Edge Of Danger

Chapter 4: The Canvas

Chapter 4: The Canvas

Chapter Song: It's a Beautiful Day - Michael Buble

Dex paints a sky blue acrylic paint onto his canvas using a big paintbrush. Afterward, he sets the paintbrush in a cup of water, trying to figure out the next blue to use in the painting's sky.

"~It's a beautiful day, the sun is up~" Dex sings softly to himself, staring out his window, the sun shining it's rays through the curtains. It was a nice day; birds sang on the cherry blossom tree in his backyard; there was a nice breeze flowing through the house since Dex had opened up the windows; the weather was 65 degrees and sunny in early October; what was there to not love today?

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Dex was using this time to paint his new canvas for his mother. After Dex made egg omelettes for him, his mother, and his little sister, he had set the table for his sister before she went out with her friends to the mall.

"Dex!" his little sister called after finishing breakfast and looking out the window. "My friends are here!"

After a long chat with the mother driving in the car, his little sister went with her friends on the way to the mall. Just another typical day in the household of the Leonardis. Roni was always out, and Dex stayed at home. Checking the bird feeders, watering the garden his mother planted, doing little things around the house.

Dex finished pouring a small glass of orange juice and went upstairs with a tray of breakfast.

The upstairs had five rooms, but only three were being used. Dex approached the second door from the left.

Knocked on the door three times, he heard a quiet "Come in" from the other side. Nothing unusual, to Dex's relief.

Dex opened the door and set the tray on the nightstand, next to his mother lying down on the bed. An omelette was on the plate, along with orange juice and a bowl of fresh blueberries. His mother's favorite fruit.

"Roni went out with her friends today to the shopping center." Dex told his mother, lying in her bed. She just looked at him.

"Really now?" she said. "Well, that's good. Better to go outside than never go out at all. Like I ever could."

"That's true." Dex agreed. "You still have the garden to tend to until winter comes."

His mother didn't respond, her blank, dark eyes staring into his eyes. Dex tried not to think about it too much. It bothered him, even though he could not show it.

"How is school, Chester?"

"Mom, it's Dexter." Dex said softly before his mother became anxious.

Dex's mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Along with a threat of cancer looming like a stormcloud, the family struggled, the father leaving them for Italy a few years ago. Dex was the only available caretaker here, with little sister Roni out of the house often and their mother stuck in her room most of the time. She would sometimes walk around the house and helped drive for errands and groceries. (with Dex's guidence, of course; she got lost very quickly. The doctor too drove Dex around until Dex got his license.) Otherwise, she spent most of her days in her bedroom, her eyes and thoughts wandering into many directions, not knowing anything about...well everything.

This led her to a terrible depression, especially after trying to recall her memories in the doctor's sessions. Dex and Roni were devastated of course; Roni could barely stand residing in their own house, hoping to leave the dratted place in a few years, and Dex had to manage everything they had.