Chapter 1
Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday 11 AM
“I need more tattoos, Mommy.”
An insistent tug on Minji Nordim’s studded belt pulled the young mother’s attention to her five year old daughter peering up at her. Leaning against the wall outside of one of the swanky shops located on the second floor of The Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas, Minji was busily texting her parents and in-laws. Meanwhile, her husband, Jake, was changing their baby daughter’s diaper in the men’s bathroom further down the corridor. The Shoppes at The Palazzo was a lovely mall with its obelisks and shallow pools fringed by bright fake foliage. The rush of the waterfall looming over the massive courtyard and the din of the many shoppers echoed through the vast opulent structure. Wrought iron railings laced the walkways of each floor bordering the atrium illuminated by sunlight pouring through the massive domed skylight.
“What did you say, Ava?” Minji tilted her head and her tidy black and purple dreads shifted over one shoulder.
With great exasperation, Ava replied, “I said I need more tattoos, Mommy!”
Minji arched her thin, dark brows. “Watch that temper.”
Ava was very good at living up to the fiery redhead stereotype and her cupid bow lips pressed into a tight line.
“Now just wait until I’m done, then we’ll talk about it. I’m texting Grams and Grandpa.”
With a very dramatic sigh, her daughter leaned against the wall next to her. Dressed in bright pink leggings covered in black glittery skulls and a black shirt adorned with one giant pink skull, Ava looked like a dark little princess. Kicking the heel of her ballet flat against the wall, Ava moped.
“No pouting, Ava. We’ll go as soon as Daddy is done changing Bailey.”
“I wanna see the tigers.”
“I know.”
“And I want another tattoo.”
“We’ll talk in a minute,” Minji said firmly, then returned her attention to the screen of her smartphone.
Jake and Minji Nordim had invited both sets of grandparents to join them during their weeklong vacation in Las Vegas with their two young daughters. To their delight, both couples had agreed. The Nordims had flown in from Sweden while Minji’s parents had driven from Texas. Jake secured a decent discount package for the entire family at The Palazzo Resort which was connected to The Venetian. It had been a lovely few days, but now the grandparents had departed. Jake’s parents were flying home and though both were seasoned travelers, they tended to fret about making plane connections. Texts from both Emil and Linnea poured into Minji’s phone, while the messages to her technophobe parents, Alan and Lily, remained unanswered. A wry smile pressed onto Minji’s lips at the thought of her mother trying to figure out how to respond to a text.
Another short-tempered exhalation from Ava was a clear indicator of her daughter’s increasing restlessness. The family had just eaten breakfast at a restaurant located off the Grand Canal on The Venetian side of the resort and the little girl was bouncing with unused energy.
“Ava, give me just one more minute. PawPaw and Halmuhni are supposed to send me a message to let me know how their drive back to Texas is going.”
“Are we driving back to Austin?”
“No, Ava. We’re going to fly. Halmuhni doesn’t like to fly, remember?”
“I like to fly. The plane people give me juice. Muhni is silly.” Ava’s abbreviation for the Korean word for grandmother always rubbed Lily the wrong way, but Minji found it endearing.
At last, a text dinged into the phone from her mother. Lily’s message was direct and to the point. It read: Still alive.
Minji smirked.
“Mommy, are you done now?”
The final texts from Jake’s parents revealed they’d reached their gate. Minji tucked the phone into her messenger bag adorned with an embroidered zombie Bettie Page and zipped it shut. “All done with the grandparents now.”
“Good! I want more tattoos.”
Squatting, Minji surveyed the little girl’s arm. It was covered in temporary tattoos of various cartoon characters, flowers, and decorative designs.
“Hmm, Ava, I don’t know if you have any more room.”
“You have a lot more than me.” Ava pointed to the full sleeve of intricate and colorful artwork on Minji’s arm. “And so does Daddy.”
Clad in a black tank-top, black shorts, and black lace-up combat boots, many of Minji’s tattoos were on display. Some she had actually inked herself, but all were her own designs. It was an impressive display of her artistry. Lily had trouble understanding her daughter’s counter-culture appearance or her profession as a tattoo artist. Since Lily didn’t approve of Minji’s or Jake’s tattoos, it had been surprising when she’d purchased the temporary ones for Ava at one of the Las Vegas shops. Minji had taken it as a sign that her Korean-American mother was attempting to be more accepting of her daughter’s career.
Minji tucked her fist under her chin, resting her elbow on one knee. Gazing into her daughter’s brown eyes, she asked, “If we put more on your arm, we’re going to have to start covering up some of the other ones.”
Ava clutched the sheet of temporary tattoos, her tiny mouth twisted thoughtfully. “Well, I don’t like the sunflower. Can we cover it up with a pony?”
Minji examined the sunflower, then the pony sticker. “If we take the flower off, the pony still won’t fit.”
“Can I put it on my other arm?” Ava bestowed her mother with a charmingly naughty smile. The halo of her auburn curls made her look like an adorable angel.
“Daddy said you could on
ly cover one arm, remember?”
Ava let out another dramatic sigh.
“What a precious little girl!”
Minji glanced up to see a heavyset woman staring at them. Clutching colorful bags, sporting a glittery white Vegas t-shirt stretched across her ample bosom, and sporting a bad sunburn, the fellow tourist flashed a wide smile. The reek of expensive perfume, suntan lotion and sweat wafted off the woman’s flushed skin. She’d obviously just returned from strolling on the boulevard in the hot summer sun.