Page 21 of Her Braun
How did she fear all of this?
Well, YouTube's algorithm seemed to like to torture her with videos from family courts.
She'd clicked on the 'DO NOT RECOMMEND' link every time she could, but the videos kept coming.
It was like the world was trying to tell her that having a family wasn't for her.
She hadn't come this far in life just to derail everything she'd planned.
Everything she'd worked for.
"Hey," Gibson waved at her, "you should come inside so I can show you how the paint looks."
Yes.
She should.
Kay turned to look at her reflection in the side view mirror to make sure that her smile was still in place. "Okay. Show me."
She entered the house, looking around as if she was expecting everything to have changed on her. "I forgot to tell you where the temperature controls are."
"That's okay." He closed the door behind her and locked it. "I'm used to working in all kinds of temperatures. Anything is cooler than the heavy heat of bunker gear."
She nodded and waited for him to cross the room and lead her into her own bedroom. "I feel really bad that you were here doing all the work."
Gibson turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "I'm used to being a one-man crew most of the time. It doesn't bother me."
He stopped and gestured down the hall. "You want to go first?"
She looked at him and saw the happy smile on his face. He looked proud of himself, and she liked seeing the look on his face. "I want to see what has you smiling like that."
He lifted a hand to his face and touched his cheek. "I didn't think... I don't know what I thought, but yes, I'm happy. I think you picked a hell of a color for your room."
His smile and the tone of his voice fed her with energy that she hadn't had a moment before.
"Okay," she nodded at Gibson, "here I go."
She moved along down the hall and felt a little hitch in her step.
No, it wasn't like she'd tripped or caught her toe, she was almost skipping.
"I think this anticipation is half of the fun." She reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist.
A moment later she was stumbling into her bedroom and staring at the walls.
It was a complete change from the primer white walls that she'd been living with. The wall across from the foot of her bed was indeed the Arsenic green that she'd picked out, but the color wasn't sickly or poisonous. Instead it looked cool and relaxing.
The other walls looked as if they were memories of the accent wall. They were the same blue-green color but something less vibrant. "The other walls look like... a kind of sage green."
"That's what I thought when I was painting it." Gibson was standing at her side, his gaze moving around the room as well. "I think this color really gives the room a good feel, Kay. Good job picking the color."
She leaned into him, bumping her shoulder against his arm. "You helped with that, remember?"
He gave her a smile as he swayed back in her direction and bumping her back. "I just gave you some suggestions."
"It's true. Maybe I might have ended up with the Drunk Tank Pink, and that would be tragic."
"There's always that salmon color-"
