alessandra used her day off to work on some stuff at her salon. she needed to make some room for the new spring line of lotions and face creams while she wanted to catch up with voicemails. she mostly used that as an excuse to get out and to accidentally head towards one of her favorite places in town when she’d be done. and it was exactly what she did. after a few hours, she packed her things, went to eat, and walked in the tattoo parlor owned by a familiar face. "love that." she mouthed, pointing at the freshly healed tattoo of a stranger who was getting ready to leave. she patiently waited, leaning on the front desk and using it to push herself a little higher so she could spot tony. once she smiled at him from ear to ear, waving excitedly, she pretended to look at the pieces of art and drawings hung on the wall, as if she had never seen them before. she got her last tattoo what, a couple of months ago, perhaps, and she insisted on coming back often to see if the foundation she was using to cover it up was deteriorating the ink. even when she was told everything was clear, she still came around potentially looking for inspiration. when the person who was finished with their check-up walked around her and towards the exit of the place, she stepped closer.
"hey, hi, hello." sandrine spoke, as soon as tony seemed free. she did not even let give her the permission to speak before she did. “i need you to work your magic. on my shoulder. and collarbone. and the back of my neck.” she hovered her arms around the body parts she was mentioning. “i thought of doing it on my ribcage, you know, like the cool girls do, but i’m ticklish there, so i crossed that idea out.” she nodded, suddenly becoming serious, before words fell out of her mouth again. “right, i’m such a dum-dum, here, look, that’s what i have in mind and i wanted your thoughts about it!” she pulled out a wrinkly napkin she used to draw her idea while she waited for her food at the restaurant right before she came to tony’s workplace. “i was thinking a watercolor background and like a branch, with leaves hanging and flowing around. orange, yellow, red, all the colors! and maple leaves, of course! ... what do you think?”