Co-written by:
Mel, Jo, Carol and LJ
Six young men stood facing Jade Heights’ Chief of Police, Chandi Barrett. Although shifting uncomfortably, they were paying attention.
“You’ve all proven how much you enjoy painting, so this weekend’s work should provide you with a good deal of entertainment, which in turn should keep you out of trouble.” Chief Barrett turned to the older, stern-looking man standing beside him and grinned before turning back to the young men in front of him. “This is the town’s Superintendent of Public Maintenance. His name is Cliff Richardson and he will be overseeing the project.” Chandi stepped back, but continued to watch the proceedings.
Cliff glared at the small group with slight scowl on his face. He was wondering what he’d done wrong in life to deserve the dubious pleasure of supervising this bunch of mischief-makers. “Okay, boys; listen up! Here’s how we’re going to distribute the work to be done. Look around at the playground equipment and take note that there are six main colours in use. You will each be responsible for painting the items that correspond with the colour you’ll be issued.”
He waited impatiently as his make-shift crew quietly obeyed him. At least they’d had the sense to dress in old clothes and most were wearing hats. Glancing over the list in his hand, Cliff began reading off names. “Kadyn Hart, you’ll be doing all the blue items; Cameron Jackson, green; Kyler Jamieson, red; Jason Copeland, purple; William Fleming-Monroe, yellow; and Rene Wilson-Pierce, you’ll be in charge of the black and white trim work. After all, you are the professional artist, are you not?”
Getting a shy, nervous nod in response, Cliff grunted and led the way over to a white utility van. He handed a gallon of paint and a couple of brushes to each man, then gruffly issued final orders. “I won’t put up with any horsing around. I expect a good job, or else.” He stared from one man to another, daring them to ask what ‘or else’ meant. “I’ll be available if you need help or have questions. Now, go get started. You’ve got a full two days work ahead of you.”
The work crew divided into two groups with Rene, Kadyn and Kyler going towards one side of the playground equipment area and Cameron, Billy and Jason going to the other side.
“Any chance old man Richardson is a retired military sergeant?” Kadyn jokingly wondered out loud. It was a beautiful day and Kadyn was more than up to working outdoors. There was very little that actually got this particular young man down, as he found adventure in just about everything.
Kyler on the other hand, noticed the number of people hanging around behind the barriers that had been set up around the playground equipment and felt somewhat embarrassed. He’d be glad when this weekend was behind him. “He sounds like he might be,” Kyler quietly commented and shrugged his shoulders.
Rene nodded his head. “Yeah, I think he’s from the same military background as my father. Everything regimented, and heaven forbid you have a bit of fun while you work.”
He stood back and looked at the job ahead of them. There was a large climbing apparatus with swings, slides, a merry-go-round, a rope bridge, bouncy ride-on animals and teeter-totters. Each was painted a bright colour with black trim. However, to his artist’s eye they were boring and lacked originality. Rene had been working with the children at the day care and had grown to understand the things which excited and interested young kids. He felt if he was going do this job, he should put his expertise to use and make this a better place for the town’s children.
The only thing making him hesitate was the stalwart Cliff Richardson. If he were to take his ideas to the man, would they be shot down without consideration? But then again, if he went ahead and did it without asking, would he be in trouble?
He turned to Kadyn and Kyler. “Guys, I have an idea. What do you think about...?” He went on to tell them his thoughts and concerns, hoping they could provide some advice.
“Hey, I really like your ideas, Rene.” Kadyn was always supportive of his friend’s suggestions. “You can count me in. The super hinted at you using your artistic talent, didn’t he? So I say we should go for it.”
“Me too,” Kyler joined in. “Maybe if you do the outlines, the rest of us can fill them in. Bet the others will want to do it your way as well. Let’s go tell them about it before they start painting.”
Jay quietly took the pail of paint handed to him. He disliked purple. It was such an odd color to him but he decided to keep his opinion to himself as he followed his team-mates over to the jungle gym. “I thought a park was supposed to be alive and bright but these colors are dull and drab,” he mumbled to his fellow co-workers. He glanced over at the other team, then nudged Billy and Cameron. “Wonder what they’re up to?” he asked as the other two men followed the jerk his head to the other group.
Billy was highly disgruntled. “That does it,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m officially changing my name. William is my goddamn father.” His attention was distracted by Jay’s nudge and he looked up to see Kyler, Kadyn and Rene walking over.
‘Green,’ Cameron thought to himself, ‘of all the disgusting colours. I not only miss out on a day’s pay, I’m going to get covered in green paint.’ He glanced over at Jay’s question and grinned when he saw Kyler’s expression. His friend was obviously excited about something. “What’s up?” he asked when Kyler was within hearing range.
“Rene’s got some neat ideas for brightening this place up. It will sure beat just slopping paint over everything; provided we can get away with it.” Kyler’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he shared this info. “I’ll leave it to Rene to tell us what he wants done.”
Rene began to detail his plans to all his new friends. “I work with a lot of kids at the day care centre and I know that they love anything to do with animals. So I was thinking about giving each piece of equipment an animal theme by painting them in the colours, spots, stripes, etcetera of various creatures. For instance, the slides could be painted in beige with the spots of a giraffe; the jungle gym orange with stripes of a tiger; the merry-go-round in white with black zebra stripes; the swings in off-white with leopard spots; and the teeter-totters in black and yellow stripes like a bumble bee. We’ve been supplied with all the primary colours along with black and white, so I can mix some to get any shades we’re missing. I think it would be very appealing to the children and make our park a show place. The only thing I’m worried about is how to handle this. Do we go to old Cliff and ask if it’s okay? Knowing his type, we’ll probably be told no. Or do we just go ahead and do it in hopes that once the project is done it will be accepted? Of course that puts us in the position of possibly being in further trouble if he doesn’t like it. Or do we just paint things the same as they’ve been painted every time since the park opened?”
“I say we just go ahead and do it!” Kadyn piped up enthusiastically. “It will sure make the job more interesting and look so much better when finished.” Glancing around to see where the ‘Boss’ was, Kadyn noticed him in deep conversation with Chandi and a couple of other older men. “He doesn’t seem to be paying us any attention, so if we quietly go about our business, it might take him a while to catch on to what we’re doing.”
“Kadyn’s right. I say we go for it,” Kyler added his two-cents worth.
“Great idea,” Cameron concurred with a grin crossing his face. “I get dibs on the tiger.”
“No way do we go to Old Grumpy about this,” Billy stated emphatically. “He’s a by-the-book man. Anyway, we ain’t doing this for him. We’re doing it for the kids.”
“We can paint some of the bouncy animals the colors they already are. There’s a gray elephant, a black panther and a muddy-looking hippo; all without faces. Jack’s got some cans of old spray paint left from when he painted the metal lawn furniture. Maybe I can snag those and bring them tomorrow,” Jay suggested. He looked over Rene shoulder and issued a warning. “Hey, we better get a move on before the boss-man wonders what we’re up to.”
Kyler grinned when he saw another man walking over to the truck. “No fear. Looks like he’s already having a coffee break from the number of cups on the tray that other guy is carrying. They’re probably sucking up to the Chief.” Kyler’s comments results in snickers from the rest of the work team.
“Then it’s best to start while they’re doing their own thing. Show us what you want done first, Rene, and we’ll follow your lead.” Kadyn was eager to get the activity underway.
“Okay, let’s go for it,” Rene agreed. They gathered up all the paint cans and a few empty plastic pails. Rene mixed some paints to achieve the desired shades and then gave out the instructions for putting on the base coat of colour for each animal print they would be doing, explaining that they needed to get all the base coats finished on Saturday so that the decorative spots and stripes could be added the next morning.
Rene took the can of white paint and began work on the merry-go-round. He looked over at Kadyn who was applying red paint to the sides of the covered bridge in long, smooth strokes. His friend’s shave head was now covered in a short stubbly growth. “I see you’re not keeping the bald look,” he teased. “Did Vincent not appreciate being partnered with a billiard ball?”
Kadyn grinned and wiped a hand across his head, leaving a couple of splotches of red paint behind. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled. But hey, it’ll grow back in soon enough.” “Well I don’t think Zack would have liked me shaving my head either. But between you and me, he umm...well he like the shaving I did do. He wants me to keep it like that.”
Kadyn burst out laughing over that comment, while Kyler, who had overheard part of what was said, snickered.
Kyler was busy slapping yellow paint on the teeter-totter. Tomorrow he would add the black stripes. He glanced over at Cameron who was more than generous in applying the orange paint to the jungle gym. “The way you’re splashing that around, Cam, you’re going home today with as much orange on you as you did last Saturday. There must be something about tigers that really appeals to you,” he teased his friend. “You’ve already got some splattered on your face and the front of your shirt.”
Cameron grinned back at his friend. No matter how bad his mood, Kyler could always make him smile. “Chad liked the tiger look,” he replied. “And I need some brownie points after having to do this when I'm supposed to be working. He was really good giving me last Saturday off, but today I don’t get paid for.” He looked down at himself. “At least the clothes are old and way out of date. Plus, I’m not turning myself off-white.” He looked towards Billy, who just grinned and stuck his tongue out.
“This is more fun than I thought it would be,” Billy commented as he liberally spread a thick coat of beige on the first of two slides in preparation for the spots that would be added later. “I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when they see what we did. We just need to think of a way to keep the Boss man occupied when we get creative tomorrow. He’s got a stick so far up his butt, he can’t bend over.”
Cameron spluttered at the vision Billy had just given him.
