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“Yeah.”
They all sat at the card table, and when Caleb had enough to eat, he looked at Wilda.
“Do you want to go run around?” He nodded. “Okay. Just stay out of the parlor. The room you were sanding in the other day. There’s wet paint in there.”
He ran off, and Wilda turned to Milo. “Tell me what happened at school.”
“He and Emma were putting a puzzle together, and he leaned forward and said something to her. She responded, then they kept working on the puzzle.”
“I wish he would talk to me. But I’ll settle for Frenchie and his friend for now.”
“May I ask what happened to your husband?”
She took a moment, then said quietly, “Car accident. One day he was here, the next…”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I think the suddenness of it is the worst part to deal with.”
“Probably what Caleb couldn’t wrap his three-and-a-half-year-old brain around.”
She stood. “I should go check on him.”
He looked up at her, then stood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s fine. It was a fair question.”
“I’ll put these leftovers away, then you can show me the parlor.”
She left the kitchen, and Milo rubbed the back of his neck. “Idiot.” He combined the remnants of the two boxes into one, then put them in the refrigerator. He wiped down the table and the counters, even though they didn’t need it. When he had stalled as long as he could, he headed for the parlor.
He stopped inside the doorway. “Wow.”
“What do you think?”
“You went with the gray.”
“It looks good, right? And since someone already painted over the wood moldings, we should paint them white.”
“Yes.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes.”
She went to the wall with two large windows made up of twenty twelve-inch panes of glass each. “This wall will be darker, with white trim around the windows.”
“Seems I picked the right woman for the job.” He walked over to the fireplace. “So, do we leave the wood on the fireplace, or are we painting it, too?”
She put her hands on her hips while she contemplated the question. “I’m all for leaving beautiful natural wood alone, but in this case, I’d be very tempted to paint it white.”
“The whole fireplace?”
“Yes. Too radical?”
“Not at all. I kind of love the idea.”
“Then sand down the floor and stain it. A big rug in front of the fireplace, between it and your pool table.”
