“I’m not going skiing with a bunch of older boys,” nine-year-old Jenny said on Saturday morning. “They won’t wait for me.”
“They will,” her mother, Elaine, said.
“The twins might get sick of waiting for her,” Jenny’s 12-year-old brother, Connor, said.
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“Their mom will make them wait,” Elaine said.
“They won’t want to, so they won’t be nice,” Jenny said.
“All right,” her mom said. “But if you don’t go to Fernie with your brother and your cousins you’ll be stuck at home for Easter week with me and your dad. And we’re too busy for anything fun.”
“I don’t care,” Jenny said.
“Fine,” Elaine said. “But don’t complain when you’re bored.”
“I won’t be bored,” Jenny said.
Jenny stayed home for the 10-day school break and was so bored by Wednesday that she even wished her brother was home.
After lunch, she asked Elaine if she could have her friend Alison over. Elaine phoned Alison’s mom.
“Sorry Jenny,” Elaine said afterwards. “Alison’s family’s in Edmonton this week.” Maybe your friend Shelby could come over.”
“Her family went to Prince Harry,” Jenny said.
Her mom looked puzzled.
“To visit her grandpa,” Jenny explained.
“Maybe you mean Prince Albert?”
Jenny shrugged. “What about Olivia?”
“Olivia’s a good kid,” Elaine said. “But they live 30 miles on the other side of Weyburn. If I drive an hour each way I’ll miss my one-thirty meeting.”
Jenny sighed. “Boys get to do everything fun,” Jenny said.
“You could bake some