i like to think of myself as a star bellied sneach, a character from a dr seuss book. in high school i had an older boyfriend with arms covered in tattoos. he offered me one for my birthday and without putting much, if any thought into it, i found myself suppine in the tattoo parlour getting a sun etched around my belly button. it was painful. she’d only completed the outline when i croaked, ” are you almost finished?” ready to faint. “yes, almost done,” she answered, then proceeded to fill it in for nearly an hour. when my mom saw it she cried. my dad said it was ugly. all my friends thought it was fake and tried to rub it off. i like that it is discreet. people only see it when i’m in my bikini. i love it still today, ten years later. once i had a dream that i woke up and it wasn’t there anymore. i though to myself, well, i guess i’ll have to go get it tattooed on again. now my mom says, “i think it’s cute.” people ask, ” what will happen when you have a baby?” i’m convinced it will stretch out to resemble an octopus but i’ll worry about that day when it comes.