Tattoos & Unicorns

by Kayla Carson

  “I'm not nervous.” I lied.

  When we pulled out onto the road, I could feel my stomach fluttering. It had been happening more, and more lately and I was starting to wonder if it was the baby, and not my nerves. One of the first things we did when we got settled here, was find an OBGYN. I was twelve weeks along now, and my doctor said that with a woman's first pregnancy it takes longer to feel the baby's movements.

  In four more weeks we were set to find out the sex of the baby. Owen wanted to wait, but not me. I wanted to be prepared, and I also wanted to decorate the nursery. Not that we had one yet, but we have been looking for a house. There were so many options in Nashville that it was a bit overwhelming. We decided to get the help of a Realtor as soon as the sale from the house in New York goes through.

  After a twenty minute drive, we pulled into Ole Red. I may have been fan girling a bit when I seen the neon sign all lit up on top of the building. Blake Shelton was a staple in my house, and while I knew that he wouldn't actually be here I was still just as excited.

  I adjusted the strap on my cross body bag nervously, as Owen placed his hand on the small of my back to usher me inside. There was a live band on stage, and a sign that read open mic night. I was in awe of the space. It looked like an old barn had been converted into a new school, line dance hall. From a marketing stand point I was thoroughly impressed.

  I was so busy taking in my surroundings, that I barely noticed the couple waving us over from the corner of the room. Owen led me towards them, his hand a steady reminder that I wasn't alone. When we reached them they both stood to greet us. The men shook hands, and the woman pulled me into a hug.

  “It's so nice to meet you.” She gushed, as I awkwardly hugged her back.

  “You too.” I laughed.

  “I'm sorry!” She giggled, before pulling away from me. “I'm just excited to have a girl to talk to again! This one's been single for so damn long I thought he was going to start adopting cats.”

  I laughed, and Owen shot her a dirty look before his expression changed to a smirk.

  “Ronnie.” He started. “I'd like you to meet my best friend Corey, and his wife Shannon. Guys, this is my little Unicorn.”

  I blushed, before accepting the hand that Corey offered to me.

  “We've heard a lot about you.” He said, before gesturing for us to sit down.

  “All good things I hope.” I said, as Owen and I took the seats across from theirs.

  “Of course. He never shuts up about you. Ronnie this, and Ronnie that.” He joked.

  “Alright, alright. She gets it.” Owen said, with annoyance.

  I took my purse off to hang it on the back of the chair, and a waitress came by shortly after to take our drink orders. True to his word Owen ordered us both virgin drinks, and I couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness. While we waited, the boys caught up and Shannon and I got to know each other a little better.

  “I can't believe that Owen has settled down again.” She whispered. “Corey, and I were really worried about him for a long time.”

  “Were you, and Abigail close?” I asked, just as quietly.

  She nodded. “These two are thick as thieves. It was hard not to get close to her.”

  “I feel like a fish out of water.” I admitted.

  She gave me a warm smile. “Corey's a little protective of Owen, but he'll warm up to you.”

  “I know how things must look from the outside.”

  “Please.” She said, tossing her hand in the air. “I haven't seen Owen this happy in a really long time. He's lost a lot over the years, so if being with you makes him happy you'll get no judgment from me.”

  The waitress brought our drinks by then, and the four of us began to talk more freely. I learned that Corey, and Owen had been looking for a building to use for a studio before he left for New York. Corey was a song writer too, and they thought if they had a space to record demos, it would be easier to send them to clients.

  “You know, if you double the space with a record store you could bring in revenue while you record. Even rent the studio out to other writers.” I said, before taking a sip from my drink.

  “That's actually a really great idea.” Corey said, with genuine surprise.

  “Did I mention that she's a marketing whiz?” Owen smiled, putting his arm around me. “The woman's a genius. I mean, her IQ is-”

  “Alright.” I interrupted him. “Enough with the flattery.”

  “A marketing major huh?” Corey asked, scratching his chin in thought. “Dude! This is perfect. If we can get our hands on the building down town-”

  “No. I didn't ask Ronnie to come back here to work. She came here to find something for herself. That makes her happy.”

  “Well I don't know.” I said, turning to face him. “I kind of like the idea of opening a record store. You know how much I love my collection, and it is where we met after all.”

  “Unicorn, maybe we should talk about this later. It's a big decision, and I don't want you to feel pressured into making it.”

  I placed my hand over his, and smiled at him sweetly.

  “I love you for saying that, and I love you more for understanding my need to break free and start over. But this just feels right to me. This could be big for the both of you, and for us.”

  “Listen to the woman, Owen!” Corey chimed in. “You said it yourself, she's a genius. Who are you to argue?”

  I laughed, turning in my chair once again.

  “I think I'm going to like you, Corey.”

  “Me too, Ronnie. Me too.”

  The song that the band was playing ended then, and the person behind the mic cleared their throat in order to catch everyone's attention. They made the announcement that open mic night was starting, and informed everyone where the sign up sheet was located.

  “What do you say, man? Should we show em' how it's done?” Corey asked.

