“Mind if I stay and watch?”
“No.”
Theo continues to eat his cereal as I put a thick piece of scrap wood beneath the oak and clamp both to the table. I attach a boring bit to my electric drill and use it to make a large hole in the centre of the hippo’s body. I use a small drill bit to make a hole for its eye and then a jigsaw to cut around the outline of the hippo. I go wide of the line as I know I’ll have to do a lot of sanding to make it smooth and safe for Callan’s baby.
I remove the clamp and position the hippo against the edge of the desk, bottom up, so I can drill a hole for the dowel rod the rattle pieces will thread onto.
“Hendrix would make a lewd comment right about now,” Theo muses as I start to drill through the hippo’s bottom.
“I’m sure he would.”
Hendrix would probably ask me to drill his hole. I roll my eyes and shake my head.
Theo laughs as though he’s guessed what I’m thinking. I expect the expression on my face speaks volumes.
I take my time drilling the hole in the hippo so I don’t stress or break the wood. I drill to the other side to make a second hole to secure the dowel into.
“Now I need to sand it. This bit will be boring and time intensive.” I sigh. “I miss all the tools Dad had.”
“Like what?”
“A bench sander, for a start. It would be perfect for sanding the sides of the hippo. I don’t have the space for one here, plus it would be noisy.”
Theo glances out the window. “It’s a shame there isn’t a shed in the yard. You could have turned it into a workshop.”
We have a small strip of concrete out the back. I don’t think any of us have ever gone out there. There’s no reason for there to be a shed. It’s not like there’s any gardening that needs to be done.
I use the spray glue to stick a sheet of coarse sandpaper to a piece of wood and then rub one flat side of the hippo over it methodically.
“I’ll use a few different grades of sandpaper,” I tell Theo. “Coarse to start with, getting finer, so I get a silky finish on the wood.”
“You’re right. That would be easier with an electric sander.”
“Much. I’ve got a small sanding tool that’ll make short work of the edges, but I’ll have to do the sides slowly.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Theo puts the empty bowl on the desk.
“If I cut the rattle pieces, you could start sanding those for me.” I hesitate. “You must have something else you’d rather be doing?”
“Nope. I want to help.”
“Okay.”
I make short work of marking out three rattle pieces, two in cherry and one in maple. I drill a hole slightly larger than the dowel through each of them before cutting them out. I pile them on the desk and give Theo some sandpaper. He sits on the edge of my bed, leaning on the desk as he gets to work.
“Didn’t you tell me you weren’t good at making or creating things?” I ask as I go back to my sanding task.
“I did. And I’m not. But how hard can sanding be?” Theo looks at me with wide eyes. “I won’t screw it up, will I?”
“I doubt it. I’ll let you know when to stop.”
Theo smiles. “Good. At least you have plenty of wood.” He carefully works the sandpaper around the edges of one of the cherry rattle pieces. “I wish I could make stuff like you or draw like Quinn.”
“You save people’s lives. I think that trumps what either Quinn or I can do.”
Theo blushes. “My job isn’t that dramatic.”
“I couldn’t do it.”
