A Fresh Start by Trisha Grace Page B

the room.  
    “Here you go.”
    He turned and saw her handing him the bottle she was holding.
    “Yours. I bought it for you. With all the dust and all from the house, I thought it’s better than a cup.”
    Thoughtful. “Thanks.” He set it down beside the box and pulled out the paint sprayer. “Want to give it a try?”
    “Yes.” Her eyes widened. “It looked fun when the painters were using it.”
    He grinned at the sparkle in her eyes.  
    “You drove to Pine Bluffs? I don’t think you can bring all your tools up the plane.”
    “Yeah. I get to enjoy the scenery anyway.” Filling up the container, he handed it to her and taught her how to use it. “Be careful to keep the nozzle away from you. It works on pressure so if it sprays directly onto your skin, we’ll need to go to the emergency room.”
    “Whoa, okay.” She aimed the nozzle at the wall and gave the sprayer a squeeze. She jumped at the first jet, then blinked furiously.
    “It got into your eyes?”
    One of her hands held the nozzle while the other held the container of paint, so she couldn’t do anything but blink.
    “It’s okay.” He stepped toward her and tipped her chin. Gently, he used his thumb and wiped away the few tiny dots of paint at the corner of her eyes and rubbed it off on his T-shirt. “Better?”
    “Yeah,” she answered. “Much better.”
    He went to his box and grabbed the plastic spectacles. “Here,” he said. “It’s new, no one wore it before.” He slot the spectacles in place and couldn’t help laughing.
    “What?”
    “They look humongous on you.” He reached into the box again. This time, he pulled out a mask and slipped it over her head, putting it in place over her mouth and nose. “Have fun.”
    “Is this really necessary? It’s like I’m working on some radioactive substances.”
    “It actually came with a white overalls, but that has been used and thrown.”
    “Too bad for me, then.”
    He couldn’t see her lips, but he could see the creases around her eyes.
    “Here goes.”
    “I thought you never painted before,” he said. “How do you know you need to cover the cracks?”
    “Google and youtube are my best friends.”
    He laughed and picked up the plaster, helping her cover the cracks on the other walls.
    “This is so much easier,” she said, setting down the sprayer and pulling down the mask.
    She took in a deep breath and sighed.
    “Can’t breathe?”
    “It’s all right, just a little warm.”
    A few quick raps on her front door made her gasp.
    “You’re jumpy.”
    She gave him a small smile. “Probably just Mr. Seymour. I’ll see what he needs.”
    While she was still removing the mask, Justin went down the stairs and opened the door.
    “Hi, Justin. We’re here to spring you.”
    Even after a decade, Gloria hadn’t changed her choice of friends. Gloria stood side by side with Magdalene, who was wearing an equally tight dress.
    “Who is it?” Paige asked as she hurried down. She peered from behind, then turned to him, confused. “Your friends?”
    “You’re the new girl making Justin work on a Saturday?”
    “I didn’t—”
    “I volunteered,” he cut in.
    “It’s Saturday, join us for dinner. I’m sure new-girl here won’t mind.”
    “Her name is Paige. I’m sure she doesn’t, but I’ve no interest in joining either of you for dinner.” He closed the door and gently nudged Paige up the stairs.
    “Who are they?”
    “Ex-schoolmates.”
    “Why are you so mean to them?”
    “I don’t like pretentious people.”
    She halted halfway up the stairs. “Justin, you really don’t have to do this. You can join them if you want.”
    “Why would I join them? I don’t even like them.”
    She pursed her lips, but nodded and continued walking. “Why do you think they’re pretentious?”
    “Aren’t you offended by how rude they were to you?”
    She shrugged. “No.” She sat cross-legged on the floor and stared at him, seemingly waiting for an answer to her