other room. I had him prop his leg on the edge of the tub.

  “What are you going to use,” Jade asked nervously. Star entered the bathroom, too. I guess he wanted to see the entire process.

  “I’ve got a rusty straight edge I thought I’d use. What do you think I’m going to use? Haven’t you done this before Jade?”

  “Well, yeah but usually in a tattoo shop and, well, by a guy.”

  I stood up and narrowed my eyes. “Are you seriously weirded out because I have boobs? I thought we were past this as a society!” I turned on the water and grabbed a pink Bic and my soap spray bottle.

  “I don’t know! I’m pretty sure some of the guys who tattooed me had boobs.” He shook himself. “That’s not what I meant! I meant I just haven’t been tattooed by a woman before and I haven’t gotten shaved in a bathroom before by a woman, and I certainly haven’t been drawn on before by anyone.”

  I paused with the razor on the back of his Achilles’ tendon. “You need to live a little.” I smiled, he sucked in a breath, and I slowly dragged the razor up the back of his leg, careful not to knick him.

  He relaxed a little. I looked over at Star in the doorway and gave him a wink. Star jumped right on it.

  “You mean you’ve never let a chick shave you? It’s kind of hot, Jade. You should try it.”

  I snickered and Jade wobbled a little. “Be still if you want to keep your flesh intact.”

  “Sorry Jaylene. It tickles.” That made me snicker even more. “And no, I’ve never let a chick shave me. Although one time, this girl let me take my trimmer to her and we...”

  Star cleared his throat loudly. “You sure you want to continue that story in mixed company?”

  I rolled my eyes, but at my angle I guessed they didn’t see.

  “You guys really don’t have to hold back around me. I’m used to working with guys. Remember? I’d be more grossed out if you were talking about soap operas or makeup.” They both laughed and all Jade’s anxiety seemed to be gone.

  When I was done I cleaned up his leg with a washcloth. “See, all done and no blood...yet!” Some of the color washed out of his face, but he was hanging in there.

  We got back to the rumpus room and the guys were all waiting for us. I covered the bottom half of the table with plastic wrap and had Jade lie down on his stomach and relax while I finished setting up.

  Someone had brought over a card table so I covered that with wrap too. I put out my ink caps and a dab of petroleum jelly to keep things moving smoothly. I’d serviced my machine before I left. It was in good working condition and already wrapped in plastic. I snapped on some rubber gloves, reached for the roll of paper towels and spray so I could clean his leg again.

  I used a marker to transfer the outline of my drawing onto his calf. When I thought it was centered and looked good, I had him go look in the mirror.

  “Damn! That looks awesome! How did you do that?”

  I shrugged. “I just draws ‘em like I sees ‘em.”

  Jade got comfortable and the other guys gathered around to watch. I was feeling more in my element. I flipped on my machine and got to work. I did a quick line to see how he handled the pressure. “How was that, Jade?”

  “Is that it? I barely even felt it! You have such a light touch.” He put his head down on his arms and closed his eyes. “Shit, I could totally sleep through this. Wake me when she’s done, D.”

  I just shook my head and kept on with the outline. They watched for a bit in silence, a few murmurs of appreciation coming out every once in a while.

  I figured it would take about two hours tops to finish. Evil Dead 2 finished and then came Army of Darkness. I laughed and shouted out my favorite Ash lines and Marcus and Mage went back over to the couches to watch the film. Devon was still on the edge of the couch next to where I’d set up the table and he was watching me closely. His eyes on me felt comforting. I didn’t need to look over at him to know that he was giving me one of his ghost smiles.

  Star dragged a barstool over to watch me work. He was really interested and asked me, “How long you been doing this?”

  “I started working in a shop when I was 18, but I didn’t start my apprenticeship until I was almost 19. It was kind of by accident. My boss found my sketchbook and threatened to fire me if I didn’t start learning how to tattoo. The apprenticeship lasted a year and a half, and then I continued to work the
re for four more years while I finished college and grad school.”

  “Grad school? You tattooed and went to college? Are you some kind of over achiever?”

  I laughed. “No, just couldn’t choose. And tattooing paid the bills so I didn’t have to take out student loans.”

  “What was your degree in,” Star asked.