“Billy, that’s not nice!” Jay was laughing hard and shaking his head even though he had been thinking the same thing. He started on the elephant, being as it was going take the most time. He gave it a gray primer coat, wanting it good and dry before he added the contrasting colour tomorrow. The panther and hippo were not going to take as much time, even though the hippo would also need some darker brown to enhance the lighter base coat. When he saw the merry-go-round spin, he smiled to himself and let out a small chuckle
The morning passed quickly and the young men were surprised when Chandi called them over to the picnic table under a shady tree. The Chief was carrying several large boxes from the local pizzeria and Officer Quinn was juggling half a dozen, extra-large tumblers of pop.
Kadyn jumped down from the perch he had been sitting on. He landed precariously and slipped in a small puddle of paint that had accidently found its’ way to the ground. Picking himself up, he laughed to discover that the seat of his cut-offs was now a bright yellow. “At this rate, I’ll look like a rainbow by the end of the day,” he joked to Rene.
Rene laughed good-naturedly as he joined his friends who were heading to the truck for their unexpected lunch. “Zack is constantly sending me to wash off paint. A career artist is never without paint splotches on some part of them.” He looked excitedly at the pizza and pop they were being offered. “Wow, this is really nice; thanks, Chief Barrett. Way better than the PB&J I’ve got in my bag.”
“I should have let you guys know that your meal would be provided. Sorry about that,” the handsome Chief apologized. “You’re doing some good work from what I can see. Don’t you agree, Cliff?”
Cliff merely grunted and helped himself to a slice of pizza. However, the painting team missed the wink he sent Chandi’s way. “Kadyn, you better sit on the grass unless you want to find yourself with extra work cleaning up that seat you’re about to use.”
Grabbing some food and one of the drinks, Kadyn merrily settled himself at the foot of the tree. He smiled when Kyler and Rene came over and sat with him.
“Hope you guys don’t mind if I take on the responsibility of doing the whole bridge,” Kadyn mumbled around a mouthful of food. “I’ve got plans for it; might just turn out to be my first masterpiece.”
Kyler snickered at that. “Well, I got the teeter-totter done, so after lunch I’ll work on the red posts and railings. It will leave the two tunnels to be painted purple and the swings to be primed with off-white. And of course, there are the little stairways and wooden paths to paint green. Then that should be it for today, right?” He grinned when he got vigorous nods of agreement from the two men sitting across from him. He got up and walked over to the table to get another piece of pizza. “What do you wanna work on next, Cam? Pick a colour, any colour,” he jokingly suggested to his friend.
“Not fussy,” Cameron replied. “I guess I could take care of the stairs and wooden paths. After all, I got allocated the green at the start of the day; unless you have a great desire to do them.” He was getting increasingly fed up with this whole thing and even Kyler couldn’t make his mood any brighter. He looked at his fingernails and wondered if he’d ever get them clean again.
Jay eyed the pizza as he took a bite of the sandwich Jack had sent with him. He loved pizza but he loved Jack more and didn’t want to hurt Jack’s feelings. However, he did manage to grab a few slices before it was all gone. He gave his painting partners a sly grin. “What? I’m a growing boy,” he said, tossing a potato chip at Billy.
“Thanks,” Billy laughed. “I’m still working on the slides. I think they’ll need another coat of the beige. They started life as bright yellow and that’s still showing in some places.”
“All right, boys; back to work!” Cliff hollered when the thirty minute break was over. He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Thanks for the pizza, Chief. It went down well with the ham and cheese sandwich Vincent made for me.” Kadyn had a healthy appetite and would eat just about anything available. He threw his apple core into the trash and laughingly complained to no one in particular, “Wish he hadda packed some cookies though.”
As the work crew headed for the playground apparatus, Kyler spotted Hugh standing next to the fence that spectators had to stay behind, and ran over to him. “You checking up on me, Hugh?” he asked with a wide grin.
“Not exactly, Brat. I brought you the lunch you left on the kitchen counter. Guess it was a wasted trip.”
“No, it wasn’t. I’m glad you came.” Kyler threw his arms around his partner’s neck and hugged him. “Maybe we’ll get a break this afternoon and I can eat it then.”
“Sounds like a plan. I think I’ll hang around for a bit and watch you guys work. Meanwhile, you better get back to the job at hand.” Hugh kissed Kyler’s cheek and sent him on his way.
The painting continued to progress smoothly during the afternoon. Only a slight hitch occurred when a couple of the guys got into a giddy mood and started a game of mini-paintballs, using their brushes to flick different colours at each other. It ended up involving all of them, but was all in fun and came to a sudden end with a shrill whistle from Cliff. None of the Brats wanted the older man in their face, so they quickly calmed down and finished up.
Rene looked around at the work they’d done, as he was cleaning up and stowing his supplies for the day. Everything was looking great. He only hoped that old Cliff didn’t pay any attention to the colour changes they’d made. He bid his friends good-bye and began the short walk home. He wondered if he should tell Zack about the changes to the painting job they were doing. He knew his husband wouldn’t like him keeping secrets unless it was a good one, such as a surprise, would this qualify? It wasn’t that he thought Zack wouldn’t like his idea for the painting but he was afraid he’d insist that Rene talk to Cliff about it before hand and that he knew wouldn’t fly with his friends. Well all he could do was hope Zack just asked general questions that didn’t lead to details he’d rather not reveal yet.
“Can I give anyone a lift home?” Kyler offered. “I don’t mind going out of my way.”
“No, that’s cool,” Cameron answered. “I want to walk. I guess Chad’s at the lounge and I can at least help out. Probably wonderful jobs like cleaning the toilet,” he muttered the last under his breath.
“It’d be great if you would drop me home,” Billy replied. “Mace is on call so I have to make my own way home. I don’t think it’s too far out of your way, is it?”
“Not out of the way at all, Billy. What about you, Kadyn or Jason? Need a lift?”
“Came on my bike,” Jay told him as he unlocked his mountain bike from the rack. “But thanks anyway, dude.” He got on his bike and headed home.
“No thanks,” Kadyn responded to Kyler’s offer. He called out farewells to each of his friends as they left, and waited patiently for Vincent to pick him up. He grimaced when he looked down at himself and it hit him just how dirty he had gotten. ‘Hmm, wonder what Vince is gonna make of this?’ He shrugged nonchalantly while muttering, “What will be, will be.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rene and Kadyn met at the park entrance early Sunday morning. “Looks like we’re the first ones here,” Kadyn announced.
“Yeah, looks like,” Rene agreed with a yawn. “I need another coffee. Zack pushed me out the door this morning, so I barely got my first one down. As much as I enjoy the painting, getting up this early on a Sunday morning really sucks.” He looked at his watch. “We’re a bit early. I’m gonna run to Tim Horton’s and grab a large double-double. You wanna come?”
“Ya don’t have to ask me twice. Let’s go!” Kadyn happily went along with his friend’s plan. He fell into step beside Rene and started talking about the day’s upcoming activity. “I’m eager to get back to painting that bridge today. Hope I get doesn’t take longer to do that the other stuff, cause I got lots in mind for it.” Kadyn glanced at his friend, a wide grin on his face. “Speaking of paint, how long did it take to get yesterday’s off ya?”
“Oh, no problem; I’m used to having paint on me. Though Zack did comment on the volume; doing this kind of work creates more mess than my usual, to say nothing of that little splatter fest we all got into!”
“Vincent made me throw out my old clothes and then he scrubbed almost half my skin off,” Kadyn exaggerated, scowling briefly before his grin reappeared. “But he kinda made up for being so rough later on.”
Rene laughed. “If I threw out my clothes every time I get paint on them, I’d be in the poor house!”
“Whatcha talkin’ about guys?” Kyler had seen them leaving the park when he was dropped off by Hugh and had deliberately stolen up to startle them. He laughed when his sudden appearance made them jump.
“Just about how we spent last evening,” Kyler answered.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my back and shoulders were beginning to stiffen up by the time I got home. Must have been all the bending and stretching. But a nice long soak with Hugh and some reflexology from Patrick worked wonders,” Kyler almost purred at the memory.
“Reflexology, huh? That sounds nice. I guess that’s the advantage to being partnered to a doctor, cuz otherwise I wouldn’t thank you for it.” Rene shuddered. “Just having a dentist for a father-in-law is hard. I mean Todd’s the best and he did a great job when I had a bad tooth, but now it means I have to have regular dental check-ups with no chance of avoiding them. A medical doctor would be even worse!”
Kyler just shrugged and grinned while Kadyn vigorously nodded his agreement.
The three men picked up their coffees and headed back to the park just on time to see the Cliff Richardson and Chandi Barrett arrive.
“Hmm, wonder why old man Richardson is all dressed up?” Kadyn mused, taking another mouthful of his drink.
“Maybe he’ll tell us.” Kyler joked. “Looks like all the gang’s here,” he commented, pointing towards Billy and Jason who were approaching from the far side of the park. “Cameron may be another few minutes, seeing as he and Chad are having a bit of a conversation in Chad’s Ranger over there in the parking lot.”
“This sucks,” Cameron moaned for the hundredth time that morning. Chad, the eternally laid-back Top, just looked at his Brat for a good minute. Cameron turned red and mumbled, “I know, I know, it’s my own fault. But I had plans involving a clearing and a blanket.”
Chad smiled and patted the younger man’s knee. “I don’t think that clearing is going anywhere, Mugs.”
“I hate waiting,” Cameron muttered. “You know me; instant gratification. Oh well, maybe we’ll finish early and the plan can be put into motion.”
“You never know, babe. Now get a move on before someone has to come and drag you out of the Ranger.”
