“Well, if that’s not perfect timing, I don’t know what is,” Ink said. “What are we eating?”
“Homemade soup from Harper,” I said.
“Hot damn! It’s almost worth getting sick to get one of her care packages,” he said. “May I?”
“Help yourself,” I said.
“No,” Dice said. “Do not help yourself to more than one bread bowl.”
“I wouldn’t eat all of Daphne’s bread bowls. Yours? Yes. Hers? No. Besides, I came over to watch a movie, so I have to save room for popcorn.”
“How do you know Daphne wants to watch a movie?”
“What else is she going to do besides watch a movie or sleep? I mean, if she wants to play cards or put a puzzle together, I suppose we could do that instead.”
“I’m fine with a movie,” I said. “Because I’m likely going to fall asleep.”
I waited until Ink sat down with his soup before I asked him a question I’d been meaning to ask him for a while. “Can I ask you about the tattoos on your ass?”
Ink spluttered and almost spit out his soup. “Good grief, woman. You couldn’t have waited until I didn’t have food in my mouth?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Pointing his spoon at me, he said, “Sickness makes you sassy. I kind of like it.”
“So, about your ass tattoos? What are they?”
“They’re inkblots.”
“What?”
“Inkblots. Like the inkblot tests therapists use.”
“Come on, Ink. I’m sick. Don’t make me ask all the questions. Just tell me the story.”
He sighed. “Many years ago, when I was a prospect, I lost a bet. First, let me just say, do not ever take a bet from one of the old ladies. They may seem like nice women, but those ladies are hustlers and will win every time. But I didn’t know that at the time, so when Harper bet she could take me down in the ring—I took it. I had no interest in actually fighting or sparring her, but she’s tiny. I didn’t think I’d have to do anything but stand there until she gave up. And that’s my second piece of advice concerning those women. Do not get in the ring with them. Every single one of them can kick the shit out of men twice their size. Harper had me flat on my back in fifteen seconds. Since I lost, she got to pick my next tattoo, and I couldn’t see it until after it was done. I opted to put it on my butt cheek, so no one would ever see it, in case it was something awful. She’s a therapist, so she picked one of those inkblots they use. But when I saw it, I thought it looked pretty cool, so I asked her to pick another one for the other side. And that’s how I ended up with tattoos on my butt cheeks and the road name Ink.”
“Well, now I want to get a better look at them,” I laughed.
Ink pulled out his phone, tapped at the screen, and held out his phone for me.
“Are you about to show me a picture of your ass?”
“No,” he laughed. “These are the inkblots she picked.”
“What are they?” I asked.
“That’s the thing. They’re open to interpretation. You might see a butterfly while someone else sees a skull. But enough about my ass. How about a movie?”
As expected, they watched a movie while I took a nap. But I think that was what they wanted to happen because the movie was boring as hell and not something either of them would normally watch.
When I woke up, the house was eerily quiet. Diablo was resting at my feet, but Dice and Ink were nowhere to be found. I got up to look for them and found them on the front porch, talking to a woman I didn’t recognize.
“What are y’all doing out here?” I asked.
“Trying not to wake you,” Dice said.
“You didn’t, but you should have,” I said. “It’s too cold to be out here. Come inside.”