The old hospital building was on the edge of the city, which was convenient because it was closer to where so many of the kids Drew and West wanted to help lived.
Several cars and bikes were in the parking lot, and the door to the old emergency room waiting area was open.
West was behind the glass, surrounded by paperwork.
“Is this where we come for emergencies?” I joked.
West raised his head and smiled. “Fuck no. But if you want to break your back painting a few rooms and get paid in bad coffee, you’re in the right place.”
“I guess we’re in the right place,” I said.
“Painting rooms?” River whispered next to me.
“Yup.”
West handed us a couple of paint coveralls and pointed to the first room in the hallway. A couple of cans of paint and rollers were in the middle of the room. All the furniture had been removed and West had told me the floors would all be stripped and redone so we didn’t have to worry about making a mess.
“Ready to make this place even brighter?” I asked, handing River a roller.
“How about a little competition?” he asked, dipping it into the tray of sky-blue paint.
“You’re on. I take these two walls, and you take those two? We meet in the middle.”
We high-fived and got to it.
Working side by side, our movements fell into a familiar rhythm, the swish of brushes and rollers the only noise in the room, other than the voices in the distance from other volunteers working in different areas of the building.Occasionally, I caught River’s eye, and something unspoken passed between us.
“Look at you two, synchronized painters,” West remarked with a chuckle, breaking our trance as he stuck his head through the door. “Could’ve made a career out of this.”
“Missed our calling,” I quipped back.
“Keep up the good work. There’s a few more rooms, and I intend on milking every second of your time here.”
River laughed. “You got it, boss.”
By the time we stepped back to admire our work, the room was filled with light and color.
“Looks great, doesn’t it?” River asked.
“More than great,”
“Thanks for today, Adam.”
“Anytime.” I couldn’t help but tease River about the streak of paint on his cheek. “You’re supposed to be painting walls, River, not your face.”
He chuckled, wiping at his cheek with the back of his hand, only managing to smear the paint further. “It’s a new fashion statement,” he said, flashing a grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
“Remember when you tried to dye your hair blue to impress Jake What’s-His-Name?” I asked.
“Let’s not,” he said with a playful grimace. “I ended up looking like a Smurf for weeks.”
“Hey, he did say it was unforgettable,” I pointed out, remembering how we’d laughed until our sides hurt when River showed up at my house, his hair a vibrant disaster.
“Unforgettable is one word for it.” I paused, brush in mid-air, as a particular memory surfaced. “Do you remember the pact we made? That no matter where we ended up, we’d always find our way back to each other?”
“Of course,” River said. “Like gravity. No matter what happened, we’d gravitate back.”
“Seems like gravity’s done its job.” My voice was barely a whisper as I realized we had drifted closer.
