Chapter Ten
Bas was sure he’d never get all the dust out of his nose. He’d been breathing it for days. The bedrooms were finally clear. He’d sent two loads of junk off to the VA, and another huge batch of clothes went off to a consignment shop, whose owners were excited about having such a large influx of vintage gear. Bas had kept a few of his grandfather’s things, liking the style of clothes worn in the late twenties. Hard to believe his grandfather would have been ninety-seven this year. Gran had been in her late eighties. The age gap between the two had been a real scandal, with Gran being swept off her feet in high school. She’d had eleven kids, none of whom acknowledged Bas’s existence, a fact that had made her angry enough to exclude them all from her will.
Adam and Ru had been rays of sunshine the entire week. Even when something reminded Bas of his gran and he got all weepy, they were there with hugs, jokes, and pizza—the food of champions. Today they were painting. All the furniture was loaded into the living room, making the room a haphazard maze of leaning mattresses and random drawers to navigate. Taking down the wallpaper had been the worst. The glue and tiny paper pieces floated everywhere.
One bedroom had mold damage that Mr. Corbin had come over to fix. He’d ended up ripping down the dry wall in that bedroom, adding new insulation, and putting up mold-proof board. Bas had never been so grateful to have an adult in his life, since he hadn’t known where to begin when faced with the black swatch of fungal invaders.
Mr. Corbin had had a construction friend of his come out and inspect all the rooms for mold. But other than the one room—which was discovered to have a faulty window—nothing else was found. They sealed the window and ordered a new one, which would be installed when the weather got a little more forgiving.
The house was beginning to look more modern and cared for. A new touch of color and some highly inspired decorating, and it could almost be a swanky bed and breakfast. Bas liked the idea, but knew he was a long way and a business degree from that adventure. In fact, his idea turned to something a little more humanitarian. He’d have to talk to his lawyers about legalities, but he had a new purpose of which he knew his grandmother would have been proud.
Once all the painting was done, they’d have a carpet cleaning service in for the bedrooms, and then return all the furniture to its proper places. The garage had become the place to paint, sand, and stain furniture. Even Mrs. C had come over with a group of crafty friends to make cushions and curtains, paint vases, and sand furniture. So many people had been in and out of the house, he was beginning to feel like it was a hotel, and suspected their comings and goings had little to do with the help he needed and everything to do with them making sure he didn’t let depression get a strong grip on him.
Bas turned to answer a knock on the door nearly tripping over a dresser drawer. Maybe Mr. Corbin was back. He swung the main door open to find Marissa standing on his doorstep. He hadn’t seen her since Gran’s funeral, but hoped she’d seen the light and broken up with his brother. He thought, not for the first time, what a pretty girl she was, and how if he hadn’t been gay she would have been his type.
“Hey, Marissa. How are you?” And what was she doing there? Please let Eddy not be lurking around outside. His little brother had never missed a chance at school to sneer and throw an insult at him. Bas never reported it because he didn’t want his brother suspended. He wondered if maybe he hadn’t done his brother a disservice.
She smiled politely at him.
“The paint is a good look for you.” She pointed to a swath of color he knew was on his chin.
Bas felt heat flood his cheeks. He was wearing an oversized T-shirt and sweats covered in paint blotches and dust. His hair had been tied back with a bandana, which would be thrown out once the week was over. He certainly wasn’t the epitome of style that he usually was. Ever since that unfortunate attack in the school bathroom nearly a year ago, he hadn’t let a moment go by when people wouldn’t see him in all his queenly glory, put together, poised, perfect. The idea was, if he was going to take shit for it, he’d be living large and taking names while doing so.
“Sorry, been working on the house.”
“Yeah, my dad works down at Ace. He ran into Adam’s dad, who mentioned you were painting. I thought I’d come by and see if you needed some help. I’ve done a lot of painting. Did some of those fancy stripes in my parents’ dining room last summer. Added a chair rail and crown molding. Looks a lot like an English sitting room now.” At least she was alone. “My point is, I’m pretty handy.”
Bas stepped aside to let her in the house.
“I appreciate the help, but you don’t have to.”
“Oh, I know that. I want to.” She stripped out of her coat, hung it on the wall hook, and kicked off her boots. She wore tired jeans and a stained sweatshirt, painting clothes.
“You already get all the wallpaper down? I remember visiting once a couple years back. Your Gran did love wallpaper. The more flowers the better.”
“Yes. That only took forever. And we haven’t even started on the kitchen.” The huge eat-in kitchen was a monstrosity of dark blue walls, bright maroon borders, flat brown cabinets from the eighties, and cream-colored appliances. Bas decided that when the weather finally warmed he’d paint the cabinets white, change the hardware, remove the border, and lighten the walls. He’d already purchased the handles for all the doors. Anything to make it feel a little more homey and brighten it up.
He led Marissa to the room they’d decided to begin painting. Ru and Adam were already decked out in their painter’s gear and had brushes in hand.
“Guys, I dunno if you’ve met Marissa, but she goes to our school. She’s volunteered to help paint.”
“Hey, M,” Adam greeted her. “She works on the paper too. She does nature photography and the funny weather report,” he told Ru. “Marissa’s a junior like me. She’s also in my chem class.”
Ru put down his brush and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Miss Marissa. Any friend of my guys is a friend of mine. I love the weather report. Your satire never fails to make me laugh.”
Marissa blushed. The few dark hairs that escaped her ponytail she shoved behind her ears before taking his hand in a firm shake.
“Would I sound like an idiot if I tell you I’m a fan? Your voice is so beautiful, and the songs you write touch me every time. EspeciallyStart Something.”
“Nah. Adam and Bas are fans too. They just won’t admit how much they love me.”
“Oh, please, pretty singer boy. As if you’re the only former boybander coming around,” Bas teased. He clasped his hands together and looked heavenward as he let out a long sigh, “Now Tommy... That boy is heavenly.”
“Did someone say my name?” a voice called from the other room. Tommy suddenly appeared in the doorway. “I knocked, but no one answered, so I followed the voices.” He stripped off his jacket. “Ru said to wear stuff I can get dirty, so lay it on me.” He held his arms open and puckered his lips like he was begging for a kiss.
“Wouldn’t you just shit a chicken if I did, Tommy-boy?” Bas said. Instead he pulled Tommy into a hug. “Glad you’re back. How’s your friend? Is he okay in California all by himself?”
Tommy returned his hug.
