What Janie Saw(20)
“Maybe,” Adam said slowly, “you should add something, such as a pelt of real fur. Something for the kiddos to touch.”
Janie shrugged. Not what she’d pictured. For the last couple of years, Janie had called BAA home. The place was named after her brother-in-law’s little sister, who’d died years ago from complications of Down Syndrome. The real Bridget had loved animals, but Luke had taken the appreciation and healing she’d gleaned from animals to another level. BAA had struggled at first, but Luke had made it into a success story. Next month, BAA would start taking the first Monday of every month’s proceeds and donate them to the Down Syndrome research group.
Luke had made goals and kept them.
It was something Janie was trying to learn to do, with her art. She’d always been dedicated to the world her paints created and the projects she committed to. She had to get the bear mural finished by the end of March, plus help Adam finish the orangutan wall. It was his pride and joy, as he’d managed to add 3-D moveable parts to the vague likeness of Ollie, the actual orangutan.
In his heart of hearts, Adam was part caricaturist, part toy maker.
Janie looked at her thumbnails again. She—as always—had been going for realism with just a hint of Norman Rockwell plus a shot of Van Gogh on the side. “Everyone expects cute and fluffy,” she argued. “Anyone can draw it.”
“We’re a kids’ zoo. It’s what they don’t expect but need to know that makes the mural. If you don’t want something they can touch, add something interesting like a Seek and Find amidst your time line.”
Janie was aghast. “So I’d have a list of words written on the wall, and the children have to find the hidden pictures?”
He brightened. “Absolutely, give the kiddos something to do.”
Yup, there was no changing him from his trademark ventures. He did “engaged” murals. Janie hated to think of what he might do if BAA had any skunks.
She changed the subject. “Have you ever heard of Derek Chaney?”
Adam didn’t even blink. “No, why?”
“How about Brittney Travis? Do you know her?”
Adam stepped back, no longer looking at the thumbnails. “Yes, I’ve met Brittney in town. Why? What brings her up? She’s been missing more than two months, since Christmas.”
“Would Brittney ever run away, do you think?”
“No one who knows Brittney believes she ran away,” Adam said. “She’s a lot younger than me, so I only met her because she took tae kwon do at my father’s studio.”
Janie had gone to the studio once with Adam. Even though he’d started her in a beginners’ class, one he’d been teaching, she’d stumbled with the most basic of moves. Luckily, she’d been able to laugh at herself.
“That doesn’t mean she would never run away.”
“No, it doesn’t, but she’s just not that kind of girl. She was nice to my brother.”
Janie couldn’t come up with the words to respond. Having siblings with special needs was what had cemented Adam and Luke’s friendship all those years ago. Luke had had Bridget; Adam had his twin, whom he fiercely protected.
Being nice to his brother was akin to sainthood, at least to Adam. Right now, Aaron lived with Adam’s parents and worked at their tae kwon do studio. He was a helpful ten-year-old trapped in a twentysomething body and was always cheerful.