Sincerely, Vintage (Part 15)

Derrick

Their paintings leaned against the window to dry while Derrick lay on the living room floor, staring at the ceiling. Somehow, Hrida was still there next to him. He snuck a glance over at her while her eyes were closed, laughing at something he’d said. Even with a simple outfit and no makeup, she still looked beautiful, her hair spread out in a dark halo on the carpet. He fumbled for the nearest piece of paper and the paints they still hadn’t put away.

Hrida heard him rustling around and started to sit up, but he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“No, stay there.”

She rolled her eyes and laid back down, eyes closed, a peaceful smile on her face. Derrick closed his eyes too, afraid that when he opened them, she’d be gone. She stayed, her presence a kaleidoscope of lavender and yellow and little moments of pink in his head. Even with his eyes closed, his paintbrush kept going.

This might be the best one I’ve ever done.

All he could do for a moment was stare at the paper in his hands. He passed it to Hrida, then stared determinedly at the carpet.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her study it, tilting her head back and forth and rotating the paper a few times.

“What is it?”

“That’s you.” Derrick finally dared to meet her eyes. A wrinkle of confusion creased her forehead. He stood up, crossing the room to the paintings hung behind the couch.

“All of these are people. In my mind, I see them as colors. Each emotion has a color.” As he explained, he pointed to one painting, then another. “See? Black is anger, yellow is happiness, green is envy, purple is calm.”

He came back to her and pointed to the painting in her hands. She looked at it for a moment longer, then at him.

“So you can see what people are feeling?”

“Nothing too detailed, but yes.” The words rushed out of him, leaving him feeling suddenly lighter. Hrida was the first person he’d told about his ability. Most people assumed he was intuitive, which came close enough to the truth.

“You can see what I’m feeling right now?” He heard fear creeping into her voice and closed his eyes.

“Happy, but a little nervous.” He watched the wisp of light blue chase its tail around the cloud of yellow. Other colors rose to the surface and disappeared faster than he could notice them.

“That’s about right.” Hrida crossed her arms over her stomach and moved to look out the window. She looked like she wanted to fold in on herself.

“Hey,” he said softly, joining her at the window. “I can’t see every little detail.”

“I know.” She turned and studied his face for a long moment. The weight of her attention made him reach up to fidget with the folds of his sweater. “I trust you.”

The storm brewing in Derrick’s mind calmed as he let her words sink in. Outside the window, clouds drifted past, changing as they traveled. The words slipped out before Derrick could stop himself.

“You’re my favorite color.”

“You’re my favorite color too.” Hrida stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. Derrick put his arm around her and pulled her close. If he’d closed his eyes, he would’ve seen both of them glowing lemon and tangerine and rose, brighter than any sunset.

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