Chief Barrett waited patiently while Cameron sauntered over to them. “Okay fellas, listen up. The same rules are still in force; painting crew on the playground-side of the fence, on-lookers on the other side. There’s to be no visiting!” He looked pointedly at Kyler whose break in protocol had him running over to talk with one of his partners yesterday. “Again, anyone needing to use the men’s room will be escorted individually by either myself or Officer Quincy, who will be joining us shortly. We’ll be doing KFC for lunch, and Stewart from the bakery has treated us to some cookies. Right now, I think Cliff has a few words to say.”
Cliff looked over the group, pausing a moment to glare at Cameron who’d had the audacity to keep him waiting. Cameron just looked back. Only Chad could get him to look away and Cliff was no Chad. Cliff merely rolled his eyes, totally disinterested in getting into a staring match with any of the young hoodlums. “If you boys work well today, you should be finished shortly after your noon meal. And by the way, just so you know; the changes you made when applying the colours yesterday, did not go unnoticed.” He smiled inwardly when he recognized body language indicating embarrassment and apprehension. ‘I should let them sweat it out,’ he thought briefly before changing his mind. “I’m cutting you some slack because you’ve done a fairly decent job so far. I’m off to church and I expect you all to behave while I’m gone. Now get busy!” He winked at Chandi when the young men scurried to get the supplies out of the truck.
“Geesh, did he just compliment us? I wonder if it hurt,” Kadyn mused in a low voice and chuckled. He watched as Cliff walked away. “Guess not. ‘Cause he hasn’t burst into flames yet, and he isn’t rolling on the ground in agony or anything like that.”
Jason just shook his head. He was in a bad mood and didn’t want to be there. He hadn’t slept well and all he wanted was to be home in bed. “Just shut up, Kadyn! Why do you always have to say a smartass remark?”
Kyler saw Kadyn’s face fall. He reached over and grabbed Jason’s arm. “What the hell is your problem? Someone piss in your corn flakes? If so, there’s no need to take your shit frame of mind out on any of us, especially Kadyn.”
“Hey, it’s okay, Kyler,” Kadyn spoke quietly, trying to hide the fact that he had been hurt by Jason’s uncalled for remarks. Although he appreciated Kyler standing up for him, he didn’t want there to be any trouble. “Let’s just get done what has to be done, all right?” His eyes pleaded for Kyler’s cooperation.
Rene looked at Jason. Although he didn’t know the other man well, he recognized the signs of someone spouting off in an attempt to alleviate their own bad mood. “Jason, ya know none of us really want to be here. But since we’re stuck, how about we try and make the most of it. We can leave our mark on Jade Heights in a positive way. Maybe the gossips can stop talking about us as the guys that showed off their assets to every kid town, and talk about us as the guys who made the park a fun place for those kids.”
Jason jerked his arm out of Kyler’s hand. “For your information, I don’t eat corn flakes.” He then turned to see Rene in his way, so he had no choice but to listen to what the older man had to say. “All right, God I didn’t mean anything by it. But hell, he’s just so grrrr…” He waved his arms out for a minute and almost hit Rene with the bag of spray paint as he pushed past him to head over to where he was supposed to be. He felt bad about snapping at the kid, but hell he could be so irritating.
“Hey guys, let’s just calm down and finish this off.” Billy stepped in to help Rene smooth the rough waters. “Kadyn, you have a masterpiece to finish, right? I’ve got the slides that need spots and Cameron has strips to put on the jungle gym as soon as our local artist gets the colours mixed.” He smiled over at Rene. “Guess you and Kyler know what you’re gonna work on.”
Cameron was glaring at Jason. He was in an equally bad mood but at Billy’s words, he turned to Kyler. “Let’s just get this done, while tight-ass is in church.”
Although tempers seemed to be settling as fast as they had flared, Chandi nevertheless stepped over to prevent anything else starting up. “Take it easy, guys. It’s all right to joke around but there’s no need for anyone to over-react.” He saw the bag in Jason’s hand and called out to him. “Jason, what do you have there?”
Jay rolled his eyes. ‘Now what!’ he thought as he retraced his steps back to the police chief. “Just spray paint,” he grumbled, holding open the bag. “What’s the big deal?” he snapped without thinking. He wasn’t use to cops being nice. ‘Today is going to be a blast.’ He kept his thoughts to himself as he waited for Chandi to comment. He didn’t like the cops in Vancouver and to him, this one was no different.
“Drop the attitude, no one is impressed by it. Hand over the bag, please.” Chief Barrett held out his hand and snapped his fingers. “Sorry, Jason, but only the paint provided by the town is to be used. It is a special non-toxic formula especially developed for children’s playground equipment. I’ll just hold onto this and you can pick it up when you leave.”
Jason scowled at him as he handed over the requested item. “I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but considered it dropped,” he muttered. ‘Yeah, it’s going to be a grand day,’ he thought as he waited to be told to what to do next.
“Wait here a moment, please,” Chandi instructed. “The rest of you can gather up what supplies you need and start work.” He waited while Rene mixed paint and doled out numerous small cans of colour to each of his workmates. Five young men set about their work, leaving Jason behind. Chandi turned and eyed Jason for a minute or two. He was beginning to suspect he was dealing with a fellow Brat, and a very unhappy one at that. “You are obviously out of sorts and presently lack the ability to play nice. So rather than take a chance on your mood having a negative affect on the others, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to finish off the three bouncy rides you worked on yesterday, then you are going to come back over here and call your partner to come pick you up. It shouldn’t take you much more than an hour. Now get a move on!” Chandi’s voice clearly conveyed he was losing his patience.
The Chief of Police and Officer Quincy stood shoulder to shoulder, keeping a watchful eye on their young charges. They watched as the various designs took shape, almost appearing to come alive.
“Those guys are doing a bang up job of this, aren’t they?” Paul mused, somewhat astonished by what he was seeing. He chuckled when he heard a mumbled agreement from his superior.
Kadyn leaned the ladder against the side of the bridge and climbed up carrying his brush and a can of white. He meticulously painted fluffy clouds on the see-through roof that he had done in a pale blue yesterday. He was actually enjoying himself. Although he’d never be anywhere near the artist his best friend was; he could still enjoy creating beautiful scenes for the children who would be playing here.
The jumping toys were the first to be completed. It was almost an hour later, when Jason stomped over to them. He still looked far from happy even though he had done a good job of the task he had originally assigned himself.
Jay waited until the Chief noticed him before speaking. “Since you are sending me home, can I pick up my attitude where I dropped it? And can I have my spray paint back too?” He had a smug look on his face. “Also, I rode my bike so no need to be picked up.” He held out his hand for the bag.
Not liking the look he was getting, Jay dropped his arm to his side and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry for the crap I gave you all this morning. It was uncalled for.” He took a deep breath. “May I stay and finish out my sentence with the guys? It’s not fair to them if I get sent home because I’m being an ass.” He really did think it was unfair he got to go home and they had to finish without him.
“By all means, Jason; you are more than welcome to stay. I think those two tunnels can use a second coat.” Chandi smiled as he reached into the back of the supply truck, pulled out a large can of purple paint and handed it to Jason. “I know I can depend on you to do as good a job with this as you did with the elephant, panther and hippo.” He raised an eyebrow to quell any retort the young man might be planning to come back with. “Thank you, Jason,” Chandi added, a touch of kindness and sympathy in his voice.
“No problem, dude, and thanks for understanding.” Jay gave the Chief a weak grin as he took the paint. “It just had to be purple,” he grumbled as he walked back to the playground apparatus.
“I can help you out,” Billy offered. “I’m done with the giraffe slide. How about a Purple People Eater?” he suggested to Jay with a smile. “Just shut up and come with me,” he spoke softly to Jay under his breath. “Cameron is almost as pissed as you are. The best we’ve got out of him is a grunt.”
Rene put the finishing touch on his zebra-striped merry-go-round and stood back to assess his creation. It had taken years of work throughout his university art classes to learn when to stop painting and call a piece finished. He was his own worst critic, always finding small faults and wanting to go back and touch them up. His professor had actually threatened to tie his hands behind his back when he finished a piece and make him learn to assess his work with less a search for perfection and more a search for artistic beauty. However, he was finally at the point where he could accept that what he saw as imperfections were considered by others to be a part of what made his work unique.
Satisfied that he had created something the children could enjoy, he sealed up some of the leftover paint and went to see how Kadyn was coming along with his bridge creation. He admired the sky-scape, though he had to laugh at the blobs of white paint that had dripped on Kadyn’s very short hair. “If you wanted to do more body painting, buddy, you shoulda told me. I’d have been happy to help.”
Kadyn laughed as he slid down the ladder to stand next to his friend. “I think by the time we finish up here, I’ll have had my fill of painting anything for a good long while.” Glancing around, he commented with a note of awe. “Wow, it’s all coming together just grand. Gotta love Cam’s tiger and Billy’s giraffes; your zebras are fantastic! Some still need faces added, huh? I’m gonna start painting grass and flowers on the red walls of this bridge. I made need your help with some of it. I’ll just give you a shout if I get in over my head, okay?”
Rene nodded his support and set about painting faces on the presently faceless animals while finishing highlights were being added by his fellow painters. They all took time every so often to stop what they were doing to admire and praise each other’s handiwork.
“At the rate you’re going, Kadyn, you’ll have used every colour to do your creation,” Kyler teased when taking a closer look at the young man’s work.
Cliff arrived back shortly before noon bearing gifts in the way of lunch. He stopped short when he saw the work that had been done in his absence. “What the hell is all that?” he enquired, an expression of shock on his face. He glanced at the two police officers and groaned when he saw wide grins on their handsome faces. “Humph, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the pair of you were in cahoots with our group of hooligans.” The edge was taken off his scolding by the sparkling flecks of amusement in his brown eyes.
