Page 81 of Love at First Ink

“He has a public Facebook and Instagram, so that makes it not creepy,” Stella said, earning a nod of agreement from Izzy.

“Wait, I want to see this hot boyfriend,” Antonio said. “Someone show me this hot boyfriend. Paul, did you know she has a hot boyfriend?”

“Babe, how the fuck would I know she has a hot boyfriend?” Paul deadpanned. “Marisol is hot, so I guess it makes sense she has a hot boyfriend.”

“Anyway,” Izzy said before Antonio or anyone else could respond. “Maybe let’s not talk about Marisol’s hot boyfriend, and let’s talk about the fundraiser coming up in a few short weeks. You know, the whole reason we are here.”

Despite the chaos, Marisol found she loved it. She loved their big personalities and the fact that they genuinely seemed interested in her and her life. She made a mental note to make an effort to see them more outside the animal shelter and fundraising efforts. She took a seat in her oversized chair. Snowball immediately jumped up to rest on her lap, so she began to scratch her between her ears.

Antonio disappeared again but came out moments later to sit next to Paul. Blaine was in the other oversized chair with Stella cuddled up against him. Izzy sat on the floor, next to the fireplace, despite there being more room on the couch.

“Don’t forget to get some food, Marisol,” Izzy said. “Thespinach dip is the only thing Blaine knows how to make, but it’s damn good.”

“Oh, yeah, you have to try it,” Antonio agreed. “I’ll make you a plate.”

Before she had the chance to answer, Antonio snatched her plate before loading it up with food and handing it back to her. She had to admit it smelled good, and her first bite confirmed it was just as good as it smelled. She didn’t even like spinach much, but it was so creamy and delicious.

“So,” she said between bites, “I have some vendors I’m reaching out to soon. The only thing is that they will need to set up the night before so the day of the fundraiser, they’ll be ready to go.”

“Not a problem,” Stella said. “I can close the shelter early that day for the vendors to set up outside. At the very least, I can mark off some of the parking lot for them.”

“And I can be there to direct them where they need to go as long as we have an idea,” Blaine says.

Marisol nodded. She had a rough sketch of where everything could go, and it would be finalized once she got confirmation from the vendors, but Stella and the others knew the layout best. Reaching for the phone and remote, she turned the TV on and displayed her photos on the screen, opening up the sketch she made.

“Fancy,” she heard Paul murmur appreciatively.

The TV showed a rough sketch of the parking lot and the shelter. Each area was mapped out and labeled. “Here’s what I think I’ll be able to get us,” she said as a sliver of self-doubt wormed its way through her. What if it wasn’t enough? What if they didn’t like it? Those thoughts only threatened to silence her, so she did her best to push them aside.

“Cisco has agreed to offer a variety of tattoos. All proceedswill go to the shelter. I put him toward the back because I see his booth being popular. That way people will have to walk through everything else before they find him. Might inspire them to try other booths.”

“So smart.” Stella nodded. “Think he’ll tattoo me?”

“I don’t see why not.” Marisol smiled. “He’s only offering a select number of designs, though.”

“Doesn’t matter. I just love tattoos.” She shrugged.

“We also have my dad’s booth,” Marisol went on. With everything that transpired, she hoped her father was still good on his word. She hadn’t heard otherwise. “He’s offering a variety of wines at a discounted price.

“I have a few others lined up for adults. Candles. Kitchen stuff. And a booth for personalized cups. Some pet-friendly booths too, as well as boutique pet supplies. I think they’ll agree to go fifty-fifty on proceeds,” Marisol said. “But let’s talk about what we have set up for kids.”

Surprisingly, she had many contacts for kids and knew several she could definitely count on. She met a face painter through a friend of a friend and remembered they also owned an inflatable company. She knew she could get him to agree to donate a few inflatables for the kids to play on. Marisol showed them where they were on the map, double-checking with everyone that there would be enough space.

“And, finally, I’ll arrange a few food trucks. They’ll agree, but I know they’ll ask for a sixty-forty split. So we’d get forty percent of the proceeds, which is still not bad,” she said.

Paul nodded. “That’s not bad at all. Especially since we aren’t paying a damn thing. Honestly, Marisol, this is pretty amazing.”

“I agree with Paul. You totally killed this.” Antonio reached over to pat her leg. “You’re amazing.” He winked.

Marisol felt her cheeks flush, touched by his words.

“It all looks amazing,” Izzy agreed. “But what do you guys think about having a fenced-off area in the middle with some of our dogs out for people to view? We can offer discounted adoption fees and potentially find homes for our dogs.”

“What about our cats?” Stella asked. “I guess we could do another fenced-off area. Have one of us or another volunteer man it. This would give our animals visibility,” she said, thinking out loud.

“Do you think we will have room to do that, Marisol?” Blaine asked.

All eyes turned to her. A few months ago, she wouldn’t have loved the pressure of people relying on her, but now she saw it as trust and a gift. That was something she could appreciate.

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