  “Yes, please!” I said, clapping my hands excitedly.

  “Has she seen you preform before?” He chuckled.

  “Only in the hotel room with his guitar, and glasses.” I answered, raising my brows up and down playfully.

  “You, and those damn glasses.” Owen said, as he stood to push his chair in. “Let's go then.”

  He bent to kiss the top of my head, before he and Corey headed towards the stage to sign up. Of course they were the first ones, so they were ushered up onto the stage as soon as they'd put their pens down. Neither of them had their guitars with them, but luckily the band had allowed them to use theirs. Both men stood behind the mics, but it was Owen who spoke.

  “Normally I'd play an original, but I'm saving that for something special. This one's called 'It's you' and it's originally recorded by Lewis Brice. Unicorn... it's you, baby.” He winked at me.

  I was in total shock. I was expecting him to sing the song he'd been working on in the hotel room. I sat a little straighter then, and placed my focus solely on him. With a quick nod to Corey, the two of them began to strum a melody. It was soft, and sweet, and when Owen opened his mouth to sing I felt every single emotion that he was conveying.

  'I always thought I'd be a rambling man,

  living in the moment, never making plans

  Finding love was just a dream I was having

  Written in the movies, never thought it would happen

  I tried to fill my loneliness with whiskey,

  And empty nights with different girls that never missed me

  Funny how when you least expect it,

  Everything can change

  Baby it's you I've been looking for

  I knew right from the second you came walking through that door

  It feels so right when you're in my arms

  Darling it's you I've been looking for

  You know I love it when your hair's a mess,

  The way you shine when you wear that dress

  Girl, I don't think that you understand

  You make me a better man

 
Baby it's you I've been looking for

  I knew right from the second you came walking through that door

  It feels so right when you're in my arms,

  Darling it's you I've been looking for

  Just like blue on the sea,

  Our love won't fade, it's evergreen

  Girl the best part of me,

  Is you

  Baby it's you I've been looking for

  I knew right from the second you came walking through that door

  It feels so right when you're in my arms,

  Darling it's you I've been looking for

  When the song had finished, tears were steadily falling from my eyes. All of the doubts that had been creeping up in my mind lately seemed to vanish. With every lyric that left his lips he was telling me how much he loved me. Shannon, and I stood when they reached our table, and I practically flung myself into Owen's strong arms. He chuckled, before leaning down to kiss my lips.

  He wiped the tears from my face with the pads of this thumbs, and grinned down at me.

  “I wasn't trying to make you cry.”

  “You should have thought about that, before you sang me that song then.”

  He chuckled pulling me snug against him, and rubbing his hands up and down my back.

  “Way to show me up.” Corey teased, as he placed his arm around his wife.

  I turned in Owen's arms then so that I was facing my new friends. With his hands resting on my stomach, I placed my own over his. This life, the way that it was right now was pretty damn perfect. I had a man who loved me, a baby on the way, and prospects for a new business venture that I was actually passionate about.

  “Wait until you hear the song that I wrote for her.”

  “You've never written me a song.” Shannon said to Corey, before sticking out her bottom lip.

  “Fuck you, Foster.” Corey said, before pulling the chair out so that Shannon could sit back down.

  Owen flipped him the bird, before pulling my chair out as well. I could see now that the two of them had a competitive kind of friendship. I took the seat he offered me, and when we were all sitting around the table once again, Shannon cleared her throat quietly.

  “There's something that Corey, and I wanted to share with you both tonight.”

  Corey looked at her and smiled, shooting her a wink before she took a deep breath and continued.

  “We're pregnant.” She said with a mixture of excitement, and apprehension.

  “What?” Owen smiled wide. “Congratulations! I can't believe this!”

  “What's so hard to believe?” Corey asked. “When a husband, and wife are intimate-”

  “Shut up, asshole.” Owen laughed, cutting him off. “I never thought we'd be having kids at the same time.”

  “I never thought I'd be having another one.” Corey laughed.

  “Time to grow up boys.” Shannon said in a sing song voice.

  Just then, the band got back onto the stage. Since no one else had signed up for open mic, they decided to play another song while they waited. When they started to play, Owen reached for my hand and led me out onto the dance floor. He pulled me flush against him, and placed his hands on my hips as he began to sway our bodies to the rhythm of the music.

  “Are you having a good time?” He asked.

  “I am.” I smiled up at him, before laying my head on his chest.

  “See. You had nothing to be nervous about.”

  “The only thing I'm nervous about now is Morgan's opening.”

  “You've done everything you can to make sure that Sew New is successful. All you can do now is sit back, and watch.”

  “Do you think she'll resent me for not being there?”

  “She understands. After everything the two of you have gone through she knows you need your space.”

  “I just feel like a shitty friend for not being there.”

  “Do you want to be there?”

  “I mean... I've been thinking about it.”

  “Let's go then.”

  “What?” I laughed.

  “Let's go! It's only a two hour flight. We can even come home the same day if you want. What do you say?”

  “I say... let's go to New York!”