“It seems a lot of others also like the new concept.” Chandi nodded his head in the direction of the fence where a large group of spectators had gathered to watch the artwork unfold. “We’ve attracted twice the crowd that we had yesterday.”
Almost all the painting was complete. It was a wild array of colour with jungle animals that smiled greetings at anyone who looked at them. Four of the work crew was standing back watching Rene and Kadyn who were still working on the walls of the bridge.
“God, I wonder who came up with that scenery idea?” Cliff grumbled some, but more in order to maintain his façade than because he was really annoyed. He shook his head when Chandi and Paul burst out laughing. They’d both seen through him. Putting the packages down on the large picnic table, he gruffly ordered, “You may as well call the boys over here and get them fed.”
Six young men apprehensively made their way over to the older men. Having seen Cliff’s return, they fully expected to have his wrath come down on them hard. They were in for a pleasant surprise.
“You boys have done a great job with that equipment. It’s inspirational and I’m sure it will now be a lot more appealing for the children to play on.” Looking Rene squarely in the face, Cliff continued. “Bet I’m right in guessing you initiated the whole scheme.” He smiled at the blush of embarrassment that spread across Rene’s cheeks. “Of course, you couldn’t have done it with out the help of a good team.” His smile expanded to include all of them. “Your imagination and efforts to do your best have definitely made my weekend worthwhile and restored my faith in the younger generation. Now stop gaping at me like fish out of water and eat up before that chicken gets cold!”
Kyler closed his mouth, only to open it again to take a big bite out of the fried chicken breast he held in his hand. He had been floored by Cliff’s praise.
Kadyn blinked as Cliff’s words sank in and a big smile brightened up his paint- speckled face. “Whoa, man, who’da thought? He really, really likes it” He grabbed up a chicken leg as he turned to Rene to see his friend’s take on what had been said.
Rene was grinning widely. “I really hoped he would. I know he comes across as a grump, but what’s not to like about making a children’s park friendlier?”
Cameron just grunted as he reached for something to eat. He’d really enjoyed painting the tiger for the kids, but he wasn’t ready to be sociable.
Jay fixed his plate and went to sit under the tree. He felt if he sat with the guys and Kadyn said something smart, he would say something to hurt his feelings again. Shaking his head, he took a tentative bite. KFC was not his choice of food but it filled the pit.
Billy couldn’t quite believe it when he heard Cliff’s praise. ‘Maybe he’s not so bad after all,’ he thought to himself. He felt good about him and Jay having taken the extra time to add a flowery vine to the sides of each tunnel. He looked around in time to see Jay go off by himself and shrugged. He’d done his best for his friend, so he turned to apply himself to the KFC. Mason didn’t allow it in the household and he intended to enjoy this break in his diet.
“Okay, listen up guys!” Chandi waited until he had everyone’s attention. “As soon as you’ve eaten your fill, you can gather up the debris and clean your brushes. Once everything has passed Cliff’s inspection, you’re free to go. Those of you who are being picked up can call home now and let your partners know you’ll be ready in about an hour. And before you say anything, Jason, I do remember you telling me you rode your bike over.”
“We’re allowed to leave early? Right on, man!” Kyler didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and began to dial home. He grinned when he saw a couple of the other guys doing the same thing.
“I better make that a bit longer than an hour,” Kadyn mused, holding his phone to his ear and bouncing impatiently as he waited for Vincent to answer. “I’ve got a few more things to do in order to complete my so-called masterpiece.” He smirked when he heard Rene’s chuckle.
Rene opened his cell to call Zack. His husband was at home, working on the books for the pharmacy. Their usual Sunday morning habit of lying in bed, reading the paper and making love, had been curtailed by Rene’s enforced community service. The younger man was hoping they could at least make up for some of that loss in the afternoon.
Cameron was straight onto his phone. “Chad, please come and get me. We’re being released early. Pack up the picnic blanket. I’ve got plans involving it and a certain clearing.”
Billy was also on his phone. “Mason, can you come and pick me up. I want to use one of my vouchers.”
When he saw the other guys get up, Jay made his way over to the table. “Kadyn, can I talk to you for a minute?” he requested, wondering how the younger man would respond.
“Sure thing,” Kadyn noticed the others slowly making their way back to the playground. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about being left behind on his own with Jason. His fingers tightened around the paper plate containing scraps that he had scrunched up to throw in the garbage while he waited for his antagonist to speak.
It didn’t take a fool to notice that Kadyn was nervous. “Relax, I’m not going to bite,” Jay told him, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry for being such an ass this morning. I had no right snapping at you like that. It’s up to you, but I’d still like to be friends.” Jay held out his hand.
Picking up a note of sincerity in the other man’s voice, Kadyn accepted the extended hand and shook it. “Don’t sweat it,” he good-humouredly advised before running off to join the others.
Jay smiled. ‘That guy is way too hyper,’ he thought as he made his way over to the other guys.
Cliff was slowly walking around and closely inspecting the completed artwork. He couldn’t help smiling at the animals; the wide grins painted on them were contagious. “Great work, boys. You’ve really outdone yourselves. Maybe next year, you can volunteer to do it instead of having to as a result of causing mischief. Now just what do you feel you have left to do, Kadyn?”
“Ah, I’d like to paint a parrot on each wall of the bridge. If Rene will draw them for me, I can fill them in.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Rene offered. “Just show me where you want them.” As he began the outline of the first parrot, his mind wandered over what Cliff had said about volunteering. The town had numerous public facilities that could use a bit of artistic flare. He’d seen some towns that had painted their fire hydrants to look like Dalmatians and wondered what he could come up with for a hydrant. Then there was the senior’s community centre that could some sprucing up. Yeah, there was a lot of potential.
“All right,” Cliff approved Kadyn’s plan. “The rest of you can collect the paint cans, rags and brushes, and take them back to the truck. Then get out of here. And I don’t expect to see any of you in disgrace on one of my work details again.”
Kyler, Cameron, Billy and Jason were quick to follow this last order and soon had the playground area cleared of painting supplies.
“Kyler, someone’s waiting for you!” Officer Quincy’s voice carried across the compound from where he and Chandi were standing by the exit leading to the parking lot.
A rushed goodbye to his friends and Kyler was off. “Hi Guys!” he hollered as he ran over to his partners. “We’re free! We’ve served our time and paid our debt to society.” Hugh and Patrick had promised to take him to the lake for a picnic if the community service was completed with enough time to spare. He was over-heated and sweaty, and definitely looking forward to a refreshing swim followed by whatever else came to mind. With luck, that activity would necessitate a second cooling-off time in the water.
Chad arrived minutes later and Cameron was never so glad to beat a hasty retreat.
“Did you bring the blanket?” he asked anxiously as he climbed into the Ranger.
“As if I’d dare forget,” Chad chuckled and leaned over to kiss his Brat. He knew exactly what his lover had in mind.
“See you around, guys,” Jason called as he walked to where he’d left his bike. “I am so outa here.”
Billy hopped into Mason’s truck when he turned up. He kissed his husband and murmured, “Missed you. Take me home and fuck me senseless.”
About half an hour later, Jack turned up on a motorcycle. He’d been working on getting his license in secret and wanted to surprise his Brat. “Where’s Jay?” he asked Cliff who was closest to the gate. On hearing that Jay had been let go early, he remounted the bike and roared off in pursuit.
With the last of the painting finally done, Rene and Kadyn tied up the trash bags and closed the back doors of the van. They turned to find Zack standing behind them.
The public had been barred from entering the fenced-in area of the playground. However, Chief Barrett did permit those with good cause to do so. Zack was one of them.
“I bet you’re both glad to have that over with,” Zack commented. He chuckled at the two of them covered in a multitude of colourful spots. His smile softened when he looked at his husband’s beautiful face.
“Hi!” Rene smiled at Zack’s arrival. He never failed to feel a thrill of excitement when his husband appeared. Just knowing he belonged to this incredible man was enough to get his pulse racing. “I’m sure glad we’re done for today, but I do have some ideas for other projects I’d like to share with you later.”
“I hear there’s someone needing a drive home,” Vincent’s voice teased as he walked up to them. He too had been given permission to enter. He paused to glance over his partner and shook his head. “You’re a real paint-magnet, Kadyn. Not quite as bad as yesterday though, so we might be able to save that outfit. At least we can keep it for any future activities that involve painting.”
“Vince, you gotta see the neat stuff we did!” Kadyn exclaimed after hugging his partner to show without words how happy he was to see him. He took the bigger man’s hand and began dragging him across to the newly-painted equipment.
Zack and Rene followed at a more leisurely pace.
“Looks like you guys are going to have your artistic talents splashed across the front page after all, Rembrandt.” Zack pointed to a photographer for the Jade Heights’ local newspaper taking pictures while a woman wrote down notes. “I wonder what Kadyn is telling them?” He smiled at the sight of a paint-splattered young man bouncing on the balls of his feet and excitedly waving his arms while imparting bits of what he apparently considered newsworthy information.
Zack’s curiosity was satisfied when the other couple joined them and Kadyn excitedly shared his news.
“I gave the reporter all the details and she’s gonna write up a story,” Kadyn announced, rather pleased with himself. “But I told her the whole scheme was your idea, Rene, and that the rest of us just went with the flow. We’re gonna have our names in the paper. There’s even gonna be pictures of our work.”
Rene was beaming. This is what his art should be about. Not the praise, but the enjoyment and pleasure it might give to those who viewed it.
“At least it’s the public playground and not something more personal and private.” Zack quipped and ruffled his lover’s hair.
