In Chap­ter 256 of “All the Col­ors of the Dark,” the atmos­phere is set at an art gallery where Sam­my and Tooms expe­ri­ence a pro­found moment togeth­er. As they enter, Tooms is cap­ti­vat­ed by a blind­ing and bril­liant paint­ing dis­played promi­nent­ly on a vast white wall. For a while, he remains silent, absorbed in the mem­o­ry of Cal­lie Mon­trose, a girl he had once tried to save and for whom he would sac­ri­fice every­thing again with­out hes­i­ta­tion.

As Tooms sur­veys the col­lec­tion, he focus­es on a par­tic­u­lar­ly valu­able piece known as “Grace Num­ber One.” Sam­my reveals that he recent­ly acquired it from a young lady in Alaba­ma, who plans to use the funds to improve her fam­i­ly home. The two men tran­si­tion from the vibrant gallery to the calm­ness of the bal­cony out­side, where they can feel the gen­tle warmth of a spring day and over­look Mon­ta Clare.

Mar­ty Tooms finds him­self at a loss for words, espe­cial­ly as Sam­my presents him with a check that sig­ni­fies a new begin­ning, com­ple­ment­ing Tooms’ reclaimed land and cher­ished mem­o­ries. Curios­i­ty about anoth­er paint­ing prompts Tooms to inquire fur­ther. Sam­my responds that he has recent­ly obtained a piece known as “the white house,” a cher­ished addi­tion from a close friend.

When ques­tioned about sell­ing his acqui­si­tions, Sam­my asserts his iden­ti­ty as a col­lec­tor. He empha­sizes that this col­lec­tion is woven into the very fab­ric of Mon­ta Clare, serv­ing as a sym­bol of hope that per­sists against great odds. Thank­ful­ness final­ly emerges from Tooms, who express­es his grat­i­tude. Yet, Sam­my redi­rects the appre­ci­a­tion, point­ing out that it is Joseph Macauley who deserves Tooms’ thanks, though nei­ther of them has any idea where to find him. As the chap­ter con­cludes, Sam­my rais­es his glass, affirm­ing the mys­tery sur­round­ing Macauley.