Leon is Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s painter. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Italian, not tall, but thick, with a barrel chest, and biceps I used to dream about. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also opinionated. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that crap? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 He kicks at the wood nailed below the closet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sliding doors. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s son\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s room and Leon is sizing it up, thinking about how much to charge. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what crap?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Chris asks.<\/p>\n
I know what Leon is talking about because I had to remove that length of wood to fix those doors.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that crap?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he kicks it again. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be there. Take it off.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It traps the sliding doors so they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t flop around,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I explain to Chris, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Russ is right, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to be there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Go to Home Depot and buy a piece of plastic. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all you need.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Maybe Leon is ham handed, but only if you take offense. After he leaves I tell Chris, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153With Leon, what you see is what you get. You know he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not holding anything back. You know there isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t some little guy sitting in his head thinking something other than what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hearing.<\/p>\n
We both like him and this is the third time I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve bumped into Leon at Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house. We met after I remodeled her kitchen, and he arrived in his white panel van, ready to paint. Leon is talkative; I like to talk, Leon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s personality overwhelms; I disappear in a room of three. Which is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so attracted to him. I tell Leon that I hate to paint, but what I really hate is cleaning up. I buy cheap rollers and brushes, I use them a few times, and then I throw them into the garbage.<\/p>\n
Leon listens to me prattle on about my cheap roller method. He gives me an I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m-not-amused look and drags me into Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bathroom with his paint-filled roller. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy. Take the roller comb and … . \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 After a few strokes under the faucet water he proudly holds the roller up – like a bunny’s butt the nap is all white and fluffy. I follow him back to the kitchen while he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s teaching me about good brushes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buy expensive brushes, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 but, he says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The most important thing is to stick the paint brush back in its card board wrapper. The one it came with.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He looks around and can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find the one for the brush in his hand.<\/p>\n
I think to myself how as soon as I remove the brush from its package I throw that wrapper away. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suddenly clear how the cardboard retains the shape of the brush and protects the bristles.<\/p>\n
Leon is peeved about losing his brush wrapper. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grumbles, unfolds his tarp, kicks his tool boxes, looks as if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to kick me. His frenzy draws Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sitting at her dinning room table shuffling through bills. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wait a minute. Does it fold back on itself and tie with a string and a button?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Chris asks. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think I know where it is.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Chris walks to the wastebasket and picks it out of the empty vanilla ice cream container. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking, uh oh,<\/i> and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also thinking, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t throw it way.<\/i><\/p>\n
Leon reaches out with his left hand for the brush cover, throws Chris an icy what-would-you-expect-from-a-woman look, and with a shooing motion of his right hand, he says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Go Cook.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n
Tomorrow: My Week With Leon by Chris<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leon is Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s painter. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Italian, not tall, but thick, with a barrel chest, and biceps I used to dream about. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also opinionated. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that crap? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 He kicks at the wood nailed below the closet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sliding doors. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re … Continue reading