Painting Paintings

Danny, the painter, wants to keep his relationship with his Girlfriend while she's in college.

Danny's eyes watched the paintbrush as he attempted to even out the red paint on each side. He brought the brush up to the canvas and gently glided the colored bristles down the page. His breathing nice and steady as he thought about the beautiful picture starting to form in front of him. He concentrated on the strands of hair that cascaded down the porcelain face on the picture he was using. He could do this with memory alone, but wanted to make sure every detail was correct.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a motorcycle engine in his pocket. He took out his phone and smiled at the picture of his girl friend that illuminated the screen. He and his girlfriend, Sharry Walkin, have been put in the awkward situation of a long distance relationship while she went to college. Claiming that college wasn't his thing, Danny just continued painting pictures and selling them around California. He had promised before she left that he would stay with her even thought the distance made things difficult.

It had been easy at first. They would Skype every day, and text until midnight. Text each other until Sharry had to get to sleep. Send funny pictures and videos of things they did to keep themselves occupied. They even made a list together of what they had to do once she got back! One of those being to get married on the beach of their home state. But tonight, Danny couldn't keep his mind off of her. He had tried to talk to his best friend about it, but he was to busy with his girl friend. He went on a walk. But after walking down the streets of Sacramento, he was bored and uninspired.

So he ended up in his home, with a paint brush in his hand and a picture of his future with in his hand. Another text appeared on the small screen. This time he picked up the device and read what she wrote.

~ Hey baby~ the first text said. ~Guess who was accepted into the international school of dance today!~

Danny frowned. He was really happy she was accepted into the school. This was something she had talked about for years. But now that she's been chosen, he's really concerned that she could be gone for years all over again.

~That's great, babe!~ Danny typed carefully. He didn't want her to think he was angry about her leaving.

~I know! I'll be leaving in a month!~ she replied. Danny sigh and placed the phone over the bottom of the paper. He grasped the brush between his fingers and began painting again. He dipped the bristles into the dark brown paint and began to lightly cover the red and make her hair the correct color it is.

~How long will you be gone~ he typed quickly. As he waited for her to answer he gripped the phone and looked at they wet paint on the plate.

~Two years, but I'll only be 3 hours away, so we can meet all the time!~ Danny closed his eyes and looked at the painting. He painted the eyes with a dark brown color that matched the hair in its own way. After he looked at the eyes, to make sure they were the absolutely perfect orbs he has seen many time before, he began using the black paint to outline everything. The mouth, the eyes, the ear on the one side of her face. He used green on a small sponge to dot the shirt, and blue to color the flower in her hair.

~I know you don't want me to go ~ he saw the next text say. He sighed and picked up the phone again.

~What makes you think I don't want you to go?~ he could feel her rolling her big green eyes now. She doesn't like it when he lies. Even white lies seem to tick her off.

~I love you so much. And this has been a tough choice and it is probably even worse for you~ he put the phone down on the easel and picked up a brush again. He wanted to say something that wouldn't sound stupid. But in this situation, it's really hard. His picture was complete though. A picture of his flower smiling as the sun hit her face. He grabbed the phone and went to wait by his window.

~I want you to be happy.~ Danny texted to the love of his life. The phone rested in his lap and he looked at the sun setting outside. After a good ten minutes of complete silence from the girl, he got a response.

~Thanks Danny. I love you. ~ she said. Danny brought the phone up to his face and bit back the stinging sensation in his eyes as tears threatened to fall down his cheeks. He ran his paint stained hand through his dark brown hair. He closed his eyes and wished the feeling of unsureness that stayed at the bottom of his stomach.

What if everyone was right? That the relationship would never work? He stood at night sometimes. Just staring at her picture. The beautiful smile, perfect red hair. Sometime he just couldn't get enough. Which is why he can't leave her. He looked at the painting and smiled to himself. He grabbed his phone.

~I love you more. Night. ~ he texted to her. Even though he knew she wouldn't reply until morning. Danny stood and grabbed the painting. He took his keys and left to the post office.

•••••

Sherry walked up to her mail box, a winter coat protecting her from the cold winds. She took out the key and opened the tiny door and to her surprise, a package was inside. Her hand reached in and pulled the box from inside.

When she returned in her dorm she sat on her bed and opened the box. As soon as she did though, her face lit up. On a white canvas, the most beautiful portrait of her on the sandy beach met her face. It was like nothing she had ever even before. The perfect hair, sparkling eyes. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. She turned it around, searching for her boyfriends beautiful signature, but on the other side all she saw was a little note and a little bag attached to it. She pulled the bag from the canvas's surface and read the note to herself.

"Two more years and we'll be on the beach, together.
Will you marry me?"

Sherry smiled and open the tiny bag to reveal a gorgeous ring. She took it out and placed it on her finger. Her other hand grabbed the phone on the dresser and she immediately texted her new fiancé.

~Yes! Yes! I love you so much!~ she wrote. She waited for a reply and smiled at the response.

~Can't wait!~ was the reply. Sherry took the phone and held it to her heart. Not as bad as her.

Author's Note

Enjoy! This is for AmberWinds story contest!

Reviews

[Gracie_Girl429]

I love this story! It has a lot of symbolism and meaning.