If I were a Carpenter

"You don't sound too thrilled about it."

"I don't really want to move, but my mom says we have to."

"Oh, okay. So...you like living here?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, all my friends from school are here and when we move, I have to go to a new school, and then my mom will be spending all her time with..."

Both of them heard the sound of squealing tires as Monroe came flying around the corner and pulled into the driveway.

"David? Oh, my God! Are you okay?" she asked as she flung the car door open and ran into the garage.

"I'm fine," he told her as she smothered him with a hug.

"I totally forgot, honey! I am so sorry. I thought we agreed you were going to Aunt Bacall's house and just when I pulled into her driveway I remembered. And then I was too freaked out to call and let Axl know. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mom! I'm fine," he told her. "I rode the bus home like I always do. Or at least like I used to before we got money."

The way he said 'money' made Axl think it was tied into the move and the boy's unhappiness with his new life. He felt bad for him but knew it was none of his business.

"Axl is showing me how to fix stuff," David said when his mother finally let go.

"Oh. That's...that's wonderful, honey. What kind of stuff?"

"We just measured the window frame—twice, and now we're gonna cut—once."

Axl laughed and said, "Someone was paying attention!"

"He's very smart," Monroe said proudly. "And yes, he does listen."

She wanted to say, "Unlike someone else," referring to herself but didn't.

David was already well aware that Peter had very little interest in him, and his mom did her best to assure him nothing would really change except for his school. She'd still be there every afternoon when he got home, and they'd still spend their evenings together. It had helped but she knew it wasn't nearly enough. But she didn't have anything else to offer as he was too young to understand her need for security. Perhaps one day he would, and if she was really lucky, maybe he'd even thank her.

"Can I cut it?" David asked excitedly when Axl got out the piece of wood.

"What do we have to do first?" Axl asked as he held up the tape measure.

"Oh, right. I forgot," he said after having just mentioned measuring.

He stretched the tape back out and when his mom bent down, he showed her what Axl had shown him.

"So each tick mark is a sixteenth of an inch. This cut needs to be 36 and 3/8 of an inch, so we're gonna mark the board right..."

He grabbed the pencil Axl held out then made a mark at exactly the right place.

"Good work, buddy!" Axl told him.

"Okay. Now get some safety goggles and we'll let you cut it."

He looked at Monroe then said, "If your mom says it's okay."

"If you're supervising, then...okay," she told him with a shy smile.

David stood on the chair as Axl reached around him to get the board ready to cut.

"Make sure the saw blade is on this side of the mark, okay?" he explained.

"Okay. Or else it'll be too short, huh?" David said showing he understood.

Axl put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You're gonna be a really good carpenter, my friend!"

Axl helped as David guided the board through the whirling saw blade and when it zipped through the wood, leaving a perfectly clean edge exactly where he'd marked it, he hollered, "This is way cool! Can I nail it in?"

"Honey, let Mr... Axl...show you how, okay?" his mom said worried he was getting too ahead of his teacher.

"He's fine, Monroe. In fact—he's pretty awesome!"

Axl asked for a high five and got a hard one as took the piece back in and put it in place.

It was five o'clock when Monroe came to check on them.

"Oh, hey there!" Axl said. "We just finished for the day."

"Mom! I got to nail the boards in, and Axl let me caulk the windows. Don't worry, it's not a bad word," he told her authoritatively. "It's just the stuff that goes..."

Monroe covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh and David said, "What? What's so funny?" causing her to laugh even more loudly.

"Nothing, honey. Nothing at all," she said happy to see her son so happy for the first time since, well, since getting engaged to Peter. "But it is time for dinner."

"Ahh! Do we have to eat right now?" he asked.

"Yes, and just in case you didn't hear, Axl is going home now," his mom told him.

"I know," David said trying to sound too disappointed.

He turned to Axl and said, "Will you be here tomorrow?"

"I sure will," the handyman said.

"Can I help you again?"

"David, Axl is very busy and..."

"Sure. Anytime. I like working with you," Axl said to David as he smiled at him mom who stopped talking and smile back.

"Awesome!" David said. "I gotta go get ready for dinner, Axl. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, you will, my man," he told him as he smiled at the boy who was grinning from ear to ear.

