Page 76 of Give Me a Reason

Toward the end, Paisley left to use the restroom, and Finn moved to her chair so he was sitting next to me. “You’re really enjoying this.”

“I’ve never been to a class outside of school.”

“You should take some classes at the community college.”

“Oh no. I couldn’t. My sister is planning to go. She’s saving up. There’s no way I could go. Besides, art classes would be a waste of money.” If I ever went to school, I’d take the teaching credits to get my certification. I could teach art, but with only one teacher per school, I couldn’t count on a position being available when I finally graduated.

“If your sister goes to school, you can’t?”

I nodded. “I’m helping her pay for classes. It’s expensive.”

“That’s commendable, but what about you?”

I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with this conversation. “What about me?”

“Don’t you deserve to fulfill your dreams?”

“I am. I have a great job. I love my new apartment.” Although it really wasn’t mine. It was temporary.

“But is that your dream?”

I laughed, feeling slightly off. “I love my life. I don’t need anything else.”

“Hmm,” he said as Paisley returned with her hands on her hips.

“Daddy, what are you doing? That’s my spot.”

Finn moved over. “Oh, is it?”

“You know it is, Daddy. You didn’t draw on my picture, did you?”

“Of course not.”

We finished our sketches and took them with us as we walked out. There was a line to exit, with some asking questions and others praising the instructor for a good class.

When we reached Sally, she said, “You should come back in a couple of weeks. This will be a series.”

“Oh, that would be nice,” I said, knowing I probably wouldn’t.

“Do we sign up at the front?” Finn asked.

“Sure do.” And then she answered a question from the person behind us.

“Are you signing Paisley up?” I asked Finn as we made our way to the counter.

“Do you want to go with us? You seemed to enjoy it.”

I shook my head. “You should do it together. I don’t want to intrude on your time.”

“You wouldn’t be. Art is kind of your thing.”

I didn’t think of myself as an artist, but I didn’t argue with Finn when he signed all three of us up for the series. The classes wouldn’t be all people; there was a week of animals, another for inanimate objects, and one for light and shading. It sounded amazing.

“Daddy, can we go to the park?” Paisley asked when we stepped outside.

“There’s one nearby. Want to join us?”

“Seeing as you drove, sure.” I wasn’t ready for my time with them to be over. These two were taking up residence in my heart, and I didn’t have the strength to stop it.

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