Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

May 27, 2023

"What do you think of the color?" I asked Ceci when she entered the room, turning down the music I'd been blasting as I painted.

She looked at my work before breaking into a smile. "It's perfect!"

I breathed a sigh of relief since this was the third time I was painting this wall of the nursery in our new Toronto condo. The first time it had looked too much like bubblegum, according to my soon-to-be-wife, and the second trial was too purple. I'd personally thought they were both lovely, but Ceci had a very particular vision for our baby girl's room.

"How's it going with the dishes?" I asked.

"I've got everything on the shelves, so now I'm starting on the pots and pans."

While I had painting duty, she was unpacking the kitchen. We'd found the place in February with my mother's help, but were just now moving in since we'd been in Europe for tour. Our new Canadian home was just two blocks from my first condo, and I was happy to be back in the old neighborhood.

Our home had two bedrooms plus a third room near the entrance that could be used as an office. Ceci said the floor plan was "efficient" which to me meant that it was on the small side. Apparently in architectural terms that meant that no space was wasted on long hallways or unusable areas. The kitchen, dining, and living areas were open and had doubly-insulated floor to ceiling windows with a view of the CN Tower. It was on the twenty-fifth floor but had no balcony or terrace. This was a bit of a disappointment to me at first, but Ceci said she'd never sleep knowing that a balcony rail was all that kept our child from falling off the tall building. Pregnancy hormones coupled with all the tragedy we'd experienced made her a bit overly cautious, and once she'd put that idea in my head, I hated the idea of a terrace, too.

We'd be living in the Los Angeles home for at least six months straight once I was done touring, and I'd painted the nursery there a pale aqua before we'd even found out the sex. This one was pink so that they'd each have a distinct look, not because we were trying to reinforce gender stereotypes. Pink had always been one of Ceci's favorite colors and she was excited to do up the room in the pale rose and sage green shades she'd chosen. The crib, dresser, and changing table would be white and the theme was floral. At the other home, the room would have an ocean vibe with lots of blues and greens with light wood furniture. By the time the A-frame Ceci had been designing for our lake property was done, the baby would probably be walking, so we weren't doing an elaborate third nursery. She wanted the decor for that house to be reminiscent of rustic cabins from the 1950's so there'd be a lot of plaid, leather, and pine.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "I could make us some peanut butter and banana sandwiches."

"That sounds great, baby. Just let me finish this one section. Maybe fifteen minutes?"

"See you then," she said before blowing me a kiss.

I cranked "Joy" by Bastille up and got back to work, dancing as I rolled paint all over the largest wall in the room. This was what Ceci called an accent wall since the other three would remain off-white. Five minutes later I was startled by a loud crash and right after, Ceci cried out, as if in pain. The paint roller slipped out of my hand and bounced off my cheek and shoulder before falling onto the plastic tarp. I ran out of the room towards the kitchen in a total panic.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I yelled as I approached her.

She was standing at the sink running her hand under water. "Watch out! There's glass on the floor! Don't worry...I'm fine, Shawn. I dropped a glass baking dish and cut my finger when I tried picking up the pieces."

Thankfully it hadn't shattered all over the floor, but the oval dish was in several broken pieces. I carefully stepped over them so I could see her wound.