Laura Ray (Ray Series) (17 page)

After both had congratulated him, he added, “I have more news you will be happy to hear. Brian Jackson, Bobby’s dad has joined Alcoholics Anonymous and has made remarkable progress since you have been gone.”

“Yeah!” shouted Danny raising his arms.

“Wonderful,” Laura gaily approved. “It’s time Bobby and Brian got a break.”

“I told Brian that as long as he stayed sober, he had a job in my garage,” Art said. “I really hope he can keep it together.”

The next Saturday afternoon, Danny and Laura returned from a day shopping in Tulsa with a carful of art supplies. Once Laura saw what all was available, she not only bought books, she bought easels, pencils, charcoal, oil paints, canvasses, paint brushes and everything else she saw that she might need. Danny had never seen his mother on such a shopping spree.

When Art came over, he saw Laura sitting in the middle of the living room floor totally engrossed in all her supplies. “Laura, where are you going to put all of this stuff?” he asked.

Laura looked up and blinked, like she was waking up from a dream.
She glanced around her as if she hadn’t thought of that yet. “Uh, I’ll find some place. Usually I stack everything beside the refrigerator.” She grinned realizing that there was no way to stack all of this beside the refrigerator. “It sounds like I need to come up with a plan.”

“We could make Nora’s room into her art studio,” Danny suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but I’ll have to think about it first,” Laura said rolling her eyes in thought.

Laura walked into Nora’s room and looked around checking the size and
the closet. The proximity to the bathroom looked really convenient. Yes, the room definitely had potential.

She walked into the room she had shared with John. Art and Danny trailed her wondering what she was seeing and what she was thinking. The larger room offered two large windows, one facing the south and the other facing the east providing much more lighting. The larger closet offered more storage area for her supplies. She could set up her easel anywhere in the room with a small table beside it to lay her brushes and paints on. Yes, she nodded, this would work nicely.

“Okay,” Laura stated turning to Art and Danny. “Here’s what I want. I hope both of you are willing to help me.” She glanced from one to the other. “I want move into Nora’s bedroom, and set this room up as my art studio.”

She looked
questioningly at both of them hoping they would be on board with her because this would be a lot of work. “First, I want Nora’s bedroom which will become mine, to be cleaned out and painted before I move in. Then I want this room painted and shelves build on the wall and in the closet. What do you think?”

Danny looked to Art with big questioning eyes. Art scratched his head thinking that this was getting to be a much bigger project than he had anticipated.
“We can do this, but it will take some time.”

“Good,” Laura settled the matter, unwilling to be daunted by the challenge. “Tomorrow, I will clean out Nora’s room so that it can be painted.”

“Okay,” Art resigned, trying to be supportive, “By next Saturday, I should be able to get free to paint it for you
.” It’s not that I don’t want to help her out but I hadn’t anticipated this when I walked in tonight
, he thought.

By Sunday night she had everything out of Nora’s room and stood scratching her head wondering why she had to wait until next Saturday to paint the room. Didn’t Danny have a little experience painting at the karate room? He had the summer off, maybe he needed a project to keep him occupied while she worked. What else would a big fourteen year old do during summer break?

After work the next day she came carrying a bucket of paint, rollers and a pan. Brushes and drop cloths filled another sack. She carried them in and set them in the middle of her new bedroom.
Now
, she thought,
all she had to do was convince Danny he wanted to paint the room.

When Laura inspected the room, Danny stood anxiously awaiting her approval. She had chosen a very soft lilac. This was the first time she ever remembered choosing a feminine color for herself in a bedroom. Since she and John had married she always tried to pick a neutral color appropriate for a couple rather than something she would choose for herself. She stood in the middle of the room taking in the color which seemed a little more vibrant than she expected.

Danny watched her wondering if she thought he had done a bad job. Finally, she said, “Danny, you did a good job.” He let out a sigh of relief.

“It seems brighter than I expected, but if I lighten up the bedding and curtains, I think it will do nicely.” She went over and touched the window seat and said, “I’m going to get some trim paint and repaint all the trim. You won’t have to help with that. I do it.” She ran the toe of her foot across the floor. “I think I’ll buy some new flooring or something. I’ll ask Art what he recommends.
If I’m going to do this, I might as well do a good job.”

Danny stood almost speechless listening to his mother.
This is my new Mom talking.
His old mom would do with whatever she had. He smiled to himself, as soon as she finished with her new bedroom and art studio, he felt confident he could talk her into redecorating his room.

Art had persuaded Harold to help him with the painting, so they brought all the equipment needed to start painting Nora’s old room. What a surprise they
had when they found the little bedroom already painted, and the front bedroom emptied out ready for them. Laura had slept on the couch waiting for the renovation to be completed.

She welcomed them into the house and ushered them into her new bedroom to ask about the floor.

“Hey,” Harold commented. “This looks nice.”

Laura looked around appreciatively. The new white trim paint had really spruced the room up. She had installed new white curtains on the window. The room looked bright and clean. “Now,” Laura asked, “Could I get your opinion about what to do with this floor?”

Art studied the old hardwood floor. It was really worn with big spaces between the boards. Should they refinish, it would take a lot of work to make it look good. It would require a lot of filler and then sanding would be a job. It would need at least three coats of varnish.

“How soon do you want to use this room?”
Art asked.

“Like tonight, if possible,” Laura said hopefully.

“Your choices would be linoleum or carpet. If you wanted tile, it would take a couple of days. To refinish these hardwood floors, you are looking at a minimum of two weeks. Don’t you agree, Harold?”

