1929 by M.L. Gardner Page B

of
billowing clouds on the other side but nothing in the middle.
    “I’m working on our beach,” Claire said
proudly. “Just over the fireplace I’m going to paint the
lighthouse. And on the other side of the lighthouse, I’ve outlined
storm clouds. I can’t work on those until I get some black paint,”
she said, tracing the pencil drawn outline of the waves with her
finger. “I can work with pencils for now.”
    “It’s going to be beautiful, Claire. I can’t
wait to see it finished,” Ava said, admiringly.
    “Personally, I think you should paint on
canvas, so you can take it with you when we leave here.” They both
turned to see Arianna in the doorway. She had dressed to the nines
in a blood red, silk, straight dress, black shoulder fur and
matching cloche hat with jeweled beadwork adorning one side. She
did not even attempt to dress plainly for the sake of blending in.
Claire shrugged and looked back at the wall.
    “I’ll enjoy it while we’re here, and
hopefully it’ll be enjoyed by the next tenants. Right now, I need
it to be larger than life,” she said with a sigh and turned to her
friends. “So, do you want the grand tour?” she asked sarcastically
and took them through the three tiny rooms. It was similar to the
others’ apartments, only the floor plan reversed.
    “I was pretty horrified when I first walked
in here. Aryl offered for me to paint every wall in the apartment,
and I just might. It might help cheer the place up a bit.” There
was a similar, ragged couch covered by a sheet, a wooden chair in
the corner by a small, slightly lopsided bookshelf, and a small,
wooden table with two chairs near the entrance to the kitchen.
    “Well, I’m not spending a dime on this dump.
We’re not going to be here that long,” Arianna said with a snort.
“Caleb is already working on some ideas. I’m sure they’ll have us
out of here by New Year’s,” she said confidently.
    “That would be nice,” Ava said quietly.
Something told her that Arianna was floating on false hopes, but
she wasn’t about to ruin what bit of optimism she was managing to
cling to.
    “Why don’t we get out of here for a couple
hours? I have a list of things I need to pick up, and maybe we can
grab a late lunch out,” Arianna suggested.
    “Yes. That’s sounds wonderful,” Ava said and
smiled.
    On the way out, they passed the beady-eyed
woman talking incessantly to a young woman who was juggling a bag
of groceries in one arm and a baby on the other hip while a toddler
clung to her dress. She was trying to unlock her door without
spilling the bag or the baby. The beady-eyed one offered the
struggling woman no help but continued to rattle on about curing a
baby’s colic and her own intestinal ailments. The red-haired woman
smiled politely as the three passed, and Ava was debating whether
to stop and help her when the beady-eyed woman noticed them and
turned. Ava put her head down and walked faster, practically
running down the next set of stairs. Once on the street, Arianna
started laughing.
    “Please say that wasn’t one of your
neighbors?”
    “She is,” she said grimly. “I haven’t met the
other one yet, the one with the baby.”
    Arianna changed the subject abruptly. “Let’s
catch the trolley. We’ll head uptown to have lunch and do our
shopping there.”
     
    ∞∞∞
     
    The lunch whistle blew much to Jonathan’s
relief, who not only was starving but also positive his back was
going to snap in half if he lifted one more sack of flour. Aryl
rested on the bumper of the truck and looked at his hands. There
were already several blisters on the palms of his hands, and his
fingers ached. He flexed them, trying to relieve some of the
stiffness and regain some feeling. Caleb joined them, and they all
headed out of the yard to find lunch. They chose a deli close by
and ordered sandwiches. They ate by the window and watched the
chaotic scene of the passersby rushing in every direction.
    “When’s quitting