If You Fall

Thirty One

"This place needs murals. Lots of murals," Bella said decisively the next afternoon, studying one of the bedrooms critically. "Get your paints. Wait, no, get her a pencil, Intou," she told him. She continued to call him that, never without the sarcasm.

He disappeared and I eyed her. "You're crazy."

"No," she said. She had her thermos with her, since we'd gone by her apartment that morning and moved all her stuff to my house. It had been very clean and I'd sent an extra couple hundred bucks to the cleaning company. 

"Ugh."

She shook her head. "This needs to happen. They need the kind of stuff you can do." She took the pencil from Reed as he came back in, and handed it to me ceremoniously. "I hereby challenge you, Heidi Addy Chérie, to make some kick ass art for some kick ass kids who deserve something awesome."

"A Peter Pan room," Reed said, then looked as if he wished he could take it back. "I mean, that would be cool, non?"

"Oui," she said, refraining from rolling her eyes, but barely. "And of course you would suggest that."

"Is The Little Mermaid still a thing? Because I totally want to do that." I was already loving the idea. I could sketch the pictures and everyone could help painting, kind of a huge paint by number. "Also, challenge accepted."

"It is," she assured me. "We need a sensory room, too. Should like the other front room be that? Or one of the bedrooms? Should all the rooms have a theme? I need paper." She left the room.

Reed was amused. "She has good ideas."

"I know," I agreed. She was creative, and planned well, and organized things and people and events well. When she wasn't too depressed or drunk.

"You could make this place wonderful," he mused, looking at the blank wall.

"Peter Pan, huh?" I was down. We had watched all of the Disney movies over the years, courtesy of moi.

His smile widened. "It's the flying for me," he said.

I spent the afternoon sketching the walls in two of the rooms, Bella lounging on a bean bag chair she dragged around, making her own notes and critiquing my work. 

Don and Arianna had left that morning before we'd arrived, and were planning to be gone for four days, and everyone was glad. Joey had gone with them, which made Reed happy, and it was just the three of us and Dane. 

We went back to my place at one point and brought a bunch of stuff, including the majority of my paints and brushes. I then put them to work painting what I'd outlined already.

Dane insisted on playing his weird music while we painted, and it was really loud, so at first I didn't hear Bella. She got my attention by throwing a paintbrush at me, which had blue paint on it and got my cheek. 

"Fucker," I said mildly as I turned down the volume.

"Me! What the hell! How did you not tell me about this?" She pointed at Reed's arm, which was visible as he'd just removed his shirt. I realized she meant his tattoo.

He beamed.

"Oh," I said sheepishly, because I'd forgotten to tell her. "That."

"I could smack you," she assured me, taking his arm and examining the tattoo closer. "That's pretty fucking cool. Jesus, I would have expected you to take out a full page ad." She of course directed this last at me.