Rene, Vincent, and Kadyn joined in the laughter as they headed out the gate.
The End
“You’ve all proven how much you enjoy painting, so this weekend’s work should provide you with a good deal of entertainment, which in turn should keep you out of trouble.” Chief Barrett turned to the older, stern-looking man standing beside him and grinned before turning back to the young men in front of him. “This is the town’s Superintendent of Public Maintenance. His name is Cliff Richardson and he will be overseeing the project.” Chandi stepped back, but continued to watch the proceedings.
Cliff glared at the small group with slight scowl on his face. He was wondering what he’d done wrong in life to deserve the dubious pleasure of supervising this bunch of mischief-makers. “Okay, boys; listen up! Here’s how we’re going to distribute the work to be done. Look around at the playground equipment and take note that there are six main colours in use. You will each be responsible for painting the items that correspond with the colour you’ll be issued.”
He waited impatiently as his make-shift crew quietly obeyed him. At least they’d had the sense to dress in old clothes and most were wearing hats. Glancing over the list in his hand, Cliff began reading off names. “Kadyn Hart, you’ll be doing all the blue items; Cameron Jackson, green; Kyler Jamieson, red; Jason Copeland, purple; William Fleming-Monroe, yellow; and Rene Wilson-Pierce, you’ll be in charge of the black and white trim work. After all, you are the professional artist, are you not?”
Getting a shy, nervous nod in response, Cliff grunted and led the way over to a white utility van. He handed a gallon of paint and a couple of brushes to each man, then gruffly issued final orders. “I won’t put up with any horsing around. I expect a good job, or else.” He stared from one man to another, daring them to ask what ‘or else’ meant. “I’ll be available if you need help or have questions. Now, go get started. You’ve got a full two days work ahead of you.”
The work crew divided into two groups with Rene, Kadyn and Kyler going towards one side of the playground equipment area and Cameron, Billy and Jason going to the other side.
“Any chance old man Richardson is a retired military sergeant?” Kadyn jokingly wondered out loud. It was a beautiful day and Kadyn was more than up to working outdoors. There was very little that actually got this particular young man down, as he found adventure in just about everything.
Kyler on the other hand, noticed the number of people hanging around behind the barriers that had been set up around the playground equipment and felt somewhat embarrassed. He’d be glad when this weekend was behind him. “He sounds like he might be,” Kyler quietly commented and shrugged his shoulders.
Rene nodded his head. “Yeah, I think he’s from the same military background as my father. Everything regimented, and heaven forbid you have a bit of fun while you work.”
He stood back and looked at the job ahead of them. There was a large climbing apparatus with swings, slides, a merry-go-round, a rope bridge, bouncy ride-on animals and teeter-totters. Each was painted a bright colour with black trim. However, to his artist’s eye they were boring and lacked originality. Rene had been working with the children at the day care and had grown to understand the things which excited and interested young kids. He felt if he was going do this job, he should put his expertise to use and make this a better place for the town’s children.
The only thing making him hesitate was the stalwart Cliff Richardson. If he were to take his ideas to the man, would they be shot down without consideration? But then again, if he went ahead and did it without asking, would he be in trouble?
He turned to Kadyn and Kyler. “Guys, I have an idea. What do you think about...?” He went on to tell them his thoughts and concerns, hoping they could provide some advice.
“Hey, I really like your ideas, Rene.” Kadyn was always supportive of his friend’s suggestions. “You can count me in. The super hinted at you using your artistic talent, didn’t he? So I say we should go for it.”
“Me too,” Kyler joined in. “Maybe if you do the outlines, the rest of us can fill them in. Bet the others will want to do it your way as well. Let’s go tell them about it before they start painting.”
Jay quietly took the pail of paint handed to him. He disliked purple. It was such an odd color to him but he decided to keep his opinion to himself as he followed his team-mates over to the jungle gym. “I thought a park was supposed to be alive and bright but these colors are dull and drab,” he mumbled to his fellow co-workers. He glanced over at the other team, then nudged Billy and Cameron. “Wonder what they’re up to?” he asked as the other two men followed the jerk his head to the other group.
Billy was highly disgruntled. “That does it,” he muttered under his breath. “I’m officially changing my name. William is my goddamn father.” His attention was distracted by Jay’s nudge and he looked up to see Kyler, Kadyn and Rene walking over.
‘Green,’ Cameron thought to himself, ‘of all the disgusting colours. I not only miss out on a day’s pay, I’m going to get covered in green paint.’ He glanced over at Jay’s question and grinned when he saw Kyler’s expression. His friend was obviously excited about something. “What’s up?” he asked when Kyler was within hearing range.
“Rene’s got some neat ideas for brightening this place up. It will sure beat just slopping paint over everything; provided we can get away with it.” Kyler’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he shared this info. “I’ll leave it to Rene to tell us what he wants done.”
Rene began to detail his plans to all his new friends. “I work with a lot of kids at the day care centre and I know that they love anything to do with animals. So I was thinking about giving each piece of equipment an animal theme by painting them in the colours, spots, stripes, etcetera of various creatures. For instance, the slides could be painted in beige with the spots of a giraffe; the jungle gym orange with stripes of a tiger; the merry-go-round in white with black zebra stripes; the swings in off-white with leopard spots; and the teeter-totters in black and yellow stripes like a bumble bee. We’ve been supplied with all the primary colours along with black and white, so I can mix some to get any shades we’re missing. I think it would be very appealing to the children and make our park a show place. The only thing I’m worried about is how to handle this. Do we go to old Cliff and ask if it’s okay? Knowing his type, we’ll probably be told no. Or do we just go ahead and do it in hopes that once the project is done it will be accepted? Of course that puts us in the position of possibly being in further trouble if he doesn’t like it. Or do we just paint things the same as they’ve been painted every time since the park opened?”
“I say we just go ahead and do it!” Kadyn piped up enthusiastically. “It will sure make the job more interesting and look so much better when finished.” Glancing around to see where the ‘Boss’ was, Kadyn noticed him in deep conversation with Chandi and a couple of other older men. “He doesn’t seem to be paying us any attention, so if we quietly go about our business, it might take him a while to catch on to what we’re doing.”
“Kadyn’s right. I say we go for it,” Kyler added his two-cents worth.
“Great idea,” Cameron concurred with a grin crossing his face. “I get dibs on the tiger.”
“No way do we go to Old Grumpy about this,” Billy stated emphatically. “He’s a by-the-book man. Anyway, we ain’t doing this for him. We’re doing it for the kids.”
“We can paint some of the bouncy animals the colors they already are. There’s a gray elephant, a black panther and a muddy-looking hippo; all without faces. Jack’s got some cans of old spray paint left from when he painted the metal lawn furniture. Maybe I can snag those and bring them tomorrow,” Jay suggested. He looked over Rene shoulder and issued a warning. “Hey, we better get a move on before the boss-man wonders what we’re up to.”
Kyler grinned when he saw another man walking over to the truck. “No fear. Looks like he’s already having a coffee break from the number of cups on the tray that other guy is carrying. They’re probably sucking up to the Chief.” Kyler’s comments results in snickers from the rest of the work team.
“Then it’s best to start while they’re doing their own thing. Show us what you want done first, Rene, and we’ll follow your lead.” Kadyn was eager to get the activity underway.
“Okay, let’s go for it,” Rene agreed. They gathered up all the paint cans and a few empty plastic pails. Rene mixed some paints to achieve the desired shades and then gave out the instructions for putting on the base coat of colour for each animal print they would be doing, explaining that they needed to get all the base coats finished on Saturday so that the decorative spots and stripes could be added the next morning.
Rene took the can of white paint and began work on the merry-go-round. He looked over at Kadyn who was applying red paint to the sides of the covered bridge in long, smooth strokes. His friend’s shave head was now covered in a short stubbly growth. “I see you’re not keeping the bald look,” he teased. “Did Vincent not appreciate being partnered with a billiard ball?”
Kadyn grinned and wiped a hand across his head, leaving a couple of splotches of red paint behind. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled. But hey, it’ll grow back in soon enough.” “Well I don’t think Zack would have liked me shaving my head either. But between you and me, he umm...well he like the shaving I did do. He wants me to keep it like that.”
Kadyn burst out laughing over that comment, while Kyler, who had overheard part of what was said, snickered.
Kyler was busy slapping yellow paint on the teeter-totter. Tomorrow he would add the black stripes. He glanced over at Cameron who was more than generous in applying the orange paint to the jungle gym. “The way you’re splashing that around, Cam, you’re going home today with as much orange on you as you did last Saturday. There must be something about tigers that really appeals to you,” he teased his friend. “You’ve already got some splattered on your face and the front of your shirt.”
Cameron grinned back at his friend. No matter how bad his mood, Kyler could always make him smile. “Chad liked the tiger look,” he replied. “And I need some brownie points after having to do this when I'm supposed to be working. He was really good giving me last Saturday off, but today I don’t get paid for.” He looked down at himself. “At least the clothes are old and way out of date. Plus, I’m not turning myself off-white.” He looked towards Billy, who just grinned and stuck his tongue out.
“This is more fun than I thought it would be,” Billy commented as he liberally spread a thick coat of beige on the first of two slides in preparation for the spots that would be added later. “I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when they see what we did. We just need to think of a way to keep the Boss man occupied when we get creative tomorrow. He’s got a stick so far up his butt, he can’t bend over.”
Cameron spluttered at the vision Billy had just given him.
