Sometimes, Things Just Happen

Chapter 7

It was Saturday, so the Home Depot parking lot was a mess. Cars drove in and out of rows looking for spaces to park in, people pushing and pulling unwieldy carts, carriages and buggies wove in and out between them, and the cart-fetching employees had to balance between staying out of everyone else's way and keeping the patrons supplied with the means to buy bigger and better items for home improvement.

"Mr. Tanner, why is it we have to patronize this Grand Central Station again?" Ezra asked, stopping the Jag fast as a little boy ran away from his mother out into the path of the Jag and slowly circling flotilla. He and Vin followed her movement as she ran out after him, grabbed him by the arm, and, scolding him all the way, led him back across the aisle, all the while not watching for cars herself. Ezra rolled his eyes, looking directly at Vin for an answer to his question.

"B'cause ya need color on yer walls, Ezra, r'member?" he answered, as if it were obvious, "An' this is where ya come ta git it."

Ezra groaned in misery, then warned, "If my car gets dented, Vin, so help me..."

"It won't git dinted. It'll be fine," Vin assured him, "Jus' drive 'round the side of the garden cen'er. There's probly somethin' in the back."

Five minutes later, Ezra finally got his precious Jag the 200 feet from where he had been to the back of the massive store and had found a space to park that appeared safe from careless cart-handlers and monstrous SUVs.

Ezra almost felt a desire to whine if they could leave yet, but that would be undignified, so he restrained himself as he turned off and got out of the car. He told himself that this trip would not be so bad.

Vin was trying not to laugh at Ezra's discomfort. He walked ahead of him toward the garden center entrance. When he sensed Ezra falling behind, he turned around, continuing to walk, but backward. "Come on, Ezra... Faster we git this over with, the faster we can git outta here and git to paintin' yer fancy house!"

Ezra sighed and caught up with Vin. "Yer right, Vin, I'm behaving like a petulant child."

"Thatcha'are," Vin agreed with a smile.

Ezra gave him a look that said Vin didn't need to agree so readily.

Changing the subject, Vin asked, "What supplies do we need, other than the paint?"

They reached the garden entrance, as Ezra replied, "Well, I exhausted my tape supply, and the roller probably needs to be replaced, but the brush and tarp could be used again."

Vin nodded. "Wouldn't be a bad idea ta git an extra tarp an' another brush anyway, jist in case tha other one gits messed up. After all, ya don't wanna have ta come back here any time soon, do ya?"

"God, no!" Ezra balked at the very idea.

After grabbing a cart, they made their way through the swarming throng of suburban home improvers, bent on beautifying their homes to the envy of their neighbors, to the paint section.

Upon arrival, they stood in front of the massive displays of paint colors, unsure of exactly where to start.

Just then, Ezra noticed a non-descript young woman of about JD's age, wearing an orange, paint-splattered Home Depot apron with the name "Amanda" written in permanent marker across the front of it. Just what he didn't want to happen that day proceeded to do just that. She came walking up to them. "Oh no," he muttered under his breath, catching Vin's attention.

"Hey there!" she said brightly, as she reached them. "I remember you! 'Lady Luck,' right? It did work out, didn't it... Mister...?" She laughed coquettishly. "I don't think I caught your name before."

"Standish, Ezra Standish, and yes, it did, thank you," Ezra answered. He glanced at Vin, whose eyebrow quirked in an unvoiced question.

Noticing Vin herself, Amanda paused a moment, somewhat disconcerted, before holding out her hand and asking, "And you are...?"

"Vin Tanner, ma'am. I'm helpin' Ezra out with paintin' his place this weekend." He shook her hand politely.

Amanda stood back on her heals and glanced back and forth between the two of them, a sly spark in her eye, and asked, "So what can I do for you today?"

When Ezra took too long to answer, Vin jumped in, "Ezra's got it in his head ta paint his house, ya see, an' we're not exactly sure where ta start... pickin' colors an' all, ta go with the green paint already on his walls."

"Yes, Mr. Tanner is exactly right," Ezra found his voice.

Being young, her confusion over their situation showed on her face momentarily before she recovered herself. Mr. Tanner... Very odd. A bit "Mrs. Bennett" in her estimation. "Well, why don't we start by pulling the paint chip of the color you already have?" She moved to the wall and quickly found "Lady Luck." "What colors do you like in general?"

"I like many colors in general, my dear, but most I would not want permanently on my walls."

"Ooo-kay..." she tried a different approach, "What do you already have in the rooms in question? Colors of wood, appliances, style of furniture?"

Ezra thought a moment. "Most of the pieces are modern, dark but warm cherry wood, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, chrome finishes on the hardware in the bathrooms. A sleek look. The furniture upholstery colors are unimportant. I'm going to have them redone if necessary."

"Okay," Amanda started, considering possibilities, getting down to business, since it was clear to her now why Ezra was not responding to her flirtations. "Well, what kind of atmosphere do you want to create in your place?"

