"Never too late to learn something new," Theo replied cheerfully. He glanced at the cans of paint, cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. "I wish you'd have checked with me before shlepping those heavy things all the way up here, Justin."

Theo stepped over to the small closet on the other side of his office, rummaged for a few minutes, procuring two large paper bags of painting supplies as well as two cans of primer and two cans of peachy-cream colored paint. "I already had most of this up here."

He fished a photo concept from his stack of papers and held it out. "This is the plan," he explained. "Already have the furniture, as you can see, but the walls need to be done, as well as the carpet." His grin reappeared. "Won't take long."