I Never Told You But
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Trevor barged into her room excitedly. “Simone, Joseph called and asked me to come work on his fort. Come on. You’re going too.”
Wide-eyed Simone cheered, “Yay! I can work on the big tree fort the neighborhood kids are building. That’s so cool.”
“Better put on long pants, so your legs don’t get scraped. Nails are our ticket into the fort. They asked me to bring tools and any nails I could find. Boss has plenty of them.”
“Trevor,” she looked at him and frowned, “don’t you have to know how to use the tools and drive nails? Can you do that?”
“I never told you, but Boss always shows me how to use tools when he’s in his shop. He says I’m not old enough to use power tools. Boss showed me how to use a hand saw, measure stuff for cutting, and drive nails. He said that’s how he learned to respect power tools. These items are unforgiving when it comes to fingers and toes when you don’t use them correctly.”
“Can you show me? I want to learn.”
“Of course, Simone. Boss told me more than once that a person should know how to cook a meal, build a house, care for the injured, write a poem, balance your checkbook, change oil, and lead a discussion, so everyone understands. He said having only one skill is for insects.”
“Wow, Boss sure says cool stuff.”
“Let’s head to the fort. I’ll carry the tools. Will you carry the bags of nails?”
“Yes, Trev.”
They arrive at the fort. Older kids are around, and a couple tells Trevor hi.
Joseph approaches and challenges, “Trevor, what’s she doing here? I said you could come work on the fort. We don’t want little kids here, much less a little girl.”
“Simone’s my sister. She wanted to learn how to use tools and help with your fort.” Trevor steeled his expression and looked Joseph straight in the eyes.
Joseph bellowed, “I won’t even let my little brother work on this fort, as the other kids listened. Send her home.”
Simone marches to Joseph and hands him the bag of nails. “Trevor said nails would get us in, so we could help work on your fort.”
