Wow. 2 chapters in one day. I ROCK!
Chapter 3: Pictures
When I woke up, I looked at the calendar on my wall with a smile.
Today was December 22. Only 3 more days 'til Christmas! I thought.
Then I saw the box Mom gave me the night before, and my smile faded.
I took the box on my lap and opened the lid.
I shuffled through it, looking at every little thing. I counted them off in my head:
1 black feather we found outside
2 shiny pebbles we found in the creek
3 pieces of broken bark from the oak tree in the front yard
4 rusty metal stars we bought at a yard sale for $2.00 each
5 colorful leaves from our dark-bark tree in the backyard…
I chuckled at how it was kinda like the 12 days of Christmas.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six pictures, all of he…
I halted my mental redo of the song as I picked up a small framed picture in my hand.
In it, Iggy and I were sitting cross-legged on the ground at the base of our "dark-bark tree" as he used to call it. He had his arm around my shoulders and I had mine crossed in front of my chest. He had his tongue sticking out of his smiling mouth and I was smiling with my canines showing, looking menacing but goofy at the same time.
I sighed and sat the picture down on my nightstand.
I remember the day it was taken. Mom was baking brownies for us while we waited outside. We got kinda bored so we got my dad to take a picture of us. It took many trials and even more errors but eventually we got a picture we all liked.
God, I missed Iggy.
I closed the box again and sat it on my nightstand again. Then I stood up and went downstairs.
My dad was making breakfast; Pancakes, bacon, and fresh orange juice.
"Mornin' Dad." I said as I sat down on the stool at the kitchen table. It wasn't really a table, though. More like a bar in the corner of the kitchen.
"Good morning, Eve." He said with a grin. "Breakfast will be ready in just a minute. Why don't you goget your Mom from the studio?"
I nodded and walked out to the garage.
Ya see, my mom's a crazy good painter. It's amazing what she can paint when she wants to. Every morning she starts painting a new piece, and the rest of the day she finishes it. She doesn't have anywhere to paint so she does it in the garage, where surprisingly, there are no cars.
When I got there, Mom was already at it. On the canvas was a beautiful winter sunrise with icicles that sparkled with the sun's first rays.
"Wow! That's awesome, Mom!" I said.
Mom turned. She smiled.
"Thanks. I'm almost done!" She said. "I just gotta get this stupid pine tree to look right…"
I laughed.
"Well, dad's almost done with breakfast, so you better go wash up or you don't get any-"
Mom was already out the door and into the bathroom.
"-pancakes." I finished with a grin. Mom loved pancakes and I'm pretty sure she'd kill to get 'em.
When I got back to the kitchen, dad was setting the food down on the dining room table. I sat down with a glass of orange juice and grabbed 2 pancakes and 3 pieces of bacon.
Mom came in just as I bit into my pancake, and after kissing my dad on the cheek, she sat down and started eating. Dad came too, but he barely got any pancakes.
I laughed at his mock-disappointed face. My parents really rocked.
When we got done eating, I stayed to help Dad clean up while Mom went back to the studio.
While we washed dishes (He washed and rinsed, I dried), a question came to mind.
"Hey Dad, what are you getting for Mom?"
Dad put a plate in my side of the sink. "A new paint set and that movie she's been wanting."
I nodded. "I got her a new sketch pad and some pencils. You think she'll like it?"
Dad nodded. "Yep. She told me she wanted some new sketching equipment."
After we got done washing dishes I went outside. I climbed up into the dark-bark tree and looked up through the "sky-light" as Iggy called it.
God, I missed Iggy.
