Today was the day they would stretch the canvas, the chore more intimidating than Anna had imagined. Fortunately, she thought, she had lots of help. Jesse and Peter, of course. Then Pauline arrived with Karl in tow, dressed in his police uniform and carrying a toolbox that she knew would prove invaluable. He looked so handsome. Anna hated to see him get the knees of his pants covered in sawdust from the warehouse floor, but he got down on the filthy floor, seemingly without a care. Anna felt some envy of Pauline as she watched Karl set to work with her young helpers. Someday she’d find a man with whom she wanted to build a future, she thought. For now, though, she was married to her mural.

Pauline wore her usual skirt, blouse, and hose, so Anna knew she wouldn’t be much help with the stretcher, but she cheered everyone on from one of the chairs near the paint table. Anna, Karl, and the boys ignored the cold of the concrete floor as they knelt and sat and twisted to tack the canvas to the frame. Anna used the hammer a bit, but was careful not to place the tacks too deeply. The tacks would have to be removed when the mural was complete, and the thought of digging those tacks out again with the claw end of the hammer wasn’t pleasant.

They were about a third of the way through the task when a knock came on the warehouse door.

“Come in!” Anna called from the floor, but the door was already opening and in a second, Martin Drapple stood grinning inside the warehouse.

“How can I help?” he asked.

Anna sat back on her heels, frankly relieved to see him. She could tell that even with four of them, it was going to be a chore to properly get the canvas on the stretcher. Besides, Martin would know what he was doing better than any of them. She thought it was very generous of him to come.

“Thank you!” she called across the space, her voice echoing against the walls and the beams of the ceiling. “Do you know Pauline and Karl, Martin?”

Martin walked toward them, nodding at Pauline as he passed her. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “And I’ve met Karl a time or two.”

Karl looked up from the stretcher. “Grab a handful of tacks,” he said in greeting, and Anna thought there was an uncharacteristic cool edge to his voice. She wondered exactly where the men had met “a time or two.”