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School started in two weeks, and although I wasn’t looking forward to it, in a weird way, I was. It meant being back on a regular schedule, and with the bus picking up and dropping off, it gave me a little more free time to work during the day so I didn’t have to after she’d gone to bed.
Francesca straightened and tossed her shoulders back. “What are you working on?”
I showed her my rough idea for the mural which had the length and height dimensions across the side and top, so I knew what space I had to work with.
“Holy shit, that’s huge.”
“It’s going to be the feature piece for the waiting area.”
“Wow. And this?” She pulled the drawings for the table pieces. “This looks like that landscape you made for Dr. Tarkin.”
“Exactly. Except smaller. To hang above the table.”
“Cool beans.” She rocked back on her feet in hesitation.
That expression was signature to Francesca, and usually meant there was something else she wanted to say but wasn’t sure how. “What did you want to ask me?”
She hung her head. “I feel bad for asking, as I know you’re working, but can I leave her with you?”
“You want to leave my own daughter with me? The horror.” I threw a hand over my chest and mocked exasperation. “Go. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“Thanks. Going over to the hardware store to select paint colours to match with the area rugs some guy is selling me for cheap.”
“Be safe.” I waved as she danced out of the workshop.
Pulling up a chair, I watched Vera chip away at her chunk of wood.
“Hey,” I signed and said, “That looks like rocks.”
She put her hands flat, palm side down and waved them together, like ocean waves. “Beach rocks.”
“You’re right. Like the ones we saw on glass beach.”
It was so simple and yet beautiful. I watched her chip and carve, the rocks coming alive. It was so easy, I just hadn’t seen it before, and I could totally add it to the mural, to give it a little 3D effect and depth.
I planted another kiss on Vera’s head and went back to designing my sketch.
After watching Moana for the 100thtime, I sadly wondered if ten years down the road she’d remember the beats and melodies of the songs she sung offkey to, or whether they would fade away because she could no longer hear them. The thought worried me, and I couldn’t imagine what that was like for her. I hoped my voice never faded for her, and I laid beside her, stroking her head and talking to her about when I was her age, until she fell fast asleep.
With her hearing aid on her bedside table, I still tiptoed out of the room, in case the vibrations on the floor caused her to wake. Grabbing my sketch pad and iPad, popping on Netflix as I sat in the weathered, secondhand shop find, to total the cost for the table pieces. At least those were easy. I had all the needed supplies, so my costs were relatively low. It was just time. But there was no way I was letting David know that. Libby’s suggestion rang through my head, and I bumped the numbers. The price still looked reasonable, maybe a little on the higher end, but to make it look better, I added in a volume discount, which knocked off a bit – although I was still going to be paid quite handsomely. Maybe I’d be able to address the leak in the ceiling before winter hit.
Satisfied with that, I played around with various ideas, trying out sketch after sketch. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do what I wanted, or see his vision through, but I drew out three concepts.
Not set yet on which design I liked more, I decided to toss the idea by him. Along with the cost design process invoice, I constructed an email asking for another quick visit, if he wasn’t too busy, as I wanted to go over the ideas in person. I hit send and took a drink of my tea.
My phone buzzed instantly, and his restaurant popped onto the display.
“Hey, Erin, it’s David. Hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”
I glanced at the clock hanging in the living room. Wasn’t there an unwritten rule about calling after nine? “No, that’s fine.”
“I figured since I just got your email, you were up.”
“It’s all good.” I put the phone onto speaker and tucked my legs underneath my butt. “Is there anything wrong with the invoice?”
“Oh no, not at all. Just give me a sec.” The keys clicked on the other side of the line.
My phone buzzed – invoice paid. “Wow. That was quick.”
