One Step to You (The Rome Novels #1)(69)

The young woman heaved a sigh of relief. She craned her neck to see if she, too, was in agreement with John’s enthusiasm. Babi and Step moved forward, curious. The young man stopped reading and leaned in. They all gazed at each other in silence.

The young woman looked around, seeking some sign of approval. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

A butterfly made up of many colors glowed vividly on her shoulder. The flesh was slightly swollen. The color was still fresh, mixed with the red of the blood, making it particularly glossy.

“Beautiful,” the young man replied with a smile, clearly her boyfriend.

“Very.” Babi decided to give the young woman an extra smidgen of satisfaction.

“Here, let’s put this on.” John applied a gauze bandage to her shoulder. “You’ll have to clean it every morning for a few days. You’ll see, there won’t be any infection!”

The young woman clenched her teeth and inhaled sharply before letting out a sigh.

Babi smiled. One thing was certain. At least afterward, John definitely applied alcohol.

The boyfriend pulled out a hundred thousand lire and paid. Then he smiled and hugged his newly tattooed girlfriend.

“Ouch. You’re hurting me, you know!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He delicately moved his arm lower, to her waist, and left the cabin with her, wondering if it really had hurt her or if she was just taking revenge for earlier.

“All right, Step. Let me take a look at how things are going with your tattoo.”

Step pulled up the right sleeve of his jacket. On his muscular forearm there was an eagle with a flaming red tongue. Step moved his hand like a pianist. His tendons tightened and darted under his skin, bringing those large wings to life.

“It’s really beautiful.” John looked at his handiwork complacently. “Maybe we need to touch it up, here and there…”

“One of these days, maybe. Today we’re here for her.”

“Ah, for this lovely young lady. And what would you like, signorina?”

“First of all, I’d like for it not to hurt, and then…do you sterilize the tattoo machine every time you use it?”

To reassure her, John removed the needles and cleaned them with alcohol right in front of her. Her two big blue eyes followed every tiny detail as he worked, increasingly worried about the fateful moment that was fast approaching.

“Have you decided where you want it done?”

“Well, I’d like it to be someplace where it’s not too obvious. If my folks see it, I’m going to be in a world of pain.”

She immediately regretted using that turn of phrase. Maybe it was going to be a world of pain in any case. She decided not to think about it.

“Well”—John smiled at her—“I’ve done some tattoos on people’s ass cheeks and others on their heads. One time, an American girl came in here and insisted on getting one, well, yeah, you know where…right? But before I did the tattoo, I even had to shave her!”

John burst out laughing right in front of her. Babi looked at him with growing concern. Omigod, this guy is a sex maniac.

“John.” Step’s voice, slightly harsh, resounded from behind her. John’s expression changed immediately. “Yes, sorry about that, Step.” Now he turned back to look at Babi with a more professional demeanor. “Anyway, I don’t know. We could do it on your neck, under your hair, or on your ankle, or even on your hip.”

“Okay, on the hip would be just fine.”

“It’s just that it would have to be something small. Nothing special, because I’m guessing you’d need it to be covered up by the hem of your panties or under your swimsuit, I mean, right?” This time he wasn’t being lewd.

“Oh, but I want something simple. Something brightly colored, something cheerful.”

“Here, you can choose something from here.” John pulled a large book out from under a table. Babi started leafing through it. There were death’s heads, swords, crosses, revolvers, all sorts of terrible designs.

John stood up and lit a Marlboro. He’d figured out that this wasn’t going to be quick.

Step sat down next to her. “This one?” He pointed at a Nazi swastika set on a banner with a white background.

“Are you joking?”

“Well, I didn’t think it was bad…How about this?” He pointed out a large snake done in purplish hues, its jaws wide in a sign that it was about to attack.

Babi didn’t even reply. She continued leafing through the large book. She skimmed the figures rapidly, dissatisfied, as if she already knew that she wasn’t going to find anything good.

Every so often, Step would interrupt, suggesting this or that terrible design. This only got on her nerves. Finally, Babi turned the last page, a sheet of hard plastic, and shut the book. Then she looked at John. “No, there’s nothing I like.”

John took a drag on his cigarette and blew out a plume of smoke. Just as he’d expected. “Well, then, we’ll have to invent something. Would you like a butterfly like the one I did for the young woman earlier?”

Babi wrinkled her nose.

“A rose?” Babi shook her head.

“A flower in general, by any chance?”

“I don’t know…”