"Yes, it's permanent," I say, mouth quirked in amusement at her fascination, the way she's peering openly into the shop.

"I think sometimes people get them for a personal reason, like it represents an experience they had or a person they've loved," he says, thinking of all the mom tattoos and tattoos of people's children's names. "Or they just like the look of it. I'm not sure about regrets, but sometimes..." I lean a little and lower my voice, as if sharing a secret. "You can get a shoddy tattoo artist, and then you're stuck with a terrible picture."