was freshly painted.
White.
Clean.
Untouched.
The contractor had finished the final coat the previous afternoon, and I had spent the evening checking it from different angles, almost afraid to believe the ordeal was finally over.
Toby came outside carrying two cups of coffee.
“Looks good,” he said.
I smiled.
“It does.”
He handed me a cup and stood beside me.
For a while, we watched the neighborhood wake up.
A car passed at the end of the street. Someone opened their front door. A dog barked somewhere behind the
