I drew a deep breath and held it until she and Peggy had made their way down the stairs and out the door. I blew it out in a heavy sigh.
“You okay, Daddy?” Zoey asked.
“Sure.” Zoey could be way too perceptive. I forced a smile and ruffled her hair. “I’m going to start the burgers. Why don’t you and Sophie tell Hope what you want your room to look like?”
With that, I headed downstairs, drawing my first easy breath since arriving home.
12
hope
Zoey was the spitting image of Sophie, but taller, thinner, and much more solemn. She regarded me skeptically as she sank down on her bed. “Are you really an artist?”
It was a question I sometimes asked myself. “Well, I have a college degree in painting and design.”
“I like to paint, too,” she said.
“Really? That’s great! You can help with the mural.”
Her face lit up with a gap-toothed smile. “Cool!”
“Me, too!” Sophie said.
Zoey shook her head. “You’re too small.”
I tried to play peacemaker. “I’m sure we can find parts for both of you to paint.”
Zoey looked doubtful. “She’s really messy. We want it to look good.”
“Oh, it will.” I sat down beside her. “So tell me what you want.”
Sophie climbed up on the bed with us. “A castle with a moat and a drawbridge and a tower!”
“That’s the outside,” Zoey said. “Our room will be inside.”
I was impressed with her understanding of perspective. “Maybe we can paint a big window, and it will look like we see the moat and drawbridge through it,” I suggested.
“Yeah!” Sophie said.
Zoey’s eyes brightened. “And a tower that’s on the other side of the castle.”
“Great idea. Do you have some paper so I can write this all down?”
Sophie brought me a pink piece of construction paper. I jotted down some notes. “What color should it be?”
“Pink!” they both exclaimed.
I grinned. “The inside or the outside?”
“Both,” Sophie said.
Zoey looked thoughtful. “Yeah, but castles are made of stone, and stone isn’t pink. It’s white or gray or brown.”
“I don’t want brown.” Sophie made an ick face.
“What if the outside is white, but a sunset is making it glow pink?” I suggested. “And what if a beautiful vine with pink flowers is growing up the side?”
“Yeah!” Sophie bounced on the bed.