He also saw Monroe smiling and said, "You're even more beautiful when you smile."

"Oh. Thank you, but I can't help it. I haven't seen David this happy in quite a while."

"I had a great time working with him. He's really smart and picks things up quickly. Speaking of quickly, I need to run. I've got class in an hour and I've gotta grab something to eat on the way," he told her.

"Oh, right. Your classes. When do you ever sleep?"

"Sleep. I've heard of that," Axl said pretending to try and place the word.

"Let me help, okay?" Monroe said as he started gathering his things.

"If it's okay, I'd like to just leave my tools here overnight. You wouldn't be responsible for them or anything. It would just save me time on both ends."

"Sure. Of course," Monroe told him as he grabbed a few things to take to the garage. She smiled when she saw how the washer/dryer were exactly where they were supposed to be again.

She walked with him then went out to his van where he put a couple of small, valuable things inside.

"Okay. That does it for today. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

As he opened the front door Monroe said, "Axl? You've given me a lot to think about."

"Oh?" he asked as he got in and rolled the window down so they could talk as he started it up.

"Well, yes. Between the design concept thing and your comments about, well, true love and what's enough, and then the way you were with David, I really do have a lot to consider."

"I hope you're not mad at me," he said.

"Mad? No. Not at all," she replied. "I'm starting to wonder if I should be mad at myself, though. But that's not your problem."

"I really do gotta run, Monroe," he said politely.

"Oh, sure. Sorry. I'll let you go," she said with a smile.

"See you in the morning," he told her before driving off.

Monroe stood there thinking as the white van drove away. The doubts she'd pretty much tamped down over and over had come under so much pressure it blew the lid off leaving Monroe to wonder if she'd made the worst mistake of her life. Even worse, how could one person, one very young person at that, create so much turmoil in such a short amount of time?

Before she could answer her own question, she knew Axl hadn't created anything. He'd just asked her a few questions and shared his opinions. She was the one who'd created the situation she found herself in, so if anyone was to blame it wasn't Axl Kibler.

As she walked back inside Monroe remembered Peter had an event at the office the following evening so she needed to see if Bacall could watch David for her. She also needed to stop by one of the boutiques that was making her dress sometime in the afternoon. Oh, and then she had to have her hair, nails, and makeup done and be ready to go by 6 o'clock. All that so she could stand around holding a champagne flute looking beautiful while Peter talked with other attorneys about cases and the law and...bored her to tears.

The real question she was asking herself was why she was so angry after just having thought about going? She knew the answer, but didn't want to think about it anymore that night or it would ruin that evening, too.

After dinner Monroe asked if David had any homework and he told her, "I did it while you were making dinner."

She'd completely forgotten, but he'd remembered.

"Axl told me he thought I was really smart," David said.

"Well, you are smart, honey."

"But there's always room to learn more," he told her. "That's what Axl says. He loves to read and science is his favorite subject, so I want to do really good in science, too."

She didn't mention the correct was 'well' rather than 'good'. She only smiled and said, "You really like him, don't you?"

"Yeah. He's really cool. He shows me how to do stuff and he cares about what I think."

"You know he's only going to be here another couple of days, right?" Monroe said hoping it wouldn't upset him.

She could see David was thinking and when he knew what he wanted to say he told his mom, "Axl says every day is a gift so I have two more presents to open!"

It wasn't only what he said but as much how he said it. He was so young and yet he had such a big heart. A heart that was tender and a soul that was gentle, and she ached when she thought about what living with a distant man like Peter might do to him.

As she sat there looking at him, she felt horribly guilty for moving him away from his friends and the only place he'd ever lived. The neighborhood was decent, and both of them loved living there. It also hurt her knowing he would be isolated from the kids he grew up with, and she felt sick to her stomach when she thought about him going to his new school for the first time. Would he make friends? Would he even be accepted? Would it matter that his mother would be called a 'gold digger behind his back?

The only good news was he was too young to understand what that meant, and yet Monroe knew kids had a way of making their points in the most hurtful way possible. So while she also knew kids moved every day and started over, they weren't her kids, and although she was sure he'd survive, she couldn't help but wonder if financial security was worth what she'd be doing to him.

