Jessie's Ghosts by Penny Garnsworthy Page A

liked at the gallery? You sounded quite impressed.’
    ‘Yeah, I
really liked those Lumi-nes … paintings.’
    ‘Luminesque.’
    ‘Yeah, that’s
right. They kind of glow in the dark.’
    ‘Yes, David Mahoney’s
work. He’s a wonderful artist - like me he moved down here from the city. He
said that one night he was lying in bed, unable to sleep. Apparently he’d been
having a problem with a current work in progress. So he decided to get up and
go to his studio. And as he walked down the hall he remembered thinking how
wonderful it would be to be able to see his art at night, without turning the
lights on, just like in daylight.
    ‘So, he got on
the Internet that night and found a supplier selling luminescent paints, and
ordered them in a dozen different colours. He’s already sold quite a few and
when I was asked to exhibit at the gallery here in town, I suggested David
might like to exhibit with me. My paintings will be indoors, his will be
outdoors with lighting that will go on and off during the evening. It will
certainly be a first for the town, we’re both really excited about it.’
    ‘So what is
lumines …?’
    ‘Luminescent
paint has particles in it that absorb light and this causes them to glow in the
dark. It’s used quite a lot in products, for example, they paint strips of it
on life jackets so that if you are stranded at sea at night, you are able to be
seen.’
    Suddenly
Jessie had an idea. What if she painted a whole painting and put a message in
the painting - in luminescent paint, that only great-grandmother and Harold
could see at night?
    ‘Fleur, would
you teach me to paint?’
    Fleur smiled.
‘I’d love to teach you Jessie, but you’re only here for another couple of days.
Maybe next time you visit Nanna we could start lessons straight away.’

CHAPTER 11
     
    Jessie thought her heart
would beat right out of her chest. Panic gripped her. She had to do this
painting, she just had to.
    ‘Do you think we
could just do one painting together - something really simple?’ she
said, her eyes pleading, ‘I’d really like to leave Nanna something.’
    ‘To remind her
of you?’ Fleur asked.
    Jessie felt
her face flush. ‘Yes!’ she said.
    Fleur smiled
again. ‘Well okay then. You’ve been such a good friend to Harmony, how can I
say no. So, what would you like to paint?’
    ‘I … don’t
know … but can we use those luminescent paints?’
    ‘Well, I don’t
have any Jessie - but I suppose I could get some tomorrow. Don’t you want to
paint a normal painting though?’
    ‘Yeah, but I’d
really like to put some of that luminescent paint in it. Just to be different.’
    Fleur laughed.
‘Okay then. Why don’t we do a simple painting this afternoon and when I go back
into town in the morning I’ll get a couple of tubes of luminescent paint and we
can put the finishing touches on it tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound?’
    ‘Perfect,’
Jessie said, as she pictured her own painting in Nanna’s hall, with a
luminescent message on it, and smiled to herself.
    By mid
afternoon, Fleur and Jessie had painted a lovely country farmhouse, complete
with lace curtains, a big open verandah and a chimney, with a cottage garden
out front. The garden was a sea of colours - pinks, reds, yellows, blues, the
sort of colours Fleur loved and a cottage garden Jessie thought Nanna would
like. And painting with Fleur had taught Jessie a little bit about shapes,
colours and perspective. Now she thought she might even be able to see what was
in all those paintings inside Fleur’s house.
    Jessie was
just filling in the pathway from the house to the gate when Harmony appeared
beside her.
    ‘There’s only
so many computer games you can play on your own, you know,’ Harmony said, ‘are
you two going to be all afternoon?’
    ‘We’re just
about done, Harmony,’ said Fleur, ‘Look, isn’t it lovely?’
    ‘Yeah, I
guess,’ said Harmony as she looked at the painting one way and then tilted her
head