Painting (Masterpiece) by Lewis Del Mar
“The walls are boring me.” Quinn announced as she laid on her back in the middle of the living room.
“How so?” Reid asked, lowering himself down onto the floor with her.
“They’re just so plain! And… blah!” She snuggled in a bit closer as he wrapped an arm around her, “When I was little, I would fantasize about getting older. I didn’t think it was possible for me, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming about it. Mostly I would dream of having a home of my own. I was in the hospital constantly, surrounded by all these sterile white walls, and floors, and sheets. So, in my dream home I wanted to there to be colors everywhere I looked instead. I imagined myself painting the walls with all these bright patterns, intricate murals, crazy designs. I thought it would let me leave my mark somewhere, to prove that I was there.”
Reid was quiet for a moment before finally saying, “Let’s do it.”
Quinn leaned up on her elbow and looked over at him, “What do you mean ‘let’s do it?”
“Let’s make this your dream home.”
“Oh Reid, really?”
“Really. After everything we’ve been through, everything you’ve been through, you deserve to have your wildest dreams come true. So let’s make it happen.” She found a smile spreading across her face despite herself.
“But what about the lease? The apartment…”
“Fuck the apartment.” Reid shrugged and offered her his hand. Quinn giggled and grabbed it, letting him pull her to her feet.
“Let’s do it.” She beamed at him.
“Alright, Quinn Kelly,” Reid announced, setting the bags of art supplies they had picked up from the store onto the hallway floor, “Build yourself a masterpiece!” Quinn squealed with excitement digging into the bags.
She immediately got to work on a mural on the living room wall. After about twenty minutes, she stopped painting mid-stroke and looked over at him.
“Reid, what if the landlord sees?”
“He’ll probably kick us out, paint the whole thing white again.” She gave him a little shove as he smirked. “But it’ll have been worth it, won’t it?”
“Absolutely.” She resumed her work, adding the reflection of the sun onto the waterfall where they had shared their first kiss.
“A rainbow kitchen floor?” Reid asked, coming in from painting the bathroom, Quinn nodded, not taking her eyes off of her careful brush strokes. She had painted twisting, curving bands of color from one side of the room to the other. “I like it. It’ll cover up all my messes.” She laughed as he bent down to kiss her head. She finished the last touch on the rainbow swirl and grabbed his hand.
“C’mon, let’s paint the door!”
“Alright, time for the finishing touches!”
Reid bend down and Quinn climbed onto his shoulders. Standing there with her perched atop him brought him back to the time they teamed up for pool noodle jousting early on during their adventures in La Huerta. It seemed like only yesterday. He kissed the inside of her thigh as she stroked his hair affectionately.
“Can you pass me… turquoise!” He released her leg with one hand and passed the tube up to her. She squeezed a dollop of paint onto her hands, rubbed them together, and reached up, gently pressing them to the ceiling one at a time.
“Your turn!” She exclaimed, keeping her hands carefully up in the air as he lowered her back onto the floor. Reid selected neon green. He jumped up and smacked the ceiling twice, leaving his own hand prints brushing against hers.
A devious smile crossed his face and before she could get suspicious he lunged forward, capturing her face in his hands. She shrieked at the sensation of fresh paint against her cheeks, but he immediately silenced her with a passionate kiss. He pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers.
“I love you, Quinn.”
“And I love you, Reid.” She leaned in for another kiss. As he bent forward to meet her, he let out a cry of surprise, turning his head around to look at the two turquoise hand prints on the seat of his pants.
They laid back down in the middle of the living room, admiring their work.
“So, is it like you always dreamed it would be?”
“Oh Reid, it’s all that and more,” Quinn sighed. She rolled over onto her side to face him, and he did the same. “You’re always doing this.”
“Making a giant, colorful mess of the apartment?”
“No!” She laughed, “Making my dreams come true.”
“Well it’s only fair, given that you are my dream come true.“
Exhausted, they fell asleep in each other’s arms right there on the floor, the newly created sea of color drying around them.
