It was a rainy afternoon day at the beginning of monsoon season in New Mexico. My children were off doing something with family so I decided to treat myself to an afternoon of browsing every book section in the Barnes and Nobles. Wasn’t really aiming to buy more books, but rather to be surrounded by them. (And of course I’m coming home with a new paperback - we don’t waste opportunity in this house anymore.) And I am so glad I did.
I walked in and something you don’t see every day in the 505 was standing in the romance section. When I turned to fully see what was going on, I froze. Right there in the doorway. People moved around me and continued on their way and I, a little embarrassed by my open mouth staring, belatedly moved to the side.
My heart kicked up and my mind was racing trying to find a way to tell a woman dressed in a full traditional kimono that she was stunning. Beautiful. Elegant.
Somehow I managed to pick up my jaw from the floor and put one foot in front of the other. Everything about this woman screamed confidence - and I was anything but at this point. Still, I managed to make my way over to her. She was smaller than I thought, a good 5 inches shorter than me, and she was trying to reach for a book that was on the highest shelf. I reached over and quickly grabbed it for her.
“Here you go. Did you want this one?” It was an older book that I had read years ago when it first came out. “Great choice in authors - she’s fantastic.”
She took the book from my hand and turned to face me fully. My heart did this funny little skip and I tried to play it cool as if my eyes weren’t wide open trying to drink in every angle and curve of her face. She was beautiful. Hair the color of ink, cheekbones that gently curved instead of standing stark against her face. She wasn’t wearing any makeup that I noticed, but her eyelashes were what caught my eye. They were bright blue fanned over dark brown eyes that looked straight into mine.
I took a step back and gave a smile that I hope said, “I’m not creepy I promise!”
We just stood there. Her looking at me, me looking at her. “I hope this doesn’t offend you, but you are so beautiful and I love what you are wearing.”
She smiled and I forgot to breath. I was so nervous. Then she opens her mouth and says, “Thank you. I’m not from here, but I seem to attract a lot of attention when I wear my traditional clothes.”
I gestured to her outfit, “People here don’t have a lot of exposure to asian clothing that’s not influenced by western culture. For what it’s worth, most people probably think you are beautiful and don’t know how to express it right.” I pointed to the book she was holding, “That is the last and most current book she’s written in that series. Have you read the others?”
She shook her head, “I haven’t. Do they carry all of them here?”
“No, they only have the last four books in the series, but you can always ask them to order the books for you and they can even ship them to the store or to your home if you prefer. Are you living here or just visiting?”
“I just moved here. Do you live here?” I grabbed the four books she would need and gestured to two chairs sitting vacant alongside floor to ceiling windows. I waited till she sat down and then chose the chair across from her. Putting the books down I took out my phone and showed her the website for the books she was wanting.
“I’m A——-” I stuck out my hand. She took it and even bowed. I instinctively did it back.
“I’m ——” Let’s call her Beauty. It’s a fitting name, trust me.
We talked about small things for a few minutes and then started talking about our favorite authors. Not gonna lie, I think she reads more smut than I do - and of a very different caliber. Ladies and gentleman I have met my match. Even my fingers started twitching as I thought up a million different new book ideas and characters that I would base off of her.
She has a smile that takes my breath away.
And she is so animated! She told me about her life in Japan before moving here a year ago. And get this - she’s an apprentice to a famous tattoo artist that’s based out of here. How freaking cool is that! She talked about her family and her friends, showed me pictures on her phone and I showed her pictures of me and FIance and our children. I explained the kind of relationship we had before and that I was going through a divorce.
She loved it lol! Apparently, relationships like ours aren’t all that rare. It’s even heard about in Japan.
I found out over the next hour that we sat there that she comes from a traditional family. Her people were carpenters and have built many of the famous temples around Japan. You could tell she was really proud of that and I had to admit - I was impressed. I knew from my ExHusband that Japanese carpentry is very unique and intricate. She showed pictures of the temples her family has restore, or built hundreds of years ago. Her people had even done work for the Emperor and his many holdings.
I asked how long she had been learning to tattoo and she told me since she was a teenager. I was under the impression that tattoos were still a bit of a taboo subject in Japan and sited that even a lot of onsens wouldn’t allow people in with ink. She agreed but she did point out that Japan is always shifting and changing - it’s how they survive effectively.
