Remodeling Work

The little girl had quite an aptitude for painting the hard parts. She was good at cutting in, keeping paint away from woodwork and off the windowsill. Ginger showed her how to use painter's tape, but once left alone to do her work, the little girl didn't place one piece of it on the wall. Instead, she wrapped a single strip around each wrist, like tight bracelets, and another over her mouth. Ginger smiled when she saw it. She liked to stay silent when she worked, too.

Slowly, Ginger's side of the duplex was coming together. Eddie finally had all the electric working. The floor was no longer a splinter garden. Rooms were starting to take on identities. The kitchen was complete enough to have face plates on the electric outlets and even a few appliances plugged into them. The little girl helped apply the sticky tiles to the floor in the kitchen, and then Ginger had her painting the back wall, the big one, the one it would be hard to mess up. The little girl painted it, then she painted the space between the overhead cabinets and the countertop. She somehow pushed the refrigerator away from the wall just far enough that she could wedge herself in to paint that wall, too.

Left unsupervised, the little girl could get things done. Ginger admired her efforts, and gave her bigger jobs.

She was alone, painting in the living room, when her father stopped by.

"Are you getting paid for this?" Daniel asked his daughter. She sat on the floor with her back to him and the doorway in which he stood. She didn't answer him. She just kept painting.

"She's well compensated," Ginger said from the dining room.

"Well," Daniel said, "I hope so." He took one step forward to hand her his rent check.

"Thanks," Ginger said. "You want to come in? See what your daughter can do?"

He looked down at his daughter, who still ignored him. "Oh, I know what she can do," he said.

Ginger didn't love their dynamic. And, since the little girl spent more time at her house, she noticed Daniel's demeanor change, as well as his behavior toward both of them. He didn't like it. He didn't like something about their relationship. Yet, he didn't stop the little girl from spending time with Ginger. Instead, he glared at both girls. He gave short, rude answers to questions. And he snarled at any mention of his daughter's good work.

It made Ginger consider, briefly, adding a kindness clause to the lease.