In his own way

I decided to build a tree house out in the back yard for the kids. I’d take time off at the birth of our third child and have some fun. Celebrate, you know. My wife thought I was an idiot. She wanted to be left alone with her Mother. I wouldn’t hear of it. I was there to serve like any good husband. I could direct her Mother as well as her. That got me no favors. I was a prick and I wanted sex, too.

I enlisted the husband of her best friend, Maggie. Andy insists he was invited too. Ok. He was a reserved scientist who had grown wary after our last time out. It was a disaster with the chain saw. I would say that I was stupid but then so would he. He had a carved up forehead, I had no scars from that one. If he had looked at me more carefully, he might have seen that I was not opposed to taking risks. He didn’t expect the reward. Now proud flesh is what I have to give to my son.

When it came time to nail to the tree I backed down. I changed the plan and elaborated on the scope. A two-story tree house, sand box on the bottom, next to the elm would be all right. The tree was older than me and saw the wisdom of this. I needed Ben for the second story. Andy would help with the first. Well, we saved some time with Andy’s suggestion to use a prefab stair like they sold at Hechinger’s. He had sat on a hard wire shelf many an hour while the old man cruised and dreamed big. He knew the specs. The sand box was easy. Andy took a few swings at the large nails and didn’t want to bend them. He left them to me to deal with. I thought of Anthony’s directive on power. The hammer should be able to drive the spike in three blows. I had a 22 ouncer and three wouldn’t do. It was May and the gnats were out and my hair was in my face. We finished in time for lunch. Gertrude wasn’t ready and my wife was pissed. Where was the help? She and the girl had been together all morning. Where was I? Where are the kids? Now don’t get excited, dear. I didn’t want to get mauled and this mother bear was angry. Andy and I ate quick and alone. We left quietly, the baby was asleep.

Not for long when I ripped through some wood I just had to cut now. I might as well do it all even if I don’t use it until the end. It all gets there, don’t it? Andy was a big help. The uprights went so fast we had the second story platform framed. I pushed hard wondering if we were going to be served supper, hurried out to a restaurant or told we had to cook for ourselves. It didn’t matter. My enthusiasm for the work rubbed off on Andy. We were tired. I told Andy, before this, I think, to quit work when he felt tired. That’s when all the mistakes get made. Measure twice, cut once.

It was just grunt work, moving stuff off the plywood, when it happened. I stepped on an overhang that was not secured yet. It tipped and tossed the tools down on Andy. He ducked his head and put his arm up. Good thing he did because the drill bit that cut his arm might have cut his neck. He is a smart boy. I teeter-tottered for a little bit, didn’t fall and got down. He had tears in his eyes but he wasn’t crying. I looked at his cut, decided to quit work right now and attend to it. The house was empty. I knew not to expect dinner unless it was take out. I put a band-aid on it. Then I wrapper a kerchief around it, too. We went back outside and cleaned up. Eventually the family got home and there was hell to pay. “Looks like it should be stitched… maybe too late for that.” Finally, “He’ll live, let’s eat dinner.” It was take out night at the Stewards. Thai and mighty fine, it curried my favor.

Andy lived all right and learned to point out his proud flesh. He was modest about how he got it. “Dad and I were working together and it happened.” A hand up, my son, is really all I have to offer. Andy set his stake at that point, by my own mind. And in his wisdom he proceeded to prosper.