And then she showed me. A little shrug and her kimono slipped down her shoulder showing the graceful curve of her neck and then a vibrant scaled pattern. She then pulled her sleeve back and showed me a full sleeve of tattoos. She pulled her sleeve back on the other arm and I saw more intricate tattoo work.
“Omg girl this artwork is stunning!” Before I could correct myself, I reached out and ran my fingertips over her tattoos, tracing the patterns and swirls. I was mesmerized and so curious about where else she might have ink that I pulled back my hand when I felt the blush start.
“It’s ok, I don’t mind.” She smiled at me and I forgot to breath again. “Do you have tattoos?”
“Nothing as spectacular as what you’ve got underneath those robes, but I do have a few.” I pushed back my sleeves and showed her the few I had. She had me explain each one and the purpose of putting them on my arms.
“What does this say here?” she asked, tracing a finger over the raised lettering on my left forearm. It was an older tattoo and one that was done in black ink, typewriter font. Over the last several years the lettering was starting to expand, so some of the words were slightly blurry.
“Strength is what we gain from the madness we survive.” It was my favorite tattoo. I purposefully had the artist ink me a certain way so that I could feel the raised lettering when I was having a bad time, or even in the dark. I told her I tend to rub that tattoo and say it to myself when things get too difficult.
She was quiet a moment and then placed her hand over the lettering. “This is a truly beautiful tattoo. If I were your artist I would surround it wild flowers and intricately colored fish.”
I pondered that a moment. “I would love to have both sleeves and my back done. I haven’t really come up with a concept or a flow that I like yet. I think I am going to incorporate a lot of Studio Ghibli characters from my favorite movies.”
Her eyes opened wide. “You love Ghibli?!”
“I do! I have anxiety sometimes and I found that after many surgeries and medication changes that its Studio Ghibli films that help me calm down and feel safe.”
She nodded like I was giving sage advice. “That is good. Very good plan! What’s your favorite one?”
I pointed at the coffee shop behind her. “That’s going to be a long conversation.” I smiled nervously and took a deep breath. “Can I buy you a coffee or tea? You hungry?” There. I did it. I asked a beautiful woman for coffee.
She smiled gently and reached over to pat my hand. “I’d love to!”
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG. Ok. Don’t panic girl. It’s just coffee and small talk.
But over the next TWO hours, it was anything but small talk. We went from talking about movies to talking about books. We talked about going to school and how her apprenticeship is going. I found out that she is actually a talented tattoo artist that has been practicing for several years but her area of expertise is in a Japanese style that you don’t see much outside of southeast Asia. She moved here to apprentice with someone that does a style very different from hers. I can’t remember what she called it but I know I’ve seen it before.
We talked about my kids, and her family. We even talked about me and Fiance dating again one day. I was shocked she asked about it….honestly, I thought it was going to be off putting to her. But happily, it wasn’t. She was very interested in how the dynamic worked before.
She is so freaking cool.
And then she asked me out for lunch. It took EVERYTHING in me not to squeal in excitment.
I asked if she would be comfortable giving me her number and she whipped that hello kitty covered phone so fucking quick.
My heart was beating so fast and I was getting the nervous sweats. What was this tiny beautiful creature and how come she seemed just as eager as me? I just spent over two and a half hours with her and now we are planning lunch and exchanging numbers.
If this woman told me to get nekkid and get on her table because she wanted to use my skin for her ideas….I’d so fucking do it. LOL
I walked her to her car and helped load her book purchases. She turned and looked up at me.
“I’m so happy I met you.” she said quietly. Maybe she was feeling the same nerves I was.
I didn’t know if the Japanese were big on hugging, but if she was going to be around me and maybe my family in the future - she was gonna need to get comfortable with it. My children are big on hugs.
I reach out with open arms and she walked right into them. I gave her a quick squeeze and had every intention of letting go and stepping back respectfully, but she had other ideas.
Her arms wound around my neck and she pulled me close. God she smelled so good. I couldn’t even put a name on it. Something floral and sweet.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, her arms around me and mine around her waist.
“I’ll text you later after I get off work.” she said.
“Ok, sounds good.” And then I did something way too over the top but I couldn’t help it. I helped her into her car and buckled her seat belt for her. My exhusband had done that for me when we were young and I never forgot how loved and protected it made me feel. He stopped doing it a long time ago, but the feeling of it still remained.
She giggled and patted my cheek with her hand.
And then she left, and I went to search for my car. I was on cloud nine. Did that just really happen to me?
I can’t wait to hear from her.