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CARL GRIMES WAS in good spirits today. After Ella returned with Rosita, he came running up to the car and told her to meet him at the house porch in ten minutes. She never saw him so happy since before Sophia's disappearance. She joined him and Judith on the porch not long after without questioning him. She didn't want to ruin his good mood by asking him too many questions about it.
Blue paint was laid out in front of Carl and Judith. "Come sit, El," Carl said. El. . . it'd been so long since he called her that. "I want to do something special with you and Judith. You're as much as my sister as you are Judith's, so," he picked up the paint. "I want to put our handprints on this board. That way we can always remember this day." his smile was lopsided.
"Who am I to refuse my own brother?" Ella sat down behind Judith, positioning her legs to sit around Judith, a huge smile on her face. She watched Carl for a moment. She wondered what happened to make him want to do something like this, what made him say it like that. We can always remember this day. Was it because they could die any day now, and whoever survived, he wanted them to be able to have the piece of art they made today to remember?
Carl poured paint on Ella's and Judith's hands first, then his hand. He pressed his hand down on a wooden board. "Okay, now, Judith puts yours here," he moved Judith's hand next to his. "And Ella, put yours next to Judith's."
Ella pressed her painted hand down next to Judith's. She looked down at a happy Judith and smiled even bigger seeing the grin plastered on the toddlers face. They removed all their hands from the boards to see the prints they made. "Judith, look, these are our hands!" Ella pointed out.
"Hands." Judith held her one blue hand up in the air, her eyes not leaving the art they just made. Carl gave her a high five, making her let out a contagious giggle that made Ella and Carl laugh themselves. Ella noticed Carl wince as he laughed. She looked him up and down. She wanted to ask him what was wrong. Deep down, she already knew. She knew that look from anywhere. She had the same look when she was trying to hide the fact that she was bit. She hoped she was wrong.
Judith fell into Ella's lap. Her painted, wet hand touched Ella's cheek. Judith let out another laugh. "Oh, you little shit!" Ella laughed. She stood up with Judith in her arms, swinging her around. "Let's go wash those hands off, huh?" she looked back at Carl. "Carl."
"Yeah?" he responded, his voice seeming distant all of a sudden. He stood on his own two feet. His hand almost going to touch his ribcage, but stopping when he settled his eyes on Ella and Judith again.
"Is everything alright? You seem. . . hurt." she watched him walk inside the house and toward the sink to wash the blue paint off his hands. She didn't want to pry too much in case it wasn't what she thought it was. She didn't want it to ruin her mood today if he really wasn't hurt physically.