“Billy, that’s not nice!” Jay was laughing hard and shaking his head even though he had been thinking the same thing. He started on the elephant, being as it was going take the most time. He gave it a gray primer coat, wanting it good and dry before he added the contrasting colour tomorrow. The panther and hippo were not going to take as much time, even though the hippo would also need some darker brown to enhance the lighter base coat. When he saw the merry-go-round spin, he smiled to himself and let out a small chuckle
The morning passed quickly and the young men were surprised when Chandi called them over to the picnic table under a shady tree. The Chief was carrying several large boxes from the local pizzeria and Officer Quinn was juggling half a dozen, extra-large tumblers of pop.
Kadyn jumped down from the perch he had been sitting on. He landed precariously and slipped in a small puddle of paint that had accidently found its’ way to the ground. Picking himself up, he laughed to discover that the seat of his cut-offs was now a bright yellow. “At this rate, I’ll look like a rainbow by the end of the day,” he joked to Rene.
Rene laughed good-naturedly as he joined his friends who were heading to the truck for their unexpected lunch. “Zack is constantly sending me to wash off paint. A career artist is never without paint splotches on some part of them.” He looked excitedly at the pizza and pop they were being offered. “Wow, this is really nice; thanks, Chief Barrett. Way better than the PB&J I’ve got in my bag.”
“I should have let you guys know that your meal would be provided. Sorry about that,” the handsome Chief apologized. “You’re doing some good work from what I can see. Don’t you agree, Cliff?”
Cliff merely grunted and helped himself to a slice of pizza. However, the painting team missed the wink he sent Chandi’s way. “Kadyn, you better sit on the grass unless you want to find yourself with extra work cleaning up that seat you’re about to use.”
Grabbing some food and one of the drinks, Kadyn merrily settled himself at the foot of the tree. He smiled when Kyler and Rene came over and sat with him.
“Hope you guys don’t mind if I take on the responsibility of doing the whole bridge,” Kadyn mumbled around a mouthful of food. “I’ve got plans for it; might just turn out to be my first masterpiece.”
Kyler snickered at that. “Well, I got the teeter-totter done, so after lunch I’ll work on the red posts and railings. It will leave the two tunnels to be painted purple and the swings to be primed with off-white. And of course, there are the little stairways and wooden paths to paint green. Then that should be it for today, right?” He grinned when he got vigorous nods of agreement from the two men sitting across from him. He got up and walked over to the table to get another piece of pizza. “What do you wanna work on next, Cam? Pick a colour, any colour,” he jokingly suggested to his friend.
“Not fussy,” Cameron replied. “I guess I could take care of the stairs and wooden paths. After all, I got allocated the green at the start of the day; unless you have a great desire to do them.” He was getting increasingly fed up with this whole thing and even Kyler couldn’t make his mood any brighter. He looked at his fingernails and wondered if he’d ever get them clean again.
Jay eyed the pizza as he took a bite of the sandwich Jack had sent with him. He loved pizza but he loved Jack more and didn’t want to hurt Jack’s feelings. However, he did manage to grab a few slices before it was all gone. He gave his painting partners a sly grin. “What? I’m a growing boy,” he said, tossing a potato chip at Billy.
“Thanks,” Billy laughed. “I’m still working on the slides. I think they’ll need another coat of the beige. They started life as bright yellow and that’s still showing in some places.”
“All right, boys; back to work!” Cliff hollered when the thirty minute break was over. He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Thanks for the pizza, Chief. It went down well with the ham and cheese sandwich Vincent made for me.” Kadyn had a healthy appetite and would eat just about anything available. He threw his apple core into the trash and laughingly complained to no one in particular, “Wish he hadda packed some cookies though.”
As the work crew headed for the playground apparatus, Kyler spotted Hugh standing next to the fence that spectators had to stay behind, and ran over to him. “You checking up on me, Hugh?” he asked with a wide grin.
“Not exactly, Brat. I brought you the lunch you left on the kitchen counter. Guess it was a wasted trip.”
“No, it wasn’t. I’m glad you came.” Kyler threw his arms around his partner’s neck and hugged him. “Maybe we’ll get a break this afternoon and I can eat it then.”
“Sounds like a plan. I think I’ll hang around for a bit and watch you guys work. Meanwhile, you better get back to the job at hand.” Hugh kissed Kyler’s cheek and sent him on his way.
The painting continued to progress smoothly during the afternoon. Only a slight hitch occurred when a couple of the guys got into a giddy mood and started a game of mini-paintballs, using their brushes to flick different colours at each other. It ended up involving all of them, but was all in fun and came to a sudden end with a shrill whistle from Cliff. None of the Brats wanted the older man in their face, so they quickly calmed down and finished up.
Rene looked around at the work they’d done, as he was cleaning up and stowing his supplies for the day. Everything was looking great. He only hoped that old Cliff didn’t pay any attention to the colour changes they’d made. He bid his friends good-bye and began the short walk home. He wondered if he should tell Zack about the changes to the painting job they were doing. He knew his husband wouldn’t like him keeping secrets unless it was a good one, such as a surprise, would this qualify? It wasn’t that he thought Zack wouldn’t like his idea for the painting but he was afraid he’d insist that Rene talk to Cliff about it before hand and that he knew wouldn’t fly with his friends. Well all he could do was hope Zack just asked general questions that didn’t lead to details he’d rather not reveal yet.
“Can I give anyone a lift home?” Kyler offered. “I don’t mind going out of my way.”
“No, that’s cool,” Cameron answered. “I want to walk. I guess Chad’s at the lounge and I can at least help out. Probably wonderful jobs like cleaning the toilet,” he muttered the last under his breath.
“It’d be great if you would drop me home,” Billy replied. “Mace is on call so I have to make my own way home. I don’t think it’s too far out of your way, is it?”
“Not out of the way at all, Billy. What about you, Kadyn or Jason? Need a lift?”
“Came on my bike,” Jay told him as he unlocked his mountain bike from the rack. “But thanks anyway, dude.” He got on his bike and headed home.
“No thanks,” Kadyn responded to Kyler’s offer. He called out farewells to each of his friends as they left, and waited patiently for Vincent to pick him up. He grimaced when he looked down at himself and it hit him just how dirty he had gotten. ‘Hmm, wonder what Vince is gonna make of this?’ He shrugged nonchalantly while muttering, “What will be, will be.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rene and Kadyn met at the park entrance early Sunday morning. “Looks like we’re the first ones here,” Kadyn announced.
“Yeah, looks like,” Rene agreed with a yawn. “I need another coffee. Zack pushed me out the door this morning, so I barely got my first one down. As much as I enjoy the painting, getting up this early on a Sunday morning really sucks.” He looked at his watch. “We’re a bit early. I’m gonna run to Tim Horton’s and grab a large double-double. You wanna come?”
“Ya don’t have to ask me twice. Let’s go!” Kadyn happily went along with his friend’s plan. He fell into step beside Rene and started talking about the day’s upcoming activity. “I’m eager to get back to painting that bridge today. Hope I get doesn’t take longer to do that the other stuff, cause I got lots in mind for it.” Kadyn glanced at his friend, a wide grin on his face. “Speaking of paint, how long did it take to get yesterday’s off ya?”
“Oh, no problem; I’m used to having paint on me. Though Zack did comment on the volume; doing this kind of work creates more mess than my usual, to say nothing of that little splatter fest we all got into!”
“Vincent made me throw out my old clothes and then he scrubbed almost half my skin off,” Kadyn exaggerated, scowling briefly before his grin reappeared. “But he kinda made up for being so rough later on.”
Rene laughed. “If I threw out my clothes every time I get paint on them, I’d be in the poor house!”
“Whatcha talkin’ about guys?” Kyler had seen them leaving the park when he was dropped off by Hugh and had deliberately stolen up to startle them. He laughed when his sudden appearance made them jump.
“Just about how we spent last evening,” Kyler answered.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but my back and shoulders were beginning to stiffen up by the time I got home. Must have been all the bending and stretching. But a nice long soak with Hugh and some reflexology from Patrick worked wonders,” Kyler almost purred at the memory.
“Reflexology, huh? That sounds nice. I guess that’s the advantage to being partnered to a doctor, cuz otherwise I wouldn’t thank you for it.” Rene shuddered. “Just having a dentist for a father-in-law is hard. I mean Todd’s the best and he did a great job when I had a bad tooth, but now it means I have to have regular dental check-ups with no chance of avoiding them. A medical doctor would be even worse!”
Kyler just shrugged and grinned while Kadyn vigorously nodded his agreement.
The three men picked up their coffees and headed back to the park just on time to see the Cliff Richardson and Chandi Barrett arrive.
“Hmm, wonder why old man Richardson is all dressed up?” Kadyn mused, taking another mouthful of his drink.
“Maybe he’ll tell us.” Kyler joked. “Looks like all the gang’s here,” he commented, pointing towards Billy and Jason who were approaching from the far side of the park. “Cameron may be another few minutes, seeing as he and Chad are having a bit of a conversation in Chad’s Ranger over there in the parking lot.”
“This sucks,” Cameron moaned for the hundredth time that morning. Chad, the eternally laid-back Top, just looked at his Brat for a good minute. Cameron turned red and mumbled, “I know, I know, it’s my own fault. But I had plans involving a clearing and a blanket.”
Chad smiled and patted the younger man’s knee. “I don’t think that clearing is going anywhere, Mugs.”
“I hate waiting,” Cameron muttered. “You know me; instant gratification. Oh well, maybe we’ll finish early and the plan can be put into motion.”
“You never know, babe. Now get a move on before someone has to come and drag you out of the Ranger.”
