Julia Karr - Truth

“Uh-huh,” Dee said. “Gran’s had it since before I was born.”

“And the star lights around the doorway—ultracool.” Wei nodded her approval. “Listen, would you mind going upstairs to help my mom? She’s doing some baking and needs a hand—preferably not mine.” Wei accompanied Dee to the kitchen door and whispered something to her.

The cook center timer went off. “Cookies are done,” I said. “You go on, Dee. I’ll get them. What was that about?” I asked Wei.

“Nothing. Don’t you know not to ask questions around Holiday?” Her eyes latched onto the cookies. “Mmmm, those smell delicious!”

It would’ve been impossible to resist at least one, okay two, cookies each. Wei and I were just washing down the last bite with nut milk when Chris came in. “Let’s go.”

“Come on, Nina.” Wei grabbed my arm. “We’ve got a surprise for you. Get your coat.”

We ended up on the south side of Chicago, in a neighborhood that reminded me of where I’d taken refuge when I’d escaped from Ed’s kidnapping attempt. Preferring not to think about that, I said, “Where are we going?”

“Right here.” Chris pulled up in front of a grimy, boarded-up storefront. A sign hanging on the side of the building said LITTLE BLUES TATTOOS, with an arrow pointing down the alley.

My shoulders shivered, not from the cold. “You’re not… are you?”

“It was Chris’s idea,” Wei said. “He really wants you to have your tat.”

He shrugged and smiled. “You deserve it.”

“But… it’s too expensive. I can’t let you—”

“You can’t stop us,” Wei said. “Come on. Don’t want to be late for your appointment, do you?”

Chris punched a code into the door at the top of the stairs and held it open for Wei and me.

A guy appeared, inked from his fingers to the top of his head and, from the designs that disappeared under his shirtsleeves, probably a lot of other spots.

“Chris. Long time!”

“Colin. How are you doing?”

“Good. Real good. Is this the girl you told me about? Nina, isn’t it?” Colin shook my hand. “I’ll have to scan your designation before I can do anything around your XVI.” He grimaced. “It’s the law.” He scanned my ID. “Creative in art. Awesome. Wei says you did your own sketch.”

Wei produced my drawing from her coat pocket. “Dee took it to Chris,” she said when I looked at her, mouth agape. “What do you think, Colin?” She spread it on the counter.

My stomach went all butterflies, waiting for his assessment. After all, he was a professional artist. I certainly wasn’t.

“You’re good,” he said. “This is impressive.”

“Thank you!” I relaxed the tiniest bit. “I wanted it to be more than just a distraction around the XVI.”

“Mission accomplished. You’ve got completeness, love, and truth. Heavy on the truth. Nice.”

I blushed. “Is it going to hurt, much?” The government tattooist had been just to the right of sadistic when she’d done the XVI on my wrist.

“Nah,” he said. “I’ve got zone-out chips. You’ll be fine.”

“Mom has good salves, too, for when that wears off,” Wei said.

“Well, let’s get started.” Colin drew the curtain behind him, inviting me into the back room.

I glanced over my shoulder at Wei and Chris. “We’ll wait.” Wei smiled reassuringly.

I followed him.

An hour later, Colin leaned back. “Well, what do you think?” he asked.

I flipped between my wrist and the back of my hand. Three “truth”s in cursive circled the XVI, latching onto each other like serpents. Curlicues snaked around to the back of my hand and became a stylized pond, where six small lotus flowers floated around a fully opened seventh that was poised on a long stalk. Antique print spelled out L O V E, one letter per finger above my knuckles.

I threw my arms around Colin’s neck. “It’s perfect! Just perfect!”

“Let me see again.” Wei was in the backseat of the trannie with me, admiring my tattoo. “This is ultra-ultra. It’s magic. Hell, yeah! The other girls will be crazy about this.”

“I don’t know how to thank you guys.”

“No thanks needed.” Chris’s eyes met mine in the rearview. “I wanted you to have it. It fits you perfectly.”

I felt my neck redden. “Thanks anyway,” I said quietly to Wei.

Later on, Chris dropped off Dee and me for a brief visit with Gran.

“I am so glad you’re here.” Gran was sitting up in bed, still attached to the monitor, but it sounded strong. “What’s this?” She snatched my hand. “Oh! Nina! It’s beautiful.” Her eyes misted. “You designed this, didn’t you?”

“I did.” My chest swelled with pride. Dee smiled at me, too.

“Ginnie was right to put you in those art classes. You have real talent.”

I dared not tell her the ideas I had for using that talent.

“Oh, girls, I’m so happy. With everything—” Her voice cut off, and her eyes got watery.

“I know Gran. At least this part is okay,” I said, hugging her close. “I wish we could stay longer, but they won’t let us stay past the allotted time. Even though it’s Holiday Eve. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Gran,” Dee said.

“I love you both, girls, more than you know.” She clutched Dee’s hand tight.

I leaned down and kissed Gran on the forehead. “I love you. I can’t wait until you’re home again. Happy Holiday.”

I was hoping for a repeat of the night before, with all my friends, except we were going to watch Holiday vids instead of listening to Rogue Radio. Chris had gone out with some friends. And Sal’s NonCon duties had called him away, again. He didn’t know how long he’d be gone. Again. It wasn’t fair. I’d seen my boyfriend for a nanosecond the last few days.

At least everyone else was there. It was almost like old times for me, hanging with Derek and Mike again. And Dee and Wei, too.

The warm apple pie in the kitchen was the fruit of Dee’s latest labor. I was really impressed with her cooking. She was getting good—really good. She was also beat and fell asleep halfway through the second vid. Snuggled up together on the couch, Derek and Wei were not paying attention to anyone else. That left Mike and me munching on pie and watching Joy on Mercury Way .

“That’s a good one,” I said when it ended. “Let me find Home for Holiday .”

Out of the blue, Mike said, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something about this whole FeLS scandal.”

I froze. I hadn’t expected this from Mike. But I should have. Joan was his sister.

“Do you think Joan was involved with that somehow? I mean, her two years were up a while ago. And we’ve never heard from her.”

“I don’t know,” I hedged. “Maybe she got a job in one of the countries she was sent to. Sometimes girls…” Knowing what I knew, it was hard to come up with any kind of excuse.

“Joan isn’t like that. Mom hasn’t heard from her since a week after she left. It kills her. Especially at Holiday.” He fiddled with the fork on his empty plate. “I miss her, too.”

I felt awful keeping what I knew from Mike. It wasn’t like he had a lot in his life. And he and Joan had been really close before she left. Like I’d done with Mom, after Ed beat her up, Joan had taken care of Mike after his dad’s beatings. I longed to tell him about her, but his knowing the truth would put Joan in danger, and Mike, too. Especially if he saw the conditions she was forced to live in. I knew Mike, I knew what he’d do—rush in first, think later, and probably get himself arrested, or worse.

“I’m sure if she’s heard about the investigation, she’ll be in touch. I bet a lot of girls who haven’t contacted their families will now.”