Carol felt embarrassed, but had no one else to ask. Her brother was a brilliant tattoo artist, and she should have just asked him to begin with.
She'd wanted a tattoo, where her cleanly waxed pubic hair once was, and she thought she'd found a guy who was professional enough to do it, but as she watched his first efforts, she stopped him, gave him some choice words, then walked out. No way was she about to have someone mess up any artwork down there.
She had to swallow her pride and tell her little brother. She was horrified at the prospect, she, a divorced woman of 37, was faced with asking her 33 year old little brother, to fix her tattoo in her most intimate area. She didn't think she could ask him. She had asked him over for a drink, hoping she might pluck up the courage to explain, but she was nervous.
Alex arrived, and with his usual cheerful tone,
"Carol!" he yelled, "Carol, where the fuck are you?"
She came to the door.
"Jesus Alex, can't you just knock and wait like normal people!" she said.
"Sorry darlin', you know me, impatient as ever." he said.
Yes, she knew him very well, larger than life, even when he was a boy. Everyone loved him though, and he never had to stand a round at the bar, although he had a heart of gold and would do anything to help anyone if they really needed it.
"You had a good day?" asked Carol.
"Okay, yes it wasn't bad, so, where's the booze?" he bellowed.
"Will you stop shouting, I have neighbors Alex!" she said.
"Sorry, but you mentioned a drink." he smiled.
"Yes, okay, what do you want?" she asked.
"Oh, any old poison will do, a vodka maybe?" he said.
"Come through then, sit down, and stop shouting!" she told him.
They hadn't seen each other for months, both leading busy lives, and having little time for socializing.
"So what's been happening with you then?" he asked his big sister.
"Oh, just busy at work, not much time for anything else." she replied, nowhere near ready to ask him anything yet. They chatted about life, what was happening in their area, and what they hoped for in the coming months. Carol asked what tattoos he'd done recently, but he said not many, it was a part time thing for him, not a profession.
"I was going to get one, but I chickened out." she said.
"Oh, why was that?" he asked.
"I just didn't think it was going right and stopped him before it became something I couldn't put right." she replied.
"Oh well, I suppose you know what you want." he said.
"Well it's a long term thing isn't it, a tattoo." she replied.
She found some snacks, knowing Alex was always hungry, and they poured another drink.
"So, what was the tattoo?" he asked.
"Oh it was just a design I saw and liked." she told him.
"Ah, okay, so what did you do about it?" he queried.
"Pass me that bottle Alex, I need another drink." she said, trying to change the subject.
Alex passed the bottle, and asked for another himself. They'd now both had a bit to drink, and Carol wanted to lighten the mood.
"How about some music?" she said.
"Depends what it is, none of that modern shit." he replied.
Carol put on some 70's music that she knew he liked, and settled down to chat more, but Alex now kept coming back to her tattoo.
"Why the fuck did you go to some idiot when your brother's a tattoo artist?" he asked.
"Oh, it was just a spur of the moment thing, you weren't around." she said.
"Well, it couldn't have been that spur of the moment if you had a design picked out." he said, curiously.
"Well, you know what I mean, anyway, it's over and done with." she told him.
They sat listening to the music again, and poured yet more drinks, both of them were getting quite drunk.
"So where is it?" he asked, just when she thought he'd let it drop.
"Never mind Alex, I wish I hadn't told you now." she said.
"I'm just curious!" he said, raising his voice again.
"Okay, it was above my, well it was meant to be, fuck just forget it please." and she started to cry.
"Hey, that's not my feisty big sister crying." and he held her.
"I'm sorry, I've had too much to drink, and I never see you much, so I end up drunk when I do." she cried.
"Carol, you only need ask me and I'll be there for you, you don't need a special pass to reach me." he told her.
She smiled through her tears, and hugged him. She did miss him when he wasn't around. He held her, and talked of times when they both had less worries, when their parents had all the worries, and they were just there, without a care in the world, and they laughed.
"So, was it on your bum?" asked Alex, and she screamed,
"No, it was worse than that, I thought you'd dropped it!"
"I was only asking, I can't help if I don't know!" he retorted.