Green Paint - A Short Story

A beam of light hit the far side of the dining room. The light moved across the wall and seemed to highlight each painting and picture in a way that made time move slowly. I loved sitting in the dining room at this hour, when the sun was setting. I loved seeing the sweeping movements of the light, how it interacted with the different pictures on my wall. I liked to remember the places I had been and who I had seen. On the corner of the wall close to the floor, the light started to pass over a green handprint and paw print. The prints looked worn and a bit smudgy. My husband always said we should paint over the prints, but I never let him. They were precious to me.

“Cara, come this way,” I said. “Mommy wants to set up the drop cloth so that we can paint the room.”

Cara, my four year-old daughter, nodded her head and plodded along beside me. She grabbed the bottom of the drop cloth as I dragged it to the dining room. I set everything down and wiped my forehead. Tackling the painting of this room seemed like a good idea last weekend. Now, I felt unsure. I looked down at Cara who was tugging at the drop cloth in an effort to be helpful.

“Mama,” Cara said, “I wanna paint. Paint the room.”

“Yes, love. You’re gonna paint with mommy today. Now to get the paint.”

I grabbed the rest of the supplies and tapped off the one side of the wall. Cara was my little shadow and was helping me each step of the way. Her little hands were eager to hold the brush dipped with paint. 

“Cara, be sure to hold this steady. Now help mommy and wipe the brush up and down. Up and down,” I said.

My little helper nodded her hand and very carefully lifted the brush up and down up against the wall. From the front of the house, I heard the screen door open. 

“Hi, hun,” my husband called. I could hear the scuffling of claws. My husband had just come back from walking our dog. 

“Wait, Alfred!” My husband said.

I could hear the jungle of Alfred’s collar and his footsteps get closer. Before I had time to react, our big sheep dog had come into the dining room with full force. His tail swished and knocked Cara’s brush from her hand. With another swish, he pushed towards me and tried to lick my face.

“Alfred, no!” I said.

My hands stretched out to try and grab him. Fur slipped through my fingers as Alfred squirmed away. Cara started giggling. I turned to see green paint had spattered onto her clothes and her face. Green paint went everywhere. Baby. Dog. Paint. 

For a few minutes, my husband and I turned about trying to get everyone settled. Cara laughed the whole time white Alfred scurried away to wreak more havoc. 

“Mama made a mess!” Cara said.

Cara has green in her hair and on her hands. I scrunched up my nose and smiled. Even messy, she was too cute. Without warning, Cara slapped her hands on the floor. 

“I’m like Alfred!” she giggled.

“Darling, let's get you washed up,” I said as I scooped up Cara into my arms. The smell of paint mixing with the undertone of diaper. “It’s time to get changed.”

After things had settled and my husband had wrangled Alfred for a bath, I went to clean up the room. As I wiped down the wall and floor, I noticed the small hand print next to the paw print. The size and character of the green paint made me smile. I wiped around the prints and left those two in their place. I could always clean them up later, but for now I wanted to remember my little girl how she was.

“Mama!” Cara called. “Alfred is eating my popsicle!”

I grabbed the dirty towel and ran from the room. Another disaster in the making needed to be stopped!