The Fourth Notebook

40

Cody POV
12/11/14
Grace convinced me to go with her, James, and Emma to the roof to paint. I'm not really one for painting, but if Grace loves it then I love it too.
James was sitting on a blanket near the garden. I said hi to him as I passed him and saw him mixing green and holding it up to the leaf of a tomato plant.
Emma was sitting in front of a blank canvas.
Grace spread out her art supplies in the middle of the rooftop.
"Whatcha gonna make, baby?" I asked her.
"The sky, probably."
"Cool."
I laid on my back for a while while everyone else painted before Emma called me.
"Psst. Cody," she called.
"Yeah?"
"Come here."
"Be right back, Grace."
I walked across the roof to her canvas.
"Yeah, Emma?"
"What do you think?" She said as she pointed to her canvas.
"I...uh, wait. What?"
I was looking at the view down a red slide at a playground a pair of hands were at the bottom ready to catch whoever was going down the slide.
"Come on Cody! It's not that far down!"
"Mommy! I'm scared."
"Be brave, baby! I know you can do it."
"Okay, here I go..."
"How did you..."
"What? You don't like it?"
"It's beautiful but how did you do that, Emma?"
"Do what?"
"The thing!"
"Oh, I mixed this red with some yellow and-"
"Grace! Come here!" I yelled out.
She walk over and started crying when she saw it.
"Emma, I've been there before," she said.
"On that slide?" I asked.
"What slide? I'm talking about the tree swing."
"What?"
I don't think she saw what I did.
"James? Come here."
He walked over to the canvas and just started at it for a while.
Then he looked at Emma.
"Um. I'm going to go take a shower, guys." He walked away and I follow him since technically he is not supposed to be in the room alone with the door closed.
I sat on my bed replaying the flashback.
I tried to remember what the woman's face looked like, but I just came up with a headache.
49- Grace's laugh.

Grace POV
December 11, 2014
I don't know what Cody saw in the painting but I saw a tree swing on top of a hill.
"Gracie look what Gramma has in her backyard!" Casey yelled, "A tire swing!"
"Let's go play on it!"
"Will you push me?"
"Sure!"
I started to push her back and forward on the tire.
"Wheeeeeee!" She screamed.
After pushing her for a while, Gramma brought us watermelon and lemonade.
"You're the best big sister, Grace."
"Well, you're the best little sister, Casey."
49- swings

James POV
12-11-14
How would Emma have painted one of my memories?
A little blue toy car was in the calloused hands of a man.
"Jaime? Could you put down your toy cars for a second and come talk to mamí and papi?"
"Okay, mama."
"Alicia please don't do this," my father begged.
"Francisco, please, let me talk."
My father cowered at the voice of my mother.
"Jaime, your father is leaving for a while."
I was only four when he left.
I remember the blue toy car he gave me before he left.
"Jaime, look at me hijo, keep this car to remember me, when it's paint fades and and it's wheels have all broken, then I will come back."
My mom had our names changed and moved us from Texas.
No longer was I Jaime Plasencia but now I was James Reyes.
I pulled out the toy car from my shirt drawer.
It's shiny blue paint was now dull with flecks of it peeling off.
The red number four was rubbed off years ago.
Three wheels were missing from overuse and the last wheel was loose.
When are you coming for me dad?