Dustin had been accepted into a strong engineering program three hours away. Financial aid covered part of the tuition, but a large gap remained.

“He said if I got the tattoo for Barbra, he would pay the rest,” Dustin admitted. “He said I wouldn’t need to worry about school.”

“Did he put it in writing?”

“No.”

“Did he transfer any money?”

“No.”

“Did he contact the university?”

“I don’t know.”

I picked up my keys.

Dustin stepped in front of the door.

“Mom, don’t. You’ll make everything worse.”

I looked at the portrait beneath his sleeve.

“Your father bought a piece of your skin with a promise. Now I’m going to find out whether he ever intended to keep it.”

PART 2: THE PROMISE

When I reached Stephen’s house, I did not bother knocking politely.

Barbra was folding laundry in the living room when I walked inside.

“You convinced our son to tattoo your wife’s face on his body,” I said.

Barbra’s eyes widened.

“What?”

I turned toward her. “You didn’t know?”

She said Stephen had told her Dustin wanted a tattoo celebrating their blended family. She knew nothing about the portrait being her husband’s idea.