She consoled herself knowing he'd be home every day at around the same time, and since she wouldn't be working, she could go pick him up or meet him when their limo driver brought him home. Limo driver. She still couldn't used to that or having a full-time maid to do all of the housework. And that caused her to wonder how she'd fill all of her long, lonely days in the humongous house they'd be living in.

The maid was another issue. She couldn't be more than 22, and she quite literally wore a skimpy French maid outfit. And making matters worse, she was a very attractive 20-something who smiled at her fiancé anytime they passed one another, but stopped smiling the moment Monroe made eye contact with her. She seemed capable enough, but she couldn't help but wonder why Peter had seen fit to hire her rather than someone who was maybe 50-something with a few extra pounds. Then again, she knew why and that was even more troubling.

"More thoughts to shrug off," she told herself as she realized David was talking to her.

"Mom? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh, sure. I was just thinking about something. That's all," she told him. "Did you want to go play video games?"

"No, thanks. I think I'll go look online and try and find out why Pluto isn't a planet anymore. Axl said it got demented a few years ago."

Monroe managed not to laugh but couldn't help smiling.

"You mean 'demoted', right?" she suggested.

"Oh, yeah. That's the word!" he said once she reminded him. "Anyway, it used to be a planet and now it's not. Axl said if I could tell him why he'd let me help him paint when he finished all the repair work."

"Oh, he did, did he?" she said with a smile.

"Uh-huh. He's gonna show me how to use a roller and cut in. I forget what that means, but I want to learn how to be a carpenter just like him," David announced.

"That would be wonderful, sweetheart. But you can be anything you want. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, but I want to be just like Axl. And not just a carpenter, but I want to be nice to people just like him, too."

Monroe felt herself tearing up and didn't want to have to explain why so she turned away and said, "Okay. Go on into the family room and you can use the computer for an hour or so, okay? I'll get the dishes going while you learn all about Pluto."

"Okay. And then I'll tell you why it got...what's the word again?"

"Demoted. You know, the opposite of pro-moted."

"Oh, I get it!" he said before skipping off to the family room.

The next morning, David's happy mood was gone and he was moping around like she hadn't seen in quite a while.

"Are you okay, buddy?" she asked.

"I guess," he told her as he ate a bite of Count Chocula cereal.

"Hmmm. Are you sure?"

"I just wish I could stay home and help Axl. School is boring. And I only have today and tomorrow and then he won't be coming back anymore."

"I know, buddy. But like you said, at least you have two more presents to open, right?"

"I guess," he said again.

"Tell you what. I'll let you wait until he gets here before taking you to school so you can say 'hello' before leave. How does that sound?"

"Really?" he said, suddenly coming to life.

"Yes. Really. I'll take you inside and get you excused for being late, but just this one time. Understand?"

"Okay!" he said, his smile now back.

When Axl pulled in they were outside waiting for him and the car was idling and ready to go.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Goin' somewhere?"

"I have to take David to school, but he wanted to say 'hi' before we left," Monroe told him.

Axl bent down and signaled David to 'come here' and the boy ran straight to him.

"Then let's say hello!" he said as he grabbed him under his arms and lifted him over his head when he arrived at a dead run.

David shrieked with laughter as Axl spun him around saying, "Oh, look. It's a helicopter. Whop, whop, whop, whop!"

He let the boy down gently then tickled his sides causing another howl of laughter.

"Did you check out why Pluto's no longer a planet?" Axl asked once David stopped laughing.

"Uh-huh. I know all about it now," he told him.

"Good. Well, I want to hear the story when you get home from school today, okay?"

"Okay," David said as his mom told him it was time to go.

"See when you get home, buddy," Axl said with a wave.

"Bye, Axl. See you later!"

Monroe waved, too, and Axl watched as they drove down the driveway. He was glad he did because David turned around and waved through the rear window and Axl gave him a big old wave back.

"I could think of worse ways to start the day," he said to himself as he walked around back to get the tools he'd be needing.

When Monroe came back, she had coffee and donuts with her, and Axl said, "Hey! You tryin' to fatten me up or something?"

"Ha! Like you couldn't stand to gain a pound or two and still look amazing. I'm the one who can't even look at food without gaining weight."