  “Counseling Psychology. My undergrad degree was in Psychology and Sociology. I had a hard time choosing so I did both. I earned my Masters almost three years ago.”

  Devon spoke up after a minute. “You opened up your shop a year ago here, right? What did you do in between?”

  I sat back in my chair and took off my gloves. Jade had nearly fallen asleep and I needed to stretch. “After grad school, I landed an internship with a prominent Berkeley psychotherapist. One of my professors knew someone and had it arranged.” I took a swig of water and rolled my head around on my shoulders.

  “That sounds promising. So what happened?” Star was looking over the work I’d done so far. He shook his head and murmured appreciative noises.

  “It wasn’t my cup of tea. The clients were mostly wealthy, middle-aged women who were unhappy in their marriages and with their children. They mostly wanted some good drugs rather than to examine themselves. I didn’t have a whole lot of patience with them and the therapist I worked under didn’t have much patience with me. Then my father died and I quit. I landed here in New Orleans and you know the rest.”

  I took one final drink of water and put new gloves on. I spread some petroleum jelly over the work and that woke Jade up a little.

  “Are we done?”

  I patted his good leg. “About half way there, dear. Go back to sleep.”

  He nodded and closed his eyes. He was really sitting well for this. I hoped they all were this good.

  “Do you miss it? Counseling I mean?” Devon was looking at me intently and I thought about what he asked.

  “Not really. A lot of my work as a tattoo artist involves some sort of counseling. Everyone’s got a story to tell and I like to listen and try to turn it into art.”

  Star said, “That is so cool, Jaylene. I bet your clients come away from your shop in good spirits, they do.”

  “I hope so! I’d hate to take their money if they didn’t!”

  I put the last bit of shading on Jade’s headless lady and started on the wording. That was a bit trickier to get on straight. I made the letters look like they were made of bones. Lettering was a challenge for me and I really liked to make it stand out so I took extra time.

  Jade was starting to get a little twitchy toward the end. I was working on the area right above his Achilles’ and that can get tender. I finished the last L and wiped him down with soapy water.

  “Ta Da! Mr. Lambert, would you like to see your new lady friend?”

  His eyes bright, he hopped down from the table and walked gingerly over to a mirrored wall behind the bar.

  “Holy Mother! Jaylene that is fucking cool! You nailed it! Thank you so much, chère.” He hugged me from behind and kissed me on the cheek.

  The guys all complimented me on a job well done.

  “See,” Mage said. “I told you she was meant to be here. Who else would we have taken this numbskull to at this time of night to get a naked dead lady tattoo?” They all laughed.

  “You’re welcome. I think. Now Jade, come over here so I can wrap you up.” I had him stand on a chair so I could carefully wrap him in pads and plastic wrap. “Keep this on until the morning. Only wash it with this anti-bacterial soap and use this Bacitracin for the first 48 hours, then switch to Aquaphor.”

  “No A&D,” Jade asked.

  I shook my head. “This will heal it better. I’ll take a look at it to make sure you aren’t having any problems, but seeing how well your others healed, either you take good care of them or are a good healer.”

  “Aw, man Maggie would have loved this one, huh, Devon?”

  All eyes went to Devon and he looked at me, that horribly sad look was back in his eyes.

  “Yeah, Jade. She sure would have.” He stood and walked toward his room. “Good night everyone,” he called over his shoulder, went into his room and shut the door quietly.

  Everyone looked at each other. Jade had tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just miss her and she would have liked it, right? I mean, she loved that movie.”

  Marcus gave him a tight hug and ruffled his hair. “It’s ok, little brother. She would have really liked it. He just needs more time.” Marcus gave me a determined look.

  “How much longer until we can say her name without him taking off? Fuck, man, we all lost her. He’s not even trying,” said Mage. He was glaring at Devon’s door.

  Marcus got in his face and pointed a finger in his chest. “You fucking know why he’s not able to talk about her. Jesus Christ, Mage! He lost more than the rest of us so don’t go bitching about D! He’s our brother and we will fucking be there for him as long as it fucking takes, do you hear me?” Mage lowered his eyes and nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry Marcus. It’s just, it’s death, right? It’s not the end for her. But it’s sure as hell going to be the end for us if we don’t get our shit together.” He walked off in a huff towards his room and slammed the door.

  “Star, will you help Jaylene clean up? I’m going to put Jade to bed.”

