Chasing Daylight

by Carey Heywood

  Rachel and I pose Alec on his knees, in front of a tree with a paper cup on his head, and watch as all the kids take turns trying to shoot it off. Luckily, he has his sunglasses on because none of these kids are a great shot. After that, we help Alec’s sister, Wendy clean up.

  On the way home from the park, I stop by a home improvement store to pick up some paint and painting supplies. Decorating my place has been on my ‘to do’ list since we got here, but there’s been too much other stuff going on.

  Since I have the rest of the day all to myself, I’m going to paint my bedroom. Before Alec leased the building, a dentist had it. The upstairs rooms were mainly storage. Now, we have a decent-sized bathroom, sitting room/kitchen, and bedroom. The only thing missing is a proper closet, but Alec and his dad are going to put one in soon. For now, I have a portable rod on wheels that I hang stuff on in the corner of my room and a big dresser for everything else.

  The walls were all primed before I moved in; but that’s it, no color. At first, the white walls were relaxing. I tried to embrace my inner minimalist; but it didn’t take. I need color, and lots of it.

  I’m going to paint my bedroom first, a deep rich blue. I plan to do the sitting and kitchen area a subtle sage green and the bathroom a cheery buttercup yellow. My apartment isn’t huge; but it’s all mine, and I’m going to make it into a space I’ll be happy living in.

  I change into a pair of ratty cut off sweats and an old t-shirt, before starting my playlist and dropping my phone into a cup to make the sound amplify. Sublime’s “What I Got” comes on first and I sing along as I move about my room. I kick up the locks on the wheels of my wardrobe and push it out into my living room first. After that, I push my bed and dresser into the center of the room, and line the floor along the walls with drop clothes.

  I skipped painter’s tape at the store since I got a kickass paintbrush to do the edging by hand. I have the first coat of paint up before my belly starts rumbling at me. One glance out the window and I know it was past dinnertime. I cover the paint, slip on a pair of flip-flops, grab my wallet and keys, and raced down the stairs. I use the back entrance of the Critter Haven and Spa to come and go.

  Because it’s late, I’m starved, and don’t feel like driving anywhere, so I jog over to Bellissima’s, the pizza place one building over. They deliver; but I need a break from the fumes, and it’ll give the first coat a chance to dry.

  “Hey, McKenzie,” Carl calls when I open the door.

  I cringe as the people eating turn to look at me. I look like crap and, while I didn’t look in a mirror to confirm this before I left my place, there’s a pretty good chance that I have blue paint in my hair.

  I lift my hand and hurry over to the cash register. “Hi, Carl. Can I get two slices of the Veggie to go?”

  “Sure thing.”

  He turns his head to call out my order; and then, turning back to me, he asks, “You been painting?”

  I wrinkle my nose and lift my hand to touch my hair. “Is there paint in my hair?”

  He laughs, before reaching across the counter to brush his thumb over my cheek. “Nope, right here.”

  At that moment, Becky walks out from the kitchen carrying a tray, her eyes landing on Carl before moving to glare at me.

  I take a step back from the counter and wave. “Hey, Becky.”

  She nods, but doesn’t say anything and takes the tray she’s carrying to a table.

  “Don’t mind her. She’s been in a crap mood all week.”

  I pass him my debit card and glance over my shoulder to where Becky is, turning back to Carl before she catches me staring at her.

  “Is she okay?”

  He shrugs, handing me back my card, and I slip it back into my wallet.

  “I’ll wait for it outside.”

  He starts to untie his apron and says, “I’ll take my break and sit with you.”

  He turns and leans his head through the pass-through into the kitchen and asks Vanessa to come cover the front. She’s out in no time, her eyes widening when she sees me. I follow their movement as she glances over to Becky, who stands across the room, arms folded over her chest, still glaring at me.

  Yikes!

  There are plastic tables out front; and, given how hot it still is, they’re all open so Carl and I sit at the one closest to the front door.

