today is that ginger-bearded man's 27th birthday. for said ginger-bearded man's birthday present, i was at a loss. he doesn't ever want for anything, and is so extremely picky, so very rarely does he get anything. it's so bad, that our recent anniversary came and went without a reciprocated gift from me to him. so, as his birthday edged nearer and nearer, i started to panic. coincidentally, boyfriend's birthday falls right around the mid-year sales. this usually sees me pick up new trainers or jeans or pants for him as a fail-safe present. boys always need those things, right? well this year, as it turns out, he had other plans...
for months, he's been going on about getting a tattoo. he never really knew what tattoo he wanted, but he knew it was going to happen soon. as soon as i offered to pay for it for his birthday (thus taking all of the pain and suffering out of the decision making for me), he was the one panicking. ideas were tossed around for days, quotes and consultations, emails were sent back and forth with multiple artists. and then, it was booked.
we headed to 13 tattoos in soho on thursday night, and met with george - their twenty year old apprentice; a shy but eager dude. his nervousness was off-puting at first. but, as soon as he and boyfriend started chatting about the piece, you could see his confidence levels rise. boyfriend sat in that chair for two hours, and according to him, experienced a steady pain level of 'two out of ten' the whole time. i sat and watched the whole thing, fascinated.
the finished piece looks so good, and he is so pleased with it. he hasn't stopped looking/talking about/touching it since he got it, and if you follow my instagram, you'll have seen the evidence of that. i'm glad i was finally able to get him a gift that he really loves, but, the only problem is... now i want one.
happy birthday, boyfriend.
next one's on you.
