Remember, I told you

Two Artists

As I unlocked the front door to my apartment, Lannie was chattering away. She gleefully said, "I like Ry-Ry. He's funny. And his eyes are my favorite color."

"You already have a nickname for him?! I thought that was our thing" I teased, tickling Lannie.

She giggled and said back, "Yes, but you will always be my favorite Bosie." She gave me a sloppy kiss. Lannie was too smart, already melting my heart. She had me wrapped around her little finger.

"Okay. I forgive you," I said kissing her back. I set her down shaking my head, "Okay, so what do you wanna do Lannie."

"I wanna paint Bosie! Please, please, please!!!" she clapped.

"Okay, okay Ms. Princess, no need to yell. Let me go and get the paints. Can you go and get some paper?" I asked.

Already running across the living room, she hollered "Yes!! I got it" louder than before.

How this three-year-old had so much energy at 10 pm marveled me.

I pushed open the door to my room and opened the deep mahogany wood armoire that sat next to my bed. It belonged to my mom and was one of the few things that I was able to keep when I lost the house. 

The wood was flaking in some places, dented in others, and scratched throughout, but my mom never threw it out. 

She used to say, "A family of trees gave its life to make this armoire. Cut down, splintered, stained to become something that we could fit inside our home. Now a little beat up, it looks more like the tree it came from the least we can do is honor the life that was sacrificed."

I never really understood her attachment to it, but when it came time to sell the house, I couldn't let go. And now, in my dingy little room, the armoire stood, with more flakes, dents, and scratches than before.

I yanked at the door, looking for the paints I had promised Lannie. The shelves were overflowing with clothes, music sheets, journals, and books, but the art supplies were nowhere in sight. 

I swore I had seen them somewhere in there...

On the very top of the armoire, I saw a small red tube of paints. I couldn't quite reach the shelf, so I jumped a little, extending my arm. As I jumped again, barely reaching the tube, the whole shelf came down with a loud thud.

"Bosie! Are you okay?!" Lannie yelled, running into the room with paper crumpled in her hands.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just dropped something, but I think I found your paints." I looked down to clean up the mess that I made when I saw something I thought I had lost for forever...

I gasped, looking down at the stacks of beautifully canvases sprawled out across my floor. Some of the paintings were large landscapes, others were smaller portraits. There were so many different styles, realistic, impressionist, abstract, etc.