Chief Barrett waited patiently while Cameron sauntered over to them. “Okay fellas, listen up. The same rules are still in force; painting crew on the playground-side of the fence, on-lookers on the other side. There’s to be no visiting!” He looked pointedly at Kyler whose break in protocol had him running over to talk with one of his partners yesterday. “Again, anyone needing to use the men’s room will be escorted individually by either myself or Officer Quincy, who will be joining us shortly. We’ll be doing KFC for lunch, and Stewart from the bakery has treated us to some cookies. Right now, I think Cliff has a few words to say.”
Cliff looked over the group, pausing a moment to glare at Cameron who’d had the audacity to keep him waiting. Cameron just looked back. Only Chad could get him to look away and Cliff was no Chad. Cliff merely rolled his eyes, totally disinterested in getting into a staring match with any of the young hoodlums. “If you boys work well today, you should be finished shortly after your noon meal. And by the way, just so you know; the changes you made when applying the colours yesterday, did not go unnoticed.” He smiled inwardly when he recognized body language indicating embarrassment and apprehension. ‘I should let them sweat it out,’ he thought briefly before changing his mind. “I’m cutting you some slack because you’ve done a fairly decent job so far. I’m off to church and I expect you all to behave while I’m gone. Now get busy!” He winked at Chandi when the young men scurried to get the supplies out of the truck.
“Geesh, did he just compliment us? I wonder if it hurt,” Kadyn mused in a low voice and chuckled. He watched as Cliff walked away. “Guess not. ‘Cause he hasn’t burst into flames yet, and he isn’t rolling on the ground in agony or anything like that.”
Jason just shook his head. He was in a bad mood and didn’t want to be there. He hadn’t slept well and all he wanted was to be home in bed. “Just shut up, Kadyn! Why do you always have to say a smartass remark?”
Kyler saw Kadyn’s face fall. He reached over and grabbed Jason’s arm. “What the hell is your problem? Someone piss in your corn flakes? If so, there’s no need to take your shit frame of mind out on any of us, especially Kadyn.”
“Hey, it’s okay, Kyler,” Kadyn spoke quietly, trying to hide the fact that he had been hurt by Jason’s uncalled for remarks. Although he appreciated Kyler standing up for him, he didn’t want there to be any trouble. “Let’s just get done what has to be done, all right?” His eyes pleaded for Kyler’s cooperation.
Rene looked at Jason. Although he didn’t know the other man well, he recognized the signs of someone spouting off in an attempt to alleviate their own bad mood. “Jason, ya know none of us really want to be here. But since we’re stuck, how about we try and make the most of it. We can leave our mark on Jade Heights in a positive way. Maybe the gossips can stop talking about us as the guys that showed off their assets to every kid town, and talk about us as the guys who made the park a fun place for those kids.”
Jason jerked his arm out of Kyler’s hand. “For your information, I don’t eat corn flakes.” He then turned to see Rene in his way, so he had no choice but to listen to what the older man had to say. “All right, God I didn’t mean anything by it. But hell, he’s just so grrrr…” He waved his arms out for a minute and almost hit Rene with the bag of spray paint as he pushed past him to head over to where he was supposed to be. He felt bad about snapping at the kid, but hell he could be so irritating.
“Hey guys, let’s just calm down and finish this off.” Billy stepped in to help Rene smooth the rough waters. “Kadyn, you have a masterpiece to finish, right? I’ve got the slides that need spots and Cameron has strips to put on the jungle gym as soon as our local artist gets the colours mixed.” He smiled over at Rene. “Guess you and Kyler know what you’re gonna work on.”
Cameron was glaring at Jason. He was in an equally bad mood but at Billy’s words, he turned to Kyler. “Let’s just get this done, while tight-ass is in church.”
Although tempers seemed to be settling as fast as they had flared, Chandi nevertheless stepped over to prevent anything else starting up. “Take it easy, guys. It’s all right to joke around but there’s no need for anyone to over-react.” He saw the bag in Jason’s hand and called out to him. “Jason, what do you have there?”
Jay rolled his eyes. ‘Now what!’ he thought as he retraced his steps back to the police chief. “Just spray paint,” he grumbled, holding open the bag. “What’s the big deal?” he snapped without thinking. He wasn’t use to cops being nice. ‘Today is going to be a blast.’ He kept his thoughts to himself as he waited for Chandi to comment. He didn’t like the cops in Vancouver and to him, this one was no different.
“Drop the attitude, no one is impressed by it. Hand over the bag, please.” Chief Barrett held out his hand and snapped his fingers. “Sorry, Jason, but only the paint provided by the town is to be used. It is a special non-toxic formula especially developed for children’s playground equipment. I’ll just hold onto this and you can pick it up when you leave.”
Jason scowled at him as he handed over the requested item. “I wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but considered it dropped,” he muttered. ‘Yeah, it’s going to be a grand day,’ he thought as he waited to be told to what to do next.
“Wait here a moment, please,” Chandi instructed. “The rest of you can gather up what supplies you need and start work.” He waited while Rene mixed paint and doled out numerous small cans of colour to each of his workmates. Five young men set about their work, leaving Jason behind. Chandi turned and eyed Jason for a minute or two. He was beginning to suspect he was dealing with a fellow Brat, and a very unhappy one at that. “You are obviously out of sorts and presently lack the ability to play nice. So rather than take a chance on your mood having a negative affect on the others, here is what’s going to happen. You are going to finish off the three bouncy rides you worked on yesterday, then you are going to come back over here and call your partner to come pick you up. It shouldn’t take you much more than an hour. Now get a move on!” Chandi’s voice clearly conveyed he was losing his patience.
The Chief of Police and Officer Quincy stood shoulder to shoulder, keeping a watchful eye on their young charges. They watched as the various designs took shape, almost appearing to come alive.
“Those guys are doing a bang up job of this, aren’t they?” Paul mused, somewhat astonished by what he was seeing. He chuckled when he heard a mumbled agreement from his superior.
Kadyn leaned the ladder against the side of the bridge and climbed up carrying his brush and a can of white. He meticulously painted fluffy clouds on the see-through roof that he had done in a pale blue yesterday. He was actually enjoying himself. Although he’d never be anywhere near the artist his best friend was; he could still enjoy creating beautiful scenes for the children who would be playing here.
The jumping toys were the first to be completed. It was almost an hour later, when Jason stomped over to them. He still looked far from happy even though he had done a good job of the task he had originally assigned himself.
Jay waited until the Chief noticed him before speaking. “Since you are sending me home, can I pick up my attitude where I dropped it? And can I have my spray paint back too?” He had a smug look on his face. “Also, I rode my bike so no need to be picked up.” He held out his hand for the bag.
Not liking the look he was getting, Jay dropped his arm to his side and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry for the crap I gave you all this morning. It was uncalled for.” He took a deep breath. “May I stay and finish out my sentence with the guys? It’s not fair to them if I get sent home because I’m being an ass.” He really did think it was unfair he got to go home and they had to finish without him.
“By all means, Jason; you are more than welcome to stay. I think those two tunnels can use a second coat.” Chandi smiled as he reached into the back of the supply truck, pulled out a large can of purple paint and handed it to Jason. “I know I can depend on you to do as good a job with this as you did with the elephant, panther and hippo.” He raised an eyebrow to quell any retort the young man might be planning to come back with. “Thank you, Jason,” Chandi added, a touch of kindness and sympathy in his voice.
“No problem, dude, and thanks for understanding.” Jay gave the Chief a weak grin as he took the paint. “It just had to be purple,” he grumbled as he walked back to the playground apparatus.
“I can help you out,” Billy offered. “I’m done with the giraffe slide. How about a Purple People Eater?” he suggested to Jay with a smile. “Just shut up and come with me,” he spoke softly to Jay under his breath. “Cameron is almost as pissed as you are. The best we’ve got out of him is a grunt.”
Rene put the finishing touch on his zebra-striped merry-go-round and stood back to assess his creation. It had taken years of work throughout his university art classes to learn when to stop painting and call a piece finished. He was his own worst critic, always finding small faults and wanting to go back and touch them up. His professor had actually threatened to tie his hands behind his back when he finished a piece and make him learn to assess his work with less a search for perfection and more a search for artistic beauty. However, he was finally at the point where he could accept that what he saw as imperfections were considered by others to be a part of what made his work unique.
Satisfied that he had created something the children could enjoy, he sealed up some of the leftover paint and went to see how Kadyn was coming along with his bridge creation. He admired the sky-scape, though he had to laugh at the blobs of white paint that had dripped on Kadyn’s very short hair. “If you wanted to do more body painting, buddy, you shoulda told me. I’d have been happy to help.”
Kadyn laughed as he slid down the ladder to stand next to his friend. “I think by the time we finish up here, I’ll have had my fill of painting anything for a good long while.” Glancing around, he commented with a note of awe. “Wow, it’s all coming together just grand. Gotta love Cam’s tiger and Billy’s giraffes; your zebras are fantastic! Some still need faces added, huh? I’m gonna start painting grass and flowers on the red walls of this bridge. I made need your help with some of it. I’ll just give you a shout if I get in over my head, okay?”
Rene nodded his support and set about painting faces on the presently faceless animals while finishing highlights were being added by his fellow painters. They all took time every so often to stop what they were doing to admire and praise each other’s handiwork.
“At the rate you’re going, Kadyn, you’ll have used every colour to do your creation,” Kyler teased when taking a closer look at the young man’s work.
Cliff arrived back shortly before noon bearing gifts in the way of lunch. He stopped short when he saw the work that had been done in his absence. “What the hell is all that?” he enquired, an expression of shock on his face. He glanced at the two police officers and groaned when he saw wide grins on their handsome faces. “Humph, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the pair of you were in cahoots with our group of hooligans.” The edge was taken off his scolding by the sparkling flecks of amusement in his brown eyes.