"Oh, so you're on a 'see-food' diet where all you can do is see the food, right?"

Monroe tried not laugh but couldn't help it.

"That was awful!" she told him. "True but still awful."

He grabbed an old fashioned and a cup of dark-roast coffee then thanked her.

"My pleasure," she told him. "You made quite an impression on David."

"He's awesome," Axl told her with a bite of food in his mouth. "I'd love to have a son to do stuff with someday. Don't get me wrong. I'd be fine with a daughter. I'm just not sure what we'd do together."

"Well, you'd have tea parties with her instead of drinking coffee with me," Monroe told him.

"But I like drinking coffee with you," he told her. "And the coffee is excellent, by the way."

She smiled and said, "Yeah, I kind of like drinking coffee with you, too."

"Oh, before I forget, I have a...function to attend this evening so I'll be out getting ready for a while later on."

"I'm not sure I can picture you looking any more beautiful than you look right now, but I hope I at least get a glimpse before you jet off to paradise," he told her with a smile.

"You jest, but a limo will be coming by to get me. Peter's limo, of course. He doesn't have his own private jet, but the senior partners own one together for the firm."

"Have you flown on it?" he asked before taking a big bite.

"Just once. Peter actually proposed to me when we were at 30,000 feet," she said almost apologetically.

"Nice. Is it a Gulfstream?"

"Yes. Yes it is. I'd never heard of them before that, but yes. It is a Gulfstream. I think it's a G250 or something."

"I'm not sure, but I don't think they make a 250. I know they make the 280, the 500, the 550, and 600 series. All of them are very nice, but they're a tiny bit outside my budget. Well, until I become a certified underwater welder. Yep. Then the sky will be the limit."

He hesitated then said, "No wait. I'll be under water. So...the surface will be the limit!"

Monroe couldn't help but laugh as his deadpan delivery was actually quite funny.

"And once again you surprised me with your knowledge of something."

"Jets?"

"Yes. And you're sense of humor is growing on me," she told him.

"So do you need to get going right now? To get more beautiful, that is. Or more beautifuler. Is that even a word?"

"I'm not sure. You mean you don't know something?" she teased.

"Well, irregardless. I could care less," he said, waiting for another laugh.

"What?" Monroe asked.

He started to explain why both were incorrect then said, "I was wondering if maybe...you'd like to help today."

"Me? Axl, I'd just be in the way. I can't even drive a nail in without bending it."

"No problem. I'll do all the nailing," he said with a smile.

"Well. Okay," she said smiling back without any further prodding needed.

Doing something would be preferable to sitting around the house doing nothing. Once they'd gotten engaged Peter had insisted she quit her job, and for a few days it was wonderful. She 'slept in' until 7am and spent the a day or two cleaning things she'd let go for much too long. And then it stopped being fun. And now, every day was a challenge to find things to do to keep from going stir crazy. Peter had assured that once she moved in with him, she'd be busy with planning and attending social events as well as shopping. Not for groceries, though. Just for clothes and jewelry and other things she needed to stay beautiful at all times for him.

Monroe couldn't help but wonder how long it would take to grow tired of buying new clothes before the ones she'd only worn once or twice were given away to charity. 'Not long' was her best guess as it was already becoming tedious.

"Great. Let's get started," Axl said. "We've got stairs to repair and all that railing needs to go. It's not only rickety it's a safety hazard and any buyer would expect it to replaced."

Within minutes Axl had her laughing and before she knew it it was 10 o'clock. She had about another hour before she needed to leave and asked what else she could do.

"I could use a hand steadying this section of railing," he told her. "Just stand right there and hold it steady and I'll secure it to the floor and other piece of railing."

Monroe was standing in the middle and Axl was working left to right.

"Okay, match up the ends for me," he said.

"Like this?"

"Um...not quite. Let me show you."

He came up from behind her and reach around in front and pulled the two sections together.

"Like that," he said.

He arms were only around her for a few seconds, but Monroe's heart was beating faster from just his arms briefly touching hers as he also brushed up against her back.

"Okay," she said as she did what he'd just done. It was ridiculous, but her hands were shaking slightly from their brief encounter.