  “You don’t have to keep me company,” I mutter as soon as we’re both seated.

  He leans back in his chair and winks at me before saying, “I know I don’t have to.”

  The wink throws me for a second before I internally kick myself for being so dense. Carl, adorable, way too young for me, Carl is hitting on me. I can only assume Becky has a thing for Carl since before today she always was nice to me when I came in. This sucks. I’m not looking for much in life; but convenient and delicious pizza is a perk I don’t want to lose.

  A wet nose touching my thigh makes me jump. When I turn to see Zeus sitting beside me, and Mitch a few steps away, the perfect solution comes to me. I pet Zeus before jogging over to Mitch, and grabbing his hand. He stiffens but lets me pull him over to Carl.

  “Carl, this is my boyfriend, Mitch.”

  Carl’s mouth drops open and he straightens in his seat.

  I look up at Mitch, “I didn’t know you were coming, honey, or I would have ordered for you.”

  He lets go of my hand and drapes his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side and looks down at me, his eyes warm and mouth soft. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  I gulp, my mouth dry.

  “Want to eat here or at your place?” he asks, his eyes never leaving my face.

  “My place,” my lips breathe before my brain has a chance to argue that’s probably a bad decision.

  “Carl can you add two slices of Supreme to McKenzie’s order?”

  Carl stands, the legs of his plastic chair scraping across the concrete as he pushes it back in. “She already paid for hers.”

  Mitch smirks down at me as if it’s the most natural thing in the world for him to be put out that I paid for myself and reaches into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. He passes Carl a ten and tells him to have them keep my order warm while they make his.

  I step away from Mitch the moment Carl is out of sight.

  “Thank you so much for playing along.”

  He moves to sit where Carl sat as, and I reclaim my seat and continue babbling, “I think Carl has a thing for me, and Becky has a thing for Carl; so I wanted him to think I was unavailable, and Becky to stop glaring daggers at me.”

  I pull out my wallet. “Can I pay for your pizza as a thank you?”

  He shakes his head and pats his leg. Zeus instantly moves to his side and rests his head on Mitch’s thigh as Mitch begins to pet his head.

  “No, really,” I argue, “it’s the least I can do.”

  “I’m not going to take your money,” he replies firmly, making it clear there is no room for argument.

  I’m stubborn so I try anyway. “But—“

  He interrupts me, “What are you painting?”

  My fingers lift and trace the spot Carl touched on my cheek, remembering the blue paint there. “My bedroom.”

  “You live above the Critter Haven and Spa?”

  I nod. “I’m going to be in charge of the animals who are boarded overnight.”

  When he doesn’t say anything, I go on, “Rachel is going to be in charge of the grooming part and Alec the veterinary.”

  “Never seen an all in one place before,” he remarks.

  I nod. “It was all Rachel’s idea. At first, there wasn’t going to be the boarding; but she added that piece in for me. She . . .” I hesitate. “It was her way of talking me into moving here with them. She always looks out for me.”

  “You need looking out for?”

  My eyes lift to his; but before I can answer, Carl comes back out with our orders. Instead of bringing them out in two boxes, Carl only has one large pizza box. Mitch takes it, and I w
ave bye to Carl before Mitch takes my hand and walks toward his truck. When I held his hand earlier, I didn’t have time to enjoy it. His large hand curves nicely around mine, a comforting warmth spreading from it.

  He leads me to the passenger door, opening it for me and waiting until I’m seated and buckled before passing me the pizza box. Zeus follows him around the front of the truck and jumps in first when Mitch opens his door. Instead of turning back onto the main road he slowly takes the alley that leads to the parking lot behind Bellissima’s that connects with the parking lot behind the Critter Haven and Spa.

  “Um, do you want to come up? Or, if you want I can take my pizza out of the box down here.”

  He parks and unbuckles his belt. “I can come up.”

  Oh, boy.

  I nod. “Sure, sounds great. Fair warning though, my place is a disaster at the moment since I’m painting.”

