15
Lily, the Famous Artist

On a Saturday afternoon in October, a whiskered man drove up to Whispering Pines to talk to Papa. Last summer, Papa and Uncle Jacob had built a mini barn for that man and still hadn’t been paid for the work. Lily knew that because she had overheard Papa and Mama talking about it. Now the man was telling Papa that he had lost his job and couldn’t pay him. “I hoped you might accept a barter deal,” the man said to Papa. “I’ve got some things you and your children might like.”

In the back of the man’s trunk was a box filled with paints, paintbrushes, and books about painting. Lily wanted Papa to take the things. They looked so much more interesting than money. There were also tools and a lawn mower. “Please take the stuff, Papa,” Lily whispered under her breath. “Please take the stuff.”

Papa stroked his short curly beard, a sign that he was thinking it over. He took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. “I hadn’t been planning on buying any of these things.”

The man shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “I don’t know when I can pay you.” He looked embarrassed.

Lily felt sorry for him. Take the stuff, Papa!

Papa put his hat back on. “Let me go talk to my wife about it.”

Lily blew air out of her mouth. Mama didn’t like to buy things they didn’t need. Like the goats. Papa had bought the goats from a man in a truck whose wife was mad at him. Mama had not been happy about those goats. They were always causing trouble.

Papa walked to the house, so Lily and Joseph went to play on the swing. Lily wanted to go inside and help Papa persuade Mama to keep all of that wonderful stuff in the man’s truck. But she knew that wouldn’t do. Papa and Mama liked to make these decisions without her excellent suggestions, she had been told. Once or twice.

Lily squeezed her eyes tight. Please Mama, don’t say no! She was already imagining what she would paint with those fancy paintbrushes. She was sure if she followed the instructions in those books she would become a great artist.

Amazingly, when Papa came back outside, he had a big grin on his face. Papa and the man unloaded everything from the back of the truck.

Later that evening, as soon as the supper dishes were finished, Lily asked Mama if she could start painting.

Mama smiled. “I’ll help you get started.” She selected a few pieces of heavy paper and put them on the table. Lily looked at all of the paintbrushes. There were so many different sizes. How could anyone know which one to use?

Mama picked up one of the paint instruction books and flipped through it. She opened it up to a brightly colored page. “I think you could paint some roses.” She sat in a chair next to Lily and helped her select the correct brush. She explained how to paint the rose.

Lily carefully followed Mama’s instructions. When she finished, she held it up to admire it. It didn’t look quite as pretty as the one in the instruction book but it had been fun to paint. Soon, she would be the best artist in the family. She had no doubt of that. She set to work on another rose.

Too soon, Papa called out in his deep, kind voice, “Bedtime for little lambs.”

Lily gathered the paint supplies and put them on the back shelf of the pantry, where Dannie wouldn’t get into them. Or at least Mama would hear him first. She thought Papa might like to see her beautiful painted rose, so she placed it on his desktop. Her eye spotted Mama’s pretty hand-painted plate, resting on a shelf above the desk. It had been there as long as she could remember. She studied it carefully. Its rim was covered with red and pink roses. She was sure she could paint a picture just like it. Maybe better. It couldn’t be that hard to paint.

“Lily, we’re waiting on you,” Papa called from the other room.

Lily quickly ran to join the rest of the family and listen to Papa read the evening prayer from the little black prayer book. She half listened to Papa’s deep voice, and half thought about what life would be like after she became a famous artist. Ice cream after dinner, every single day. A closet full of purple dresses. New books. Store-bought bread and deli meat in every school lunch.

She couldn’t wait!