Ezra paused a moment... Atmosphere... Since when did it matter what the atmosphere of his house was, as long as it was the right one. As with his own person, he wanted people to think his house was stylish, correct, and polished. But how to express this in a way that wouldn't sound obvious or strained. "A charming, but polished, atmosphere, I believe would be the most pleasing."

Vin smirked behind Ezra's back, seeing through what he was saying to what he wasn't very easily. It would have disconcerted Ezra had he been aware.

"Hmm... alright." She thought a moment. "And how many rooms are you planning to paint?"

Ezra counted them in his head. "Eight."

She blinked in surprise. Not many people came in wanting that much paint. "That's a big undertaking. It's best to take your time picking colors for big projects to make sure that you choose what's right for you," she counseled.

"No, I'd liked to get this done today." Ezra did not want to have to come back again any time soon, if he could avoid it.

"Maybe she's right, Ezra. Ya want ta be sure, doncha?" Vin added his two-cents.

"Well, we can at least get paint for some of the rooms, if not all of them, today." Ezra was not leaving empty-handed.

"A'right," Vin conceded, "Don't worry none. We cin take the paint chips back ta yer place an' when ya have the rest picked out, let me know, an' I'll stop by an' git them on my way over ta help ya out."

Ezra, charmed, said, "That's a very gracious offer, Mr. Tanner... I humbly accept, if you're sure that it wouldn't be an imposition?"

"None 't'all, Ez. No more'n you lettin' me crash in yer spare room."

To Amanda, this situation just got more and more intriguing. She had better gay-dar than anyone she knew and it was sounding like an air-raid alarm around these two... And yet, spare room? "Um... well..." Shaking herself out of it, she continued, "Considering the color you already have picked out, you might want to go with something like another shade of green or maybe a brown or red for contrast. The brown or green could give the room a feeling of bringing the outdoors inside, and the red could add an energetic, exotic feeling. Both looks are very popular right now in the home improvement magazines." She began pulling paint swatches off the Bahr wall, lining them up next to the swatch of "Lady Luck" on the low ledge under the paint samples.

After about an half-hour of deliberation, Ezra decided on "Peridot," a green two shades lighter than "Lady Luck," for the rest of the large living room. It would also be used in the downstairs bathroom. "Lady Luck" would grace the walls of the kitchen, above and below the cabinetry, making the rich, dark wood that would soon find a home there really pop off the walls. The baseboards throughout would remain the white they were, at least for now.

That just left the dinning room and one wall of the breakfast nook in the downstairs part of the townhouse, and for that Ezra was thinking a brown. He couldn't decide between "Tiny Fawn," "Pepper Spice," "Fudge Bar" and "Castle Hill." All had their merits. He would take home samples and see which worked best in the room.

He had also decided on "Liquid Blue" for the guest room. It was a clear, sky blue that, though he hadn't justified it to Vin and Amanda this way, Ezra thought nicely matched the color of Vin's eyes. It was also quite fashionable this season. Occasionally, the average person surprised Ezra by having good taste. For the guest bath, he picked a lighter shade of blue, called "Coastal Mist." The baseboards there would likewise remain white.

For his bedroom, he just wasn't sure. Scarlet? Emerald? Aubergine? It would have to wait until another day.

As Ezra finalized each decision, Amanda mixed the paint and Vin set the cans in their cart. In total, they were buying seven cans. While Vin gathered the other items they needed, Ezra leaned over his cards deep in thought, attempting to decide on more colors that he could buy that day. Amanda stood by watching him, waiting for the last can of paint, Coastal Mist, to finish mixing. After a few moments of silence, she said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Standish, if I offended you by leaving my phone number on the paint can the last time you came in."

Ezra, startled by her apology, looked up and said, "Think nothing of it, my dear," with a gracious smile.

Amanda was one of those people who didn't always know when not to say something, especially when she was nervous, embarrassed or over-curious... at the moment, she would have had a hard time pin-pointing which one of those was winning out. "Well, I can see that there's good reason... I mean... he's gorgeous!"

Ezra had gone back to arranging the cards in his hands, putting different ones next to one another to see if that made a difference in how good or bad they looked. It took a moment for Amanda's remarks to register. "Excuse me?"

The paint mixer had just stopped, and Amanda pulled the can out, placed it on the counter, and hammering the lid into place, she continued, "I don't mean to put you on the spot... I was just saying, it looks to me like you've got yourself a really great guy there."

Just then, Vin came walking up to them and placed the tarp, tape rolls, brushes and roller sponges into the cart.

Before Amanda could say anything more, Ezra grabbed the last can off the counter, saying, "Yes, well, thank you for your help, Miss. Let's go, Mr. Tanner, we have things to do," and hurried them away.

"Of course, if you guys need anything else, I'll be happy to help anytime!" she called after them.

Ezra was just glad that Vin didn't seem to notice anything amiss. But how did that girl notice?

All Vin said was, "Well, she was helpful," as they made their way to the long check-out lines at the garden center registers.