“Could the linoleum be installed today? I don’t think I can afford carpet right now,” she inquired.

Harold and Art looked surprised, “Is that what you want us to do today instead of paint?”

Laura ducked her head acting embarrassed, “If you don’t mind. I really want to sleep in my bedroom instead of on the sofa.”

Harold held his hands up, “It’s okay, Laura. We came to help you out. If this is what you need for us to do, then it’s what we will do. Right, Art?”

“Sure,” Art agreed. “We’ll head right to the lumberyard to see what we can find.”

Laura and Danny followed them in the car. There was no way she would let those men choose the linoleum for her new bedroom. The offering at the lumberyard consisted of four rolls to choose from. She chose the one which she disliked the least. It would still look nice with the colors she had chosen. After paying the bill, she told the men to go on back to the house without her and Danny. She drove to Anthony’s to choose some throw rugs to place by the bed and dresser.

It took the rest of the day to install the linoleum and place her furniture in the bedroom. She thanked them profusely when they had her room ready for her to make her bed.

As she walked them to the door when they were ready to leave, she pleaded, “I hate to ask for two Saturday’s in a row, but could you please come back to help me next Saturday, too.”

“I’ll check with Mary, but I think I probably will be able to come back,” Harold replied kindly with a smile.

“Thank you so much. I can’t say how much I appreciate you helping me,” Laura touched his hand in gratitude.

She turned to Art, hoping he could come also.

Art cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrows, “The only way I can come is if I still have an invite to Sunday dinner tomorrow.”

Laura laughed, “Consider it done.”

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, “See you tomorrow.”

Laura looked around at the mess. She had to get some of this taken care of this week. There’s no way she could put up with everything piled in the middle of the living room for a week.
But first she headed for her new bedroom.

As she happily crawled in her bed that night, she lay right in the middle of the bed with her arms and legs spread out enjoying the soft comfort and space. Her dresser drawers were filled with only her clothes, her clothes hung spaciously in her closet. The pretty soft throw rugs were placed in front of her bed and dresser so that when she put her feet down on them she could feel their shaggy softness.

It felt so special to have a bedroom that she designed. She luxuriously snuggled under the covers and smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. It felt so wonderful to have her own money to make her own choices.

Soon, she promised herself, she would earn money with her art and she would leave Cherokee Togs for the last time. Soon, she promised herself as she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning Laura pulled on an old sweater and jeans to tackle the mess she had piled in the living room. She had pulled all the furniture out of the front bedroom in anticipation of the men painting it
on Saturday but since they had never gotten to it, something needed to be done. For one thing, she had a bedroom suit that she didn’t need. Nora’s clothing boxes needed to be donated.

She and Danny still were trying to sort through the mess, deciding what to keep and what to donate when Art arrived for dinner. He stood at the door before she noticed that she had not started dinner yet. She covered her face in her hands, “Art, I’m so sorry. I forgot about the time.”

He smiled at them as he entered the living room and said, “It looks like you still need some help.”

“We’re getting there,” Danny said red faced as he bent over to lift another box of clothes.

“Would you like for me to go to Pete’s Drive-in and pick up some hamburgers?” Art asked. “Or better yet, would you like to go to Pete’s Drive-in with me so you could have a break?”

Danny immediately put his box down where he stood. “Yes,” he emphatically declared.

Laura wiped the sweat from her hot, red face. “Art, I like you better every day,” she said almost out of breath.

The cold sparkling, fizzy sodas were just what they needed. “I don’t think I ever tasted a better hamburger,” Laura insisted.

Art thought to top things off, he ordered all of them a shake to top it off.

He took them to the park to rest and let their dinner settle before they went back to the house which had become nothing but a work area for them. Laura and Art sat on a park bench to rest while Danny wandered off to talk to some friends he had spotted.

The warm, sunny day still offered a nice breeze. Laura closed her eyes and stretched out her legs to enjoy the gentle wind blowing through her hair. She could smell the grass and hear the children running about playing on the playground. She smiled, “This is so nice.”

“Yes, it is,” Art replied watching her. “I wish we could have more
times such as this.”

Startled, she sat up and looked at him questioningly, “What are you implying?”

Hoping he hadn’t pushed too hard, he swallowed and added, “Laura, I have wanted to get closer to you for quite a while now. It seems that we take one step toward each other then I feel like I’m just waiting. Then we repeat the process and I wait some more.”

“I like you, Art. I really do.” She shook her head, “It seems like I have so much on my plate. I’m working at Cherokee Togs forty hours a week. I’m trying to raise a teenage son. On top of that I’m reorganizing my house so that I can improve my art.”

“Do you enjoy your Job, Laura?” he inquired.

She tilted her head to the side and thought about it. “I don’t know that I like it so much. It’s tolerable now that I moved away from Lori Mae.” She grinned. “She was a woman that I sat by the first year that I worked at Cherokee Togs. She
was a thorn in my skin until I moved to another location, but I don’t mind it too much now.

Again Art asked, “Do you enjoy your job?”

Laura frowned trying to think. She knew he had a point that she missed. Then she decided, “No, Art. I can’t say that I do. Actually, I wish that I were counting the days so that I could leave. Right now, I need the job.”

“What are your plans for your art?
”

She scooted around on the bench so that she could face him. “Honestly, Art, I have never breathed a word of this to anyone else, but I want to get good enough to paint or draw full time. That’s one reason why I chose to make my front bedroom into an art studio.” She smiled, “The other reason is I wanted more privacy away from the living room.”