  “Do you need help?”

  I shake my head and undo my seatbelt. “I’ve got it; besides, I only have one roller brush.”

  His lips tip up making his already too attractive face even more so. “I have one.”

  I squint at him, “You randomly carry around paint supplies?”

  He shakes his head and steps out of the truck, Zeus following him. I open my door and am surprised to see him there, hands out to take the pizza from me.

  “I do maintenance at Gramercy Square. I was painting a vacated apartment earlier and got hungry and threw everything in the back of my truck to put away later.”

  “That makes sense.”

  There’s a motion sensor light at the back entrance of the Critter Haven and Spa. I compare my paint speckled self to him.

  “But, you don’t have any paint on you,” I point out.

  His eyes move to my flip-flops and slowly travel up my frame, resting on the spot on my cheek before finally reaching my eyes. “I must be better at it.”

  He coughs out a laugh and looks toward his shoes when I glare at him. He recovers quickly, handing the pizza back to me before reaching into the back bed of his truck and producing a paint roller and a three-pack of roller heads. He sets both on top of the box before taking it out of my hands and with a tilt of his head, gestures toward the back door.

  I quickly unlock and open the door, holding it for him to pass.

  Reaching past him, I hit the switch on the wall to light the stairs leading to my place. He takes the hint and begins moving up them with Zeus following him as I lock up behind us. I turn my head to make sure he’s upstairs before I turn back to the back door and bang my head against it softly a few times punctuating each thud with a muttered, “Stupid girl.”

  There’s a small landing with an open door at the top of her stairs. I walk into an open plan style living and kitchen area. It’s the room I saw her sitting in as I watched her through her window. Setting the box of pizza on the table she sat at that night is surreal. Zeus moves around her room, sniffing each piece of furniture he passes. Her kitchen runs across one wall.

  The door closest to her fridge is open and clearly, from the blue paint on the walls and bed in the center of the room, her bedroom.

  The door on the other side of the kitchen is closed and must be either a closet or bathroom. From what I can see, her furniture fits the space; the only thing that seems out of place is a metal dress rack on wheels sitting partially in front of her fridge. Her sofa is a pale blue with a collection of mismatched throw pillows covering it.

  The white walls are bare; however, in one corner is a stack of framed pictures. She must be waiting to paint this room before she hangs them.

  “Would you like something to drink?”

  I turn to look at her and see she’s pushing the clothes rack away from the fridge to open it.

  “I have beer, flavored water, iced tea, and milk.”

  “Beer’s good.”

  I pick up my roller and the three-pack of heads I brought and move toward the open door to her bedroom. I set the roller and three-pack on the floor right inside the doorway. I head back to the table to meet McKenzie there and relieve her of the two beers she carries in one hand, which I set on the table next to the pizza box. In her other hand, she carries two plates and once I open the box, she passes one of them to me.

  We each plate our pizza. Since there’s only one chair, I sit there while McKenzie sits on the sofa, folding her legs to one side. When I notice her beer is on the table by me, I reach for it and set it on the trunk in front of her sofa, where she can reach it.

  “Thanks,” she smiles, setting her plate of pizza on the seat next to her and picking up her bottle to take a drink.

  I try not to watch her lips hit the rim of the bottle as she tips it back. I also try not to watch her throat as she swallows. I fail at both and look away before she can catch me.

  “This is weird right?” she asks, setting her drink back down.

  I clear my throat to ask her what she means, but she answers me before I can.

  “Us, here, eating pizza. You offering to help me paint. This is so weird.”

  I stand. “I can go.”

  She lifts her hands, palms out, “No. Stay. Oh, my God, you must think I’m crazy and rude.” She lowers her hands as I sit back down and looks at her beer. “I am crazy rude. Here you are doing me a favor, and offering to do another favor, and just trying to eat your dinner, and I’m making you feel unwelcome.”

  Zeus cocks his head at her and it’s an effort to not straight out laugh at her.

