Chapter Nineteen
Ali spent the morning staring out the window at the snow and wishing she’d taken JT up on the offer to go sledding.
Surely it would have been more fun than unpacking more boxes and creating an ever-larger tower of cardboard in her garage.
She could be flying down the hill with JT snuggled into the sled with her, her arms around Ali’s middle as they whizzed past the little kids.
Or they would be in their own sleds racing or going over jumps.
She picked up the utility knife to slice open yet another box.
The box was mislabeled and should have been in her back bedroom that she was setting up as a home office.
She carted it to the room, where she was confronted with a pastel lavender on the walls.
She hated it. It made her think of babies and old ladies.
It was dated, and there were spots of deeper color where there had been pictures hanging.
She set the box down and wiped a hand across her eyes in frustration.
She wanted to put everything away. She wanted the boxes gone, but she should paint first. But that meant picking a paint color. On her phone, she found the paint store’s app and flicked through what felt like a thousand colors. It was overwhelming to have so many choices.
When she was with Kyle, he always had strong feelings about decisions they had to make, and she always just agreed with him.
It was easier that way. But now she had choices to make all by herself and she was not going to end up with whatever the paint equivalent of a beige couch was.
She was going to pick something she loved. And no one could stop her.
The box was left on the floor, ignored, while she grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on the horrid beige couch scrolling through colors. There were so many to choose from, but she wanted to see every single one of her options.
She texted her brother and three of her teacher friends. What’s your favorite color?
The answers trickled in. She didn’t care what colors they liked best; it simply helped her decide which part of the palette to jump to next.
By the time she got a text from JT saying she would be over after lunch, she’d narrowed the choices down to a few grayish blues.
She stared at the screen of her phone, wondering if the color was too dark.
She tried picturing it on the walls, but it was hard to see with all that gross pastel staring back at her.
Would it feel depressing and drab or cozy?
She’d ask JT for her opinion when she arrived.
JT arrived covered in a dusting of snow from her walk and with cheery pink cheeks. “Sledding was awesome!” She shook off the snow on the steps before hanging up her coat and taking off her boots. “The kids had so much fun.”
“And you didn’t?”
JT smiled. “It was the best. But I’m ready to work! What are we tackling next?”
Ali beckoned for her to follow to the office. “What do you think about this color in here?”
JT made a face. “Lavender isn’t really my color, but if you like it…”
“I don’t. I’m thinking of this one.” Ali handed JT her phone.
JT held it in front of her so she could picture it on the walls. “I like it.”
Her voice didn’t sound like she liked it. “Are you sure? It sounds like you don’t think it will look good.”
JT shook her head. “No, no, no. It’s your house and you should choose what you like.”
“But…”
“I would choose something brighter. But it’s not my space! You should pick what you want. Do you want to go to the store to look at those little things…” She searched for the right word. “What are they called?”
“Swatches. Sure.” Ali felt a bit thrown off. “What color would you pick?”
“Ali, it’s your space. Who cares what I think?”
Ali raised her hand.
“Fine. I like yellow.”
Ali took this in. She wasn’t a person who gravitated toward yellow, but she tried to picture it on the walls. It would be cheery and bright even in the dead of winter when things often felt dreary. She pulled up a few colors on her phone and contemplated how they’d look.
JT had a point. It wouldn’t have been her first instinct, but maybe something bright would be good for her. “Want to go to the paint store?”
“Now?” JT asked, looking a bit confused.
“Yeah, why not? You up for a little painting before our next challenge?”
JT nodded. “I’m just here to help.”
They made their way to the next town over to buy the paint. They pulled out a lot of swatches to consider before JT showed Ali one with a yellow that seemed bright and cheery without being either pastel or too much like an egg yolk.
After paying what seemed like a bonkers amount for the paint and the supplies, they returned to Ali’s house.
“Okay, so I haven’t ever painted a room before,” JT admitted. “I’ve only lived in rentals, so I’ve never been allowed.”
Ali grinned. It was sweet to see confident JT acting unsure.
She liked being the one with the expertise.
“Well, it’s not that hard, really. First, we’re going to tape around the trim so we don’t get yellow on the baseboards and ceiling.
And then we’re going to use the rollers on the walls and the brushes to get the corners and around the tape so we don’t make a mess.
I promise, if Kyle and I could do it, you can. ”
JT grabbed the tape. “Show me what to do.”