Page 14 of Talk About… Dramay

A small hand tugged at mine, and I glanced down to see a little girl in blonde pigtails staring up at me. She blinked with the brightest green eyes I’d ever seen, and I crouched down, thankful for the baggy jeans so I could get eye to eye with her.

“Hey, sweetie.”

“You’re pretty,” she said and then did a little spin. “And look, we match.”

“We do,” I said, grinning at her white shirt and overalls that matched mine. “Though, I need to catch up, mine doesn’t have a pretty rainbow of paint on it.”

She giggled, the sound making me laugh with her. I loved this place already.

“Will you paint with me today?”

“I can certainly try,” I said, giving my nose a little wrinkle, “but it might not be very good. Is that okay?”

“Don’t worry. I am so good, and I can help you,” she promised with the confidence only a child could have.

When I glanced up, Roman was watching us. I gave him a quick wink to let him know it was okay before letting her lead me away.

I expected to have to help Roman, but he was a well-oiled machine, passing out paint, getting everyone set up, partnering people up, and then flitting around the room like a butterfly, gracing everyone with his presence for a few moments before moving on to the next.

He was quick to encourage and praise, to talk down those worried their work wasn’t perfect, and just genuinely making the experience amazing.

Not only that, he was there to teach. He set a few art prints in the front of the room for everybody to see, explaining how to shade the buildings and prepare the canvas for those of us starting out.

His voice was rich and deep, and it wasn’t just me hanging onto his words. Several people were beaming up at him, soaking in his passion for art.

I listened as well, hoping I didn’t make a fool of myself. When he finished and we were all encouraged to have fun with our art, I was feeling lighter than I had in years.

We started our pictures, soft music filling the silence as the focus shifted from Roman to our work. I knew I wasn’t here to paint, but I had a feeling Roman wouldn’t want me to turn down the little artist next to me.

“What’s your name?” my little companion asked, breaking the silence. Her eyes were narrowed on the canvas, and she dipped her paint into yellow, orange, and then white, mixing together on a little palette until she was happy with the color before she started to paint a sun on her picture.

“My name is Oriana, but my friends call me Ori.”

“I love that, Ori. My name is Hannah.” I loved that she decided we were friends already.

“I love your name, Hannah,” I said, giving her a smile. “I love the way you’re mixing colors, too.”

“Roman taught me,” she said proudly. “He said I could be a famous painter one day.”

“You could,” I agreed without hesitation, “but I think I might be a lost cause.”

She squinted at my painting for a second, tilting her head from side to side as if she was truly studying my work. I knew what it looked like—a whole mess. My buildings were lopsided, the grass was too tall, some of the colors were running together.

“I like it,” she said finally. It was such a diplomatic answer that I had to bite back my laughter. “It’s abstract,” she said the word so carefully, but the ‘r’ came out as more of a ‘w.’ She was too cute for words.

“Let’s go with that,” I agreed easily, not giving up just yet.

The whole time we painted, she would chatter, telling me all about her dog Buddy and her best friend Abigail at school, how they were learning about weather and science, and she was afraid of storms.

I was captivated the entire time, and by the time things started winding down and the staff came in to help clean up, I felt a sense of calm and peace that I didn’t expect.

It was such a simple night, but such a genuine one. I couldn’t imagine a better evening than this.

I helped clean up while Roman made sure that all the kids were picked up by their parent packs.

When he came back to me, I was more sure than ever that I didn’t want him to go back to his apartment. I needed Roman in my life every day, and in my bed every night.

We were both all in at this point, there was no looking back. It was unexpected, but perfect. I refused to second guess him. This was not something Cameron would take from me, too.