Page 79 of In the Air Tonight

“I didn’t have the heart to take it down.”

“Why would you ever take it down? It’s the sweetest thing.”

“If you say so. There’s nothing more precious than the only child of a mother who yearned for kids all her life and finally got me when she was thirty-eight.”

“Aw, she must’ve been thrilled.”

“That’s one word for what she was.”

His affection for her comes through loud and clear.

“Where’d you go to high school and college?”

“Bishop Stang and RISD.”

The Rhode Island School of Design in Providence is one of the nation’s premier art schools.

“Oh wow. RISD is amazing.”

“I loved every minute of being in school with people who understood that there’re worse things than wanting to doodle for a living.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Took a long time to convince my folks I could actually make a living out of doodling.”

“I bet they were very proud.”

“They were, especially when I started making some money at it.”

“That does tend to get the parental attention.”

“Right?”

We land on the first floor, and he leads me to a spacious kitchen in the back of the house that’s been fully renovated. The cabinets are painted a rich navy blue with a matching tile backsplash, white counters and high-end stainless-steel appliances.

“This is gorgeous.”

“It was my first project after I inherited the house. I couldn’t very well tell them their kitchen was hideously outdated while they were still alive.”

“True. That would’ve been rude.”

“I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, though. Do you watch HGTV?”

“God, yes. I’m addicted.”

“Me, too, and I did this myself based on my HGTV degree.”

“You did not!”

“I did and let me tell you—watching it done on TV is nothingat alllike doing it yourself. I was very quickly humbled.”

“I can’t believe you did it yourself.”

“It took almost a year because I was determined not to ask anyone for help.”

“Why didn’t you list renovation on your list of talents?”

“Because if it takes a year, that’s not a talent. That’s a fool’s errand. I got really good at microwaving during that time.”

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