  Star nodded. “Sure, if she’ll let me.” He tried a smile and I gave him one back to reassure him.

  “You can help me. You can put on some gloves and take off all that plastic wrap and throw it in one of those blue garbage bags from my case. I’ll take all that stuff back to the shop with me when I go. We’ve got a special container for that and the sharps.”

  He followed my directions carefully. Once he finished with the garbage, he folded up my table and carried it back to my room.

  Marcus had come back and was standing there like he had something to say.

  “Did you need something,” I finally asked him because it was getting a little awkward.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I need you to get through to him. We don’t have much more time.”

  I put down my case and my hands went to my hips.

  “You can’t really put a time limit on this kind of thing, Marcus. Grief doesn’t work that way. I’m going to do what I can for all of you, but if he’s not ready, he’s not ready. And if you push him you might not get him back.”

  He stepped closer to me, almost like he thought using his size might intimidate me. I wasn’t easily intimidated, certainly not by him. “Listen. It’s your first day. I don’t expect miracles from you yet, although you’ve gotten him to smile more than anyone since she died. But I’m telling you, I’ve got three other guys, not to mention our whole support staff, that have a lot riding on this next album. He’s got to get it together. Talk to him, tattoo him, whatever the fuck you need to do. Just get his head in the game so we can get this album done.”

  I looked at him closely. He was angry, for sure, but under that he was afraid. I wasn’t ready to call him on it.

  “I can appreciate your situation, but I told you all from the beginning that I am not a miracle worker. If you want miracles, you better start praying. I’m going to bed, unless there’s anything else?”

  He looked surprised. I was sure most women didn’t talk back to him. I was not going to be like most women where he was concerned.

  “No. That’s it.”

  I glared at him once more and continued packing up.

  He started walking down the stairs but stopped three from the top. “Hey Jaylene?” I looked over at him. “That was a great tattoo you gave my brother. Thank you. He loves it.”

  I nodded and closed up my case. I was finishing my water bottle when I heard the piano playing downstairs. Apparently that was how Marcus was going to work off his frustration.

  As I was walking toward my room, Star stepped out of Devon’s room. “He’s going to sleep. He said to tell you good night.”

  “Thanks St
ar. For your help tonight, too. Hey, if this rock n’ roll gig doesn’t work out you can come be my shop boy.”

  He smiled sadly. “Yeah, I might need that. Listen. I heard what Marcus said to you. We just want to play music together, you know? And we just want Devon to smile again. He blames himself for what happened to Maggie, no matter what we say or anyone else says to him.”

  I touched his shoulder. “Hey, nothing anyone says or does is going to help him until he’s ready to be helped. But being there for him until he’s ready is the best thing you can do for him. He loves you guys. That much is very clear. Let’s just all get some sleep and we’ll talk more tomorrow, ok?”

  He seemed like he needed a hug so I opened my arms and he stepped into them. “It’s been a long day. I’ll see you for breakfast duty, ok? What time?”

  He stepped back, “How about 8:00? No one should be up before that.

  I nodded. “Eight it is. Good night.”

  “Good night, Jaylene.” He turned and walked toward his room with his head down.

  The piano played on downstairs and I thought if Marcus and Devon could make such beautiful music together they had to be able to work things out. I paused in front of Devon’s door, wanting to comfort him but knowing that it was too soon for that. I brushed my teeth and crawled in bed.

  Sometime in the night I woke up and heard the soft strumming of the guitar playing next door. It was a melancholy sound. A tear slid down my cheek before I forced myself to turn over and go back to sleep.

  Chapter Seven

  I woke up early, around 6:30, and rolled out of bed to do some yoga. Stretching helped keep my back in decent shape. I’d seen too many tattoo artists have to give up their work prematurely because of back and neck problems. I know I had my degree to “fall back on,” but I wanted to have the option to keep tattooing as long as I desired!

  I knocked on the door to the bathroom softly to be sure Devon wasn’t in there. When I heard no response I crept in quietly. I reached over to close his door and I… Well, I had a compulsion to peek. In the pale morning light I could see him lying across his bed. The sheet rode low across his torso. He was shirtless and in sleep, he looked so peaceful. If I could have been stealthier I would have loved to sketch him in this pose. Truly breathtaking.