Page 31 of Stolen Kisses

“Come on, I’ll showyouboys my workshop.” Sliding open the large door, I switch on the light and both boys gasp at what they see. With wide eyes, they take a tentative step inside to investigate for themselves. There’s nothing that can cause the kids any harm because I always unplug my machinery. My hand tools are all stored on hooks up high on the walls, out of reach. I’m certain they won’t be able to get into any trouble while they’re in here with me. The boys are frozen in place as they take in the large space. This is what sold me on the house. I needed a large space for my carpentry work and this workshop was perfect.

Austin is blatant in his appreciation. “Wow. This is awesome! Did you know Iwannabe like my Uncle Max when I grow up and I’ll get to work with big tools one day?”

“Oh yeah? What does your Uncle Max do?”

“He fixes up old cars, makes them like new again. He fixed our lawnmower, too. There’s nothing he can’t fix. I’mgonnabe just like him.”

Ahhh, so the dude that fixed the lawnmower is her brother. Still doesn’t change the fact that he should have cut the grass after he fixed the machine. It hits me like a ton of bricks how hypocritical my thoughts are. At leasthewas here to help his sister. I left mine to die without any support from me—her only brother. The weight of that realization almost makes me collapse to my knees. I’m so fucking angry at myself. The worst part is that I can’t go back and fix it, or change anything. I’m stuck with the biggest fuck up of my life.

I snap myself out of that train of thought, so I can focus on the here and now. “That’s awesome. These machines are a little different to what your uncle uses and one day I’ll show you what each of them can do, but not today.” I look away from Austin to check on the other two. Kenny’s sitting at the table and chairs Imadefor her in the corner with all the craft supplies she could possibly want. I figure it’s okay for her to join me out here now and then when I’m hand sanding or carving delicate designs into the timber. Lachlan is running his hands over the two rocking chairs I made for their front porch. The tender attention he’s paying to the timber reminds me a lot of my own appreciation for the material. Moving closer, I ask, “Do you like them?”

Without looking up to me, he nods slowly. “Yes, I do. They are very smooth except for a couple of small rough patches here.” He points to a spot. “And here.” He points to another area on the base. The pride I feel in his attention to minute details is inexplicable,since my relationship with the boy has barely begun.

“Yeah. I thought we could smooth these out this afternoon. Then we’ll put on the first coat of wax. He looks at me briefly, still avoiding eye contact but it’s the most I’ve gotten out of him, so I’ll take it.

“Okay.”

I quickly prepare my beeswax and turpentine mixture so it has time to cool down for us to use, explaining each step as I work. Grabbing thefine-gritsandpaper, I show the boys how to sand with the grain of the timber. I tried to show Kenny the week we spent together before she went back to school, but she wasn’t interested—at all.

“Lachlan already knows how to sand. Poppa showed himwhen he was sanding at their house.” Austin’s clearly proud of his big brother’s skills in this area.

My eyebrows rise in surprise and I turn to Lachlan. “Really? What were you sanding?”

“Nanaand Poppa’s porch railing. He was getting the timber ready to repaint.”The boystill hasn’tremovedhis hands from thetimber.

“That’s great. Did you like the work?”

“Yes. I liked it a lot.” Heremainsfocusedon his task throughout the conversation but I can tell that he’s enjoying what he’s doing.

Austin’s not so keen, so he leaves Lachlan and me to the task and joins Kenny at her craft table. She’s certainly happy that he ditched me and joined her,as she rattles off instructions on how to use the variousitemsshe has available to her. Lachlan and I work quietly until both chairs are completely smooth on every single surface.

I hand Lachlan a soft cloth. “We need to make sure every surface is free of sawdust.”

He nods, making eye contact with me. “Okay. I can do that.”

I pat him on the shoulder and we both get to work. Once the chairs are free of dust, I grab the wax preparation to show Lachlan how to apply it. He’s meticulous in his work, carefully applying thepreciseamount and working it into the timber exactly how I showed him. He’s a quick study and I’m impressed with his diligence.

As we’re finishing up, Lachlan asks, “Why were you kissing Mommy?”

Hmmm, I didn’t think the kids noticed because they were in front of us, but maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that Lachlan did. He seems quietly observant of the world around him. More so than Austin and Kenny, who are younger and not so aware of things around them.

“It was a thank-you kiss. For including Kenny and me in your picnic.” I hope he buys it. I’m not sure what Emma’s response would be.

He nods. “How many coats of wax do we need to put on the chairs?”

Phew! Subject dropped. Fornowat least. “Thechairs’llneed another two coats to ensure they’re weather resistant. But we need to let them dry properly between coats. I’ll probably do the next two coats tomorrow because it’s getting late today.”

“Can I help you do them after school?” Uh … I was going to do them while Kenny was at school and have them sitting on Emma’s porch when she arrives home from work tomorrow. I suppose I can find something else to do instead while the kids are at school.

“Sure. We could do one coat tomorrow and the final coat the next day. How does that sound?”

“I don’t think it has a sound. I didn’t hear anything today while we were applying the wax.” It takes me a minute to work out what he’s saying and then I have to hold back my smile because he’s very serious.

“You’re right, it didn’t make a sound when we applied the wax. I mean, does the plan suit you?”

“Oh, okay. Yes, the plan works for me.” I smile and squeeze his shoulder in confirmation. He doesn’t pull away, but I don’t linger either.

“How about we order pizzas for dinner as a surprise for your mom?”

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