Dedicating Every Day to You

Chapter Fourteen

(Author's note: Click on the media. Have some original art of Kathryn!)

It's utter silence. Alex is staring at John and me, who are both standing in the kitchen covered in paint and dust. The broken plate is on the floor along with puddles of Victim Red 1909 and Chartreuse Blossom 5650.

The previously white cabinets are now a Jackson Pollock masterpiece, and there are little shards of green ceramic all over everything. Alex's suit is ruined, and there's white all over his face and hair.

"What on Earth have you two been doing?" Alex looks kind of angry.
"I...was painting?" I'm hesitant. Alex is kind of scary when he's angry.
"Painting the entire kitchen? Painting it..." He picks up a random container. "All That Glitters is Gold 6990?"
"No, that one's on my head." I proffer my glittering scalp. "Although you should paint the kitchen gold. That would look awesome."

"We had a paint fight," John says sheepishly, his nose orange and his freckles bright green.
"I'm sorry we made a mess, Dad," I sigh, staring down at my feet. It's all quiet for a moment, and then I hear something that sounds a lot like Alex's stifled laughter. I look up, and he's doubled over with silent laughter.

"You two look hilarious!" He actually slaps his knee. "Although, I do have to say, you make green freckles work, John."
"What about me?" I pretend to be offended.
"Darling, gold is clearly your color."
I flip my hair over my shoulder, showering everything with droplets of shimmering gold.

"Now you need to get this cleaned up. Your friends should be here soon."

The doorbell rings, and Thomas Jefferson comes parading into the house, Harriet walking carefully behind him.
"Hello, little Hams," Jefferson crows, tossing his head back.
"Don't call me that, Jefferson," Alex snaps.
The two men glare at each other.

I reach for Harriet's hand. "Come on, Harriet. We can bring your stuff upstairs and wait for Theo to arrive."
We run upstairs, avoiding a puddle of Bluebird Wing 1818 on the way up. My room is covered in little splatters of drying paint, but Harriet doesn't seem to mind.

"Why is there paint all over everything?" She drops her bag and flops on the bed.
"I was painting, and then John and I got into a paint fight. We tracked it through the house.
"God, I love your house." She pulls her knees up to her chest and stares at the ceiling, covered in glow-in-the-dark stars just waiting for night.

The door flies open and bangs into the wall, and Theo skips in, beaming at us.
"I'm here! We can have fun now!" She tosses her bag on the floor, then looks at the paint splashed everywhere. "Your room looks rad, by the way."
"My dad threw paint at me and we broke a plate. I just cleaned my room, too!"

She doubles over laughing, her long braid flopping in her face. "That sounds exactly like something that you would do. Is that why John has green freckles and an orange nose?"
"Yeah, that's why. He's leaving it on because Alex says he looks cute."

Theo flings herself on top of Harriet, who screams and shoves her onto the floor. Theodosia sprawls contentedly on the wood floor, feet pointing up in the air.
"What are we going to do tonight?" Harriet lets her head dangle off the bed and her curls brush Theo's face. "I brought some board games."

"Get off of Theodosia, Harriet." I tap her nose. "I thought we could bake a cake, play some games, and watch DVD musicals."
"Only if it's chocolate cake and High School Music-I didn't say anything."
"Theodosia Burr, are you a High School Musical junkie?" I smirk at the expression of denial on her face.
"No, of course not! I just...Zac Efron is cute..." A blush has spread across Theodosia's cheeks.

There's a quick tap on the door, and John pokes his head in. He looks a little nervous, but grins when he sees us.
"What do you ladies want for dinner?" He gestures downstairs. "Alex and Mr. Jefferson are having a...slight disagreement in the kitchen."
As he says this, I hear shouts and what sounds like another plate smashing.

"I just like food," Theodosia says, giving Harriet's arm a sharp tug and pulling her onto the floor.
"Can we order pizza?" John's cooking is spectacular, but there's nothing like burning the roof of your mouth on hot takeout pizza.
"Sure. Especially since, you know, there's Buttercups and Sunshine 303 all over the stove."
"That's not a real color," I complain, shoving Harriet's foot out of my face.
"Whatever. It looks like Little Miss Sunshine exploded all over the kitchen, so takeout it is." John dances out of the room, tripping over an empty paint jar on the way out. I can hear a stream of colorful language as he skids down the stairs.

**********

A few hours later, we're all lying on the couch, watching High School Musical and singing along as loudly as humanly possible. The cake is in the oven, and a heavenly scent of rich chocolate saturates the air. All three of us are covered in batter and stuffed with hot cheese pizza.

"Bop to the top!" Harriet and Theo finish the song in two-part harmony, and then screech with laughter. The oven timer goes off, and I follow the smell of heaven into the kitchen. Sheathing my hands in oven mitts, I slide the pan onto the counter to cool.

The other girls are distracted- good. I tiptoe upstairs, into my room, and open my box of art supplies. Paintbrush, Ruby Slippers 6636 and Princess Purple 1776. I dip my brush into each color, and then write a few simple words on the gratitude wall. The girls won't notice them tonight, maybe never. But I will know that they are there.

The words are Harriet Hemings and Theodosia Burr.