A Spool of Blue Thread

The narrative flashes back to Junior building the house on Bouton Road. Junior enjoys winning every argument between him and Mrs. Brill about the house. He usually brings up impracticality, or resorts to questioning her taste in matters, if need be. When Mrs. Brill finally begins showing distaste for the house’s upkeep, Junior’s belief that the house will one day be his seems closer than ever. The one battle he lost, however, is a white wrought-iron swing, which Mrs. Brill wants because it symbolizes her childhood. When the Brills leave, Junior chucks the swing and goes to great lengths to have a simple yet expensive wooden one made.

One day, he surprises the family by showing them the house. Junior thinks Linnie Mae will love the new wooden swing as much as he does. When she sees it, however, she immediately asks if they can paint it Swedish blue. This is doubly insulting to Junior. Not only does she dismiss his hard work, but Swedish blue is considered a common color by him. When he next arrives at the house, someone has painted the swing Swedish blue. One of his workers, Dodd McDowell, confesses that Mrs.