“It seems a lot of others also like the new concept.” Chandi nodded his head in the direction of the fence where a large group of spectators had gathered to watch the artwork unfold. “We’ve attracted twice the crowd that we had yesterday.”
Almost all the painting was complete. It was a wild array of colour with jungle animals that smiled greetings at anyone who looked at them. Four of the work crew was standing back watching Rene and Kadyn who were still working on the walls of the bridge.
“God, I wonder who came up with that scenery idea?” Cliff grumbled some, but more in order to maintain his façade than because he was really annoyed. He shook his head when Chandi and Paul burst out laughing. They’d both seen through him. Putting the packages down on the large picnic table, he gruffly ordered, “You may as well call the boys over here and get them fed.”
Six young men apprehensively made their way over to the older men. Having seen Cliff’s return, they fully expected to have his wrath come down on them hard. They were in for a pleasant surprise.
“You boys have done a great job with that equipment. It’s inspirational and I’m sure it will now be a lot more appealing for the children to play on.” Looking Rene squarely in the face, Cliff continued. “Bet I’m right in guessing you initiated the whole scheme.” He smiled at the blush of embarrassment that spread across Rene’s cheeks. “Of course, you couldn’t have done it with out the help of a good team.” His smile expanded to include all of them. “Your imagination and efforts to do your best have definitely made my weekend worthwhile and restored my faith in the younger generation. Now stop gaping at me like fish out of water and eat up before that chicken gets cold!”
Kyler closed his mouth, only to open it again to take a big bite out of the fried chicken breast he held in his hand. He had been floored by Cliff’s praise.
Kadyn blinked as Cliff’s words sank in and a big smile brightened up his paint- speckled face. “Whoa, man, who’da thought? He really, really likes it” He grabbed up a chicken leg as he turned to Rene to see his friend’s take on what had been said.
Rene was grinning widely. “I really hoped he would. I know he comes across as a grump, but what’s not to like about making a children’s park friendlier?”
Cameron just grunted as he reached for something to eat. He’d really enjoyed painting the tiger for the kids, but he wasn’t ready to be sociable.
Jay fixed his plate and went to sit under the tree. He felt if he sat with the guys and Kadyn said something smart, he would say something to hurt his feelings again. Shaking his head, he took a tentative bite. KFC was not his choice of food but it filled the pit.
Billy couldn’t quite believe it when he heard Cliff’s praise. ‘Maybe he’s not so bad after all,’ he thought to himself. He felt good about him and Jay having taken the extra time to add a flowery vine to the sides of each tunnel. He looked around in time to see Jay go off by himself and shrugged. He’d done his best for his friend, so he turned to apply himself to the KFC. Mason didn’t allow it in the household and he intended to enjoy this break in his diet.
“Okay, listen up guys!” Chandi waited until he had everyone’s attention. “As soon as you’ve eaten your fill, you can gather up the debris and clean your brushes. Once everything has passed Cliff’s inspection, you’re free to go. Those of you who are being picked up can call home now and let your partners know you’ll be ready in about an hour. And before you say anything, Jason, I do remember you telling me you rode your bike over.”
“We’re allowed to leave early? Right on, man!” Kyler didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and began to dial home. He grinned when he saw a couple of the other guys doing the same thing.
“I better make that a bit longer than an hour,” Kadyn mused, holding his phone to his ear and bouncing impatiently as he waited for Vincent to answer. “I’ve got a few more things to do in order to complete my so-called masterpiece.” He smirked when he heard Rene’s chuckle.
Rene opened his cell to call Zack. His husband was at home, working on the books for the pharmacy. Their usual Sunday morning habit of lying in bed, reading the paper and making love, had been curtailed by Rene’s enforced community service. The younger man was hoping they could at least make up for some of that loss in the afternoon.
Cameron was straight onto his phone. “Chad, please come and get me. We’re being released early. Pack up the picnic blanket. I’ve got plans involving it and a certain clearing.”
Billy was also on his phone. “Mason, can you come and pick me up. I want to use one of my vouchers.”
When he saw the other guys get up, Jay made his way over to the table. “Kadyn, can I talk to you for a minute?” he requested, wondering how the younger man would respond.
“Sure thing,” Kadyn noticed the others slowly making their way back to the playground. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about being left behind on his own with Jason. His fingers tightened around the paper plate containing scraps that he had scrunched up to throw in the garbage while he waited for his antagonist to speak.
It didn’t take a fool to notice that Kadyn was nervous. “Relax, I’m not going to bite,” Jay told him, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry for being such an ass this morning. I had no right snapping at you like that. It’s up to you, but I’d still like to be friends.” Jay held out his hand.
Picking up a note of sincerity in the other man’s voice, Kadyn accepted the extended hand and shook it. “Don’t sweat it,” he good-humouredly advised before running off to join the others.
Jay smiled. ‘That guy is way too hyper,’ he thought as he made his way over to the other guys.
Cliff was slowly walking around and closely inspecting the completed artwork. He couldn’t help smiling at the animals; the wide grins painted on them were contagious. “Great work, boys. You’ve really outdone yourselves. Maybe next year, you can volunteer to do it instead of having to as a result of causing mischief. Now just what do you feel you have left to do, Kadyn?”
“Ah, I’d like to paint a parrot on each wall of the bridge. If Rene will draw them for me, I can fill them in.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Rene offered. “Just show me where you want them.” As he began the outline of the first parrot, his mind wandered over what Cliff had said about volunteering. The town had numerous public facilities that could use a bit of artistic flare. He’d seen some towns that had painted their fire hydrants to look like Dalmatians and wondered what he could come up with for a hydrant. Then there was the senior’s community centre that could some sprucing up. Yeah, there was a lot of potential.
“All right,” Cliff approved Kadyn’s plan. “The rest of you can collect the paint cans, rags and brushes, and take them back to the truck. Then get out of here. And I don’t expect to see any of you in disgrace on one of my work details again.”
Kyler, Cameron, Billy and Jason were quick to follow this last order and soon had the playground area cleared of painting supplies.
“Kyler, someone’s waiting for you!” Officer Quincy’s voice carried across the compound from where he and Chandi were standing by the exit leading to the parking lot.
A rushed goodbye to his friends and Kyler was off. “Hi Guys!” he hollered as he ran over to his partners. “We’re free! We’ve served our time and paid our debt to society.” Hugh and Patrick had promised to take him to the lake for a picnic if the community service was completed with enough time to spare. He was over-heated and sweaty, and definitely looking forward to a refreshing swim followed by whatever else came to mind. With luck, that activity would necessitate a second cooling-off time in the water.
Chad arrived minutes later and Cameron was never so glad to beat a hasty retreat.
“Did you bring the blanket?” he asked anxiously as he climbed into the Ranger.
“As if I’d dare forget,” Chad chuckled and leaned over to kiss his Brat. He knew exactly what his lover had in mind.
“See you around, guys,” Jason called as he walked to where he’d left his bike. “I am so outa here.”
Billy hopped into Mason’s truck when he turned up. He kissed his husband and murmured, “Missed you. Take me home and fuck me senseless.”
About half an hour later, Jack turned up on a motorcycle. He’d been working on getting his license in secret and wanted to surprise his Brat. “Where’s Jay?” he asked Cliff who was closest to the gate. On hearing that Jay had been let go early, he remounted the bike and roared off in pursuit.
With the last of the painting finally done, Rene and Kadyn tied up the trash bags and closed the back doors of the van. They turned to find Zack standing behind them.
The public had been barred from entering the fenced-in area of the playground. However, Chief Barrett did permit those with good cause to do so. Zack was one of them.
“I bet you’re both glad to have that over with,” Zack commented. He chuckled at the two of them covered in a multitude of colourful spots. His smile softened when he looked at his husband’s beautiful face.
“Hi!” Rene smiled at Zack’s arrival. He never failed to feel a thrill of excitement when his husband appeared. Just knowing he belonged to this incredible man was enough to get his pulse racing. “I’m sure glad we’re done for today, but I do have some ideas for other projects I’d like to share with you later.”
“I hear there’s someone needing a drive home,” Vincent’s voice teased as he walked up to them. He too had been given permission to enter. He paused to glance over his partner and shook his head. “You’re a real paint-magnet, Kadyn. Not quite as bad as yesterday though, so we might be able to save that outfit. At least we can keep it for any future activities that involve painting.”
“Vince, you gotta see the neat stuff we did!” Kadyn exclaimed after hugging his partner to show without words how happy he was to see him. He took the bigger man’s hand and began dragging him across to the newly-painted equipment.
Zack and Rene followed at a more leisurely pace.
“Looks like you guys are going to have your artistic talents splashed across the front page after all, Rembrandt.” Zack pointed to a photographer for the Jade Heights’ local newspaper taking pictures while a woman wrote down notes. “I wonder what Kadyn is telling them?” He smiled at the sight of a paint-splattered young man bouncing on the balls of his feet and excitedly waving his arms while imparting bits of what he apparently considered newsworthy information.
Zack’s curiosity was satisfied when the other couple joined them and Kadyn excitedly shared his news.
“I gave the reporter all the details and she’s gonna write up a story,” Kadyn announced, rather pleased with himself. “But I told her the whole scheme was your idea, Rene, and that the rest of us just went with the flow. We’re gonna have our names in the paper. There’s even gonna be pictures of our work.”
Rene was beaming. This is what his art should be about. Not the praise, but the enjoyment and pleasure it might give to those who viewed it.
“At least it’s the public playground and not something more personal and private.” Zack quipped and ruffled his lover’s hair.
Rene, Vincent, and Kadyn joined in the laughter as they headed out the gate.
The End
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