She pulled the gun away and ran the paper towel over the skin, wiping off the excess ink. The memorial tattoo she was giving this burly Marine was a tribute to his late wife. The stories that she heard while marking people up were both heartbreaking and uplifting. This particular session was in the heartbreaking category though, hearing Kel tell her about how on his last tour with the Marines he’d learned of his wife’s sudden and tragic death in a car accident. Their two year old daughter hadn’t been in the car—which he said he was thankful for tenfold—but it was so horrible to hear the pain in his voice. Life was short, that was for sure, and she never took any of it for granted. Naggie may only be twenty-eight, but she knew that life could be taken away before it really began, and that was thanks to a deadbeat mother and a father that had liked to practice his right hooks when he was drunk. “I think we’re almost done here, Kel.” She added a little more shading around the eyes and leaned back to look at the image.