  OUR FLIGHT LANDED IN New York at eight AM on the day of the opening. Morgan wasn't expecting us, so we checked into a hotel for the night. The boutique was set to open at ten, so it gave us just enough time to change our clothes, and get settled in a bit.

  I had chosen a black dress, with a pair of black wedged heels. I left my hair down, taming my curls with product, and Owen even put on a pair of jeans without any rips in them. I teased him about them endlessly, before the two of us finally finished getting ready and headed out to our rental car.

  My stomach was gurgling on the ride over to the boutique. It had only been a few weeks since I'd seen Morgan, but I still missed her like crazy. She may have been able to forgive me for not showing up, but I knew that I would never forgive myself.

  When we pulled into Sew New, there were four white vans with local television logos already sitting in the parking lot. Of course there would be media coverage. Morgan's father would have made sure of it. As we pulled into the already packed parking lot we struggled to find a place to park the small car.

  We were in the back of the lot, but with no other choice we turned off the ignition, and walked around to the front of the building. There were still ten minutes before opening, and the line was already clear out to the road. There was no way that we were getting in front of all of these people without alerting Morgan. I had no choice but to ruin the surprise and call her.

  “Ronnie?” She answered, with a shaky voice. “You do realize that our doors are opening in less than ten minutes, right?”

  “I do. That's why I need you to let me in.”

  “Let you in? What are you-”

  “Unlock the door!” I laughed, as I waved at her from outside of the shop.

  She hung up the phone immediately, and rushed over to the door. Sticking just her head out she instructed the security guard to let Owen and I inside, and we were quickly ushered past the waiting customers. There were a few complaints from the line, but I ignored them. The second I walked into the boutique Morgan pulled me into her arms.

  “I can't believe you're here!” She said, squeezing me tightly.

  “Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world.”

  Owen stood back watching our reunion with a smile on his face, and Morgan rushed over to hug him too.

  “Thank you for getting her here.” She said, earnestly.

  “Can I do anything?” I asked.

  “Cut the ribbon with me?”

  “I'd love to.”

  When the clock struck ten, the two of us made our way outside and stood behind the giant pink ribbon that stretched across the entrance. Together, we picked up the over sized scissors and held them open over the ribbon.

  “This boutique has been a vision in my mind for as long as I can remember.” Morgan started. “With the help of my best friend, and business partner It became a reality. I can't wait to share my dream with all of you.”

  Everyone in line clapped their hands, and then on the count of three, Morgan and I cut the ribbon together. As it fell to the ground, the security guard motioned for the customers to come inside. The two of us stood outside and watched as the boutique filled to capacity. I could see the tears glistening in Morgan's eyes as her dream became a reality.

  I reached for her hand, grasping it tightly in mine and she turned to face me.

  “Congratulations Morgan.”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWO YEARS LATER

  AFTER THE SALE OF OWEN's family home, we used the money to buy a piece of land. We had a brand new house built on it, and by the time our daughter was born we were able to move in. It had three bedrooms, and a beautiful wrap around deck. It was my favorite part of the house. I spent my mornings sipping my coffee, just listening to the birds chirping.
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  We had an excellent view of the mountains, and as Harley got older she enjoyed it just as much. I'd lay a blanket down, and she'd play for hours. She took her first steps on that deck, and Owen and I even got married there.

  He popped the question shortly after Harley's birth, and of course I said yes. He was the best father that I ever could have asked for. Even with the purchase of the down town building, and furnishing a new home, he still woke up with her every night so that I could sleep. He was up at dawn, meeting with Corey and making repairs on the building.

  It took them just over eight months to get it completely renovated, and that's where the fun began. I dove into the marketing strategies head first. I created advertising, and drew up designs. The boys even let me choose the name. And just like that Lyrics to Vinyl was born. It was everything that we hoped it could be.

  I scoured the internet, and shops for records that most people could never find. We filled our shop with every genre, and after a month we had made a pretty solid name for ourselves. Shannon had become one of my best friends, especially after our babies were born. Their son was only a few weeks younger than our daughter, and the instant we introduced them they had a connection.

  I had always heard the expression 'it takes a village' but I didn't know how true that was until I became a mother. While the boys took care of the structural issues, and I took care of the cosmetics, Shannon was there to help with Harley.

  Morgan had become so successful that she had opened up three more boutiques. She had become a household name, and even I had designs by Morgan hanging in my closet. She came to visit shortly after Harley was born, and wound up taking a cowboy back to New York with her. They're engaged now, and I couldn't be happier for her.

  My dad comes as often as he can, and Harley has him wrapped around every one of her little fingers. Even though my mom was upset about the choices I'd made, she came around eventually. Especially when she learned about all the things that Derek had done. Owen and I decided to keep Harley's paternity to ourselves. When she was older, we'd tell her everything but for now we wanted her to live her best life.

  Now that Owen, and Corey had a place to write, and record they were pushing out tracks faster than they could sell them. We even had a steady flow of clients that rented the studio to record demos. Who knows, maybe one day a star will walk through our doors?