May 24, 2022:
She lived in that yellow apartment, on the second floor, newly divorced, with her little son, starting their lives anew.
They painted it together. She chose the color, a calm tan, not yet earthy yet not still white. She taught him how to use the brush and the roller, how to place masking tape, and how enamel paint glistens while flat does not.
She bought unfinished furniture which they finished together. A little chest of drawers for him, which they painted tan and olive. Two small shelves they finished with clear shellac. A larger bookcase for the living room. It's more than sixty years and he has the shelves in his bedroom still.
It was the beginning of her new life. Single. Single mother. Factory worker, with pre-dawn reveille and highway commute.
The building is still there. The trees are gone, the large planter is gone. Who lives there today?