Never Doubt Me: Judge Me Not #2(18)

He holds the glistening paintbrush out in front of him. “Okay, I have an idea.”

“Have at it,” I say as I gesture to the blank wall.

Will steps forward and swashes a big curve of cinnamon brown onto the wall. Then, he starts to paint. I cock my head to the side, trying to figure out what he’s up to. It looks to me like Will is painting the hindquarter and tail of a huge-ass squirrel.

“So, what are you thinking?” I have to ask, before he gets too far in on an idea that I may have to nix. Will’s forte is action comics, and I suspect Father Maridale would frown on any ass-kicking wildlife animals gracing the school wall, cartoon or not.

“Don’t worry.” Will laughs.

He keeps painting, and it soon becomes clear his squirrel is nothing but cute and cuddly, kind of Disney-like.

He steps back after a minute and points his paintbrush at the far end of the wall. “Do you think you can paint, like, an old-fashioned school, place it at the end of a road? I think one of those red ones, with the bell at the top, would look good. We’ll need some bright-green grass around it, too, and a few trees.”

I pop the lid off of a can of schoolhouse red. “Sure, I can do all that.”

My brother paints for a while longer, and then steps back to assess his work. He appears deep in thought as he brushes his hair back with his free hand. A drop of cinnamon brown drips from the paintbrush he’s holding in his other hand. It lands on his jeans, a circular drop directly above his knee.

Will doesn’t even notice. His eyes remain fixated on his giant canvas.

After a beat, he says, as if he’s still working it out in his head, “I’m thinking maybe I’ll paint a bunch of cute, cuddly animals. And, like, a cartoon kid who is walking to school.” He pauses, ponders a few seconds more. “Yeah, and I’ll make the kid look all happy and shit to be going off to learn. I’ll paint the animals along the side of the road. They’ll be cheering him on, wishing they could go to school, too.” He finishes up with, “If you can paint all the background shit, I can paint the characters.”

“No problem,” I say. “And I like your idea, it’s really great. The kids are going to love it.”

We start painting together and end up working past noon. Kay and Cassie stop by, laugh at how involved we are in our masterpiece, and then offer to bring us sandwiches back from the diner so we don’t have to stop painting.

Will and I are all about that.

“That’d be perfect,” I say to Kay. “We’re kind of on a roll here.”

My brother and I accomplish a lot before Kay and Cassie return, and when they do, sandwiches in hand, they are impressed with how great the mural is shaping up to be.

Father Maridale stops by after Kay and Cassie leave. He gives his stamp of approval, as well.

“Keep up the good work,” he says before he goes.

“This is fun,” Will remarks a short while later, while he’s wiping sweat away from his brow with the back of his hand.

He’s beaming after hearing all the positive reinforcement, and truthfully, so am I.

We work so hard and get so caught up in our creation that, by the end of the day, we’re a little more than halfway done. And what we’ve created is amazing: blue skies, fluffy white clouds, swaying trees. There’s a red schoolhouse on the far left side of the wall, and a happy cartoon kid traveling a path leading to the school, his cartoon-animal buddies encouraging him along the way.

Will’s vision has come to life. My brother and I have created something upbeat that the kids at Holy Trinity are sure to love.

“Shit, I’m beat,” Will says, wiping sweat from his brow for the umpteenth time.

It’s a hot summer day and sweltering in the non-air-conditioned school. I chuckle when I notice how Will’s dark-blond hair is sticking up off his forehead in a crazy way.

Doesn’t matter, though, as I’m sure my hair is even more of a mess.

Even so, I tousle Will’s hair, making it messier still, and say, “Hey, this shit looks fantastic, doesn’t it?” I nod to the mural, my hand still on his head.

Will smacks my hand away, but he’s laughing as he does so. “We did good, Chase,” he says. “The little kids are going to love this shit. We make a good team, yeah?”

“We do, little brother, we do.” I hold out my hand and make a fist. “Gartner brothers get it done.”

Will bumps my fist with his and yells out, “Hell yeah!”

It feels right having my brother here at the school with me, working beside me on something so positive.

However, my natural high falters when I remember there are only two days left until Will has to go back to Vegas. Fuck.



Later that night, I’m standing in the upstairs hall, leaning against the doorframe, watching my brother while he sleeps. He’s snoring lightly, sleeping soundly, worn out in the best kind of way, from an honest day’s work.

For me, though, this is turning out to be tougher than I expected. Now that my brother is in Harmony Creek, I want him to stay awhile longer. Thirty-six more hours of having him here is not nearly long enough.

I hear a noise downstairs and cock my head. Someone just came in through the front door. But there’s no cause for concern; I know exactly who’s here.

Two minutes later, Kay is wrapping her arms around me from behind, and I’m smiling as I lean back into her comforting warmth.