Martha finally looked up, a slow grin spreading across her face. "You don't buy that at a big box store, kid. You go to or find a Cardinal Paint & Powder industrial distributor. Most people think it’s just for metal and machines because it’s tough as nails, but if you want that specific, high-end pigment that survives a century of sun, you go to the specialists."
He’d spent all morning at the local mega-marts, but everything they offered was too pink or too muddy. "I need Cardinal ," Leo muttered, wandering into a dusty hardware store on the edge of town that looked like it hadn't been painted since the fifties.
That evening, as the sun dipped low, Leo applied the first stroke. It didn't just cover the wood; it glowed. By the time he finished, the storefront didn't just look new—it looked alive, a vibrant, defiant red that could be seen from three blocks away. The Cardinal’s Rest was finally open.
"I need Cardinal paint. The real stuff. The kind that looks like it's about to fly off the wood."