She had never had a tattoo before. She had been raised with the mindset of her body being a temple of God that tattoos would only be like graffiti toward. Another reason why she had never gotten a tattoo was that she could never decide on what she would want if she did get one. Having a permanent image injected into her skin that she would not eventually get sick of was difficult to imagine. She did have a location in mind for the tattoo, though.
She was born with a red birthmark on the inside of her calf that resembled a burn. Any time anyone who did not know her or about her birthmark saw it, they always asked, “what happened?” Half of the people who asked refused to believe her the first time she would explain it was only a birthmark. She often wore pants or leg-high boots to cover the birthmark to avoid questions. Beach days were the worst days.
She had gone thirty-six years without any tattoos. She had given birth to six children, the eldest just beginning high school, before getting any ink to permanently mark up her skin. She had tried out temporary and henna tattoos at parties, but never had anything that would remain on a permanent basis. This must be why walking into the tattoo parlor was so daunting.
Hannah took a deep breath, feeling her hand squeezed comfortingly by her husband beside her, and approached the tattoo artist at the front desk.
“Hello,” the man told them with a smile, looking between the two, “what can I do for you today?”
“I want to get a tattoo to cover my birthmark,” Hannah spoke calmly, squeezing her husband’s hand once more and receiving a comforting squeeze in return.
“Absolutely,” the tattoo artist replied. “Did you have anything in mind?”
“I was thinking roses,” she replied quietly. “I’m not completely sure.”
“Not a problem,” the tattoo artist replied, picking up a tablet and swiping through the contents. “We can find some designs for you to look through and you can see if any are of interest. That sound good?”
“Yes,” Hannah replied. “It’s a large area, though. Will that be a problem?”
“Shouldn’t be,” the artist replied. “Where are we thinking?”
Hannah looked down, let go of her husband’s hand, and rolled up the pantleg of her sweatpants to reveal the birthmark.
The tattoo artist looked down at her calf and easily replied, “that won’t be a problem. Although, I should warn you that if we cover the area at the ankle as well it will hurt more since it’ll be right on the bone.”
Hannah looked at her husband who gave her a soft smile. “You can always change your mind,” he told her.
Hannah turned back to the tattoo artist. “Can I see the designs?”