  Last thing I want to do is embarrass her or freak her out. Now is the time to play it cool.

  “Look, you seem cool, and I like your friend Alec and his girl. I don’t mind helping you out. You saved my dog and I can’t ever repay you for that.”

  She looks up, her soft green eyes meeting mine. “Alec saved Zeus, not me.”

  I shake my head. “You brought us to Alec.”

  “But—” she says and pauses, reaching out her hand to stroke Zeus before continuing, “You really think that?”

  I nod, and the smile she gives me in response makes me wish I had a photographic memory. Even though I don’t, I’m pretty sure I’ll never forget it.

  I finish my pizza and beer first. She doesn’t have a dishwasher, so I set my plate on the counter next to her sink. She has a plastic bin next to her island cart with empty bottles and cans, so I add mine.

  “Do you have a bowl I can fill with some water for Zeus?”

  “Oh, my gosh.” She jumps up and hurries to join me by her sink, “I should have offered you one when we got here.”

  I watch as she pulls a bowl down from her cabinet and fills it with water. She places it on the ground for Zeus before I can stop her to do it myself.

  “Is he hungry? There’s some dry food downstairs I can get for him.”

  I shove my hands into my pockets to suppress the urge to pull her into my arms. “He should be fine. Thank you for offering.”

  Zeus heads straight for the bowl and begins to drink. We both watch him for a moment in silence before I make my way to her bedroom. The furniture in here is white but doesn’t look like a set. She has a Queen sized bed, covered with a black and white duvet, a dandelion with some of its seeds being blown away printed on it and an old fashion metal headboard.

  Pushed next to it in the center of the room is a wide six drawer wooden dresser with an oval mirror attached. She comes to stand next to me in the doorway, close enough I can smell her hair; it smells like honeysuckles.

  “It’s called Mountain Lake.” She looks up at me. “The paint.”

  “It’s a good blue.”

  She looks into her room again, a soft smile hinting at her lips. “Thanks, I like it.”

  “Where do you want me to start?”

  She points to the wall behind her bed.

  “Is it cool with you if I play some music?”

  I grin, “This is your house, angel; you don’t need my permission.”

  “Angel?”

  I shrug, I’m no
t sure why I called her that, but somehow it fits. She leaves the room to grab her cell. I have paint on my roller and am starting on my wall by the time she has her music going.

  Without asking, she brings me another beer and sets it on the edge of her dresser, closest to where I’m standing.

  The first song to come on is “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. This song was all over the radio last year, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard it. She’s working on the wall next to mine and I sneak a glance. Her profile is to me, her lips moving along with the words. I wonder if I wasn’t here, would she be singing loud like she was that day I saw her in her Jeep.

  The next song to come on isn’t one I recognize, but the singer sounds like that girl who sang “Summertime Sadness.” I see her in my peripheral and, again, her lips are moving.

  I move to the next wall while she sets down her roller and switches to a paintbrush to get a second coat around the borders. We work together quietly and make our way around the room. When I finish my beer, she leaves to go grab me another. Instead of letting her set it near me, this time I set down my roller first and reach out my hand for it.

  Our fingers brush as it moves from her hand to mine. There isn’t a spark when our fingers brush. Nope, but that doesn’t mean something warm doesn’t travel through me and settle right in my chest. She stands there for a moment longer than she needs to, and part of me hopes that warmth settles somewhere within her as well.

  When I finish the last wall, I set my roller back in the tray, then move to her side to take her paintbrush.

  “You don’t have to,” she argued.

  “I don’t mind. Plus, I don’t need the step ladder.”

  Her hands fall to rest on her hips as she grumbles, “We can’t all be giants.”

  I laugh outright. Zeus lifts his head to look up at me, tilting it to one side. Comically, McKenzie mimics his movement. Shaking my head at them both, I turn back to face the wall and get back to work. She hesitates before moving away. While I work on the edges, she cleans up the drop clothes in front of the walls that are done and removes the heads from the rollers.