Mom is visiting tonight, and Archie is sporting a new press-on tattoo.
Nanna: Do you have a tattoo on your arm?
Archie: Yes.
Nanna: Will it stay there forever?
Archie: No. (Turning to me and pointing to my ankle) That one will though. That will stay forever. (thinking for a moment) I want one that stays forever.
Me: (Panicked, afraid Kevin can overhear) Archie, remember when you went to the doctor and got a shot, and it (oh crap, now I’m making him afraid of the doctor) pinched a little?
Archie: Yes.
Me: Well, they take a needle and do it lots and lots of times to make a permanent tattoo. Each spot on that duck is from a needle going under my skin. (Sitting back, confident I have painted an unpleasant picture of tattoos to keep him off for a couple of years at least)
Archie: (pinching his arm into a white spot) That didn’t hurt so much.
Me: What?
Archie: The needle didn’t hurt so much. I want a tattoo that stays forever.
We’ll just steer clear of the Big Easy for a while, the site of Aunt Meg’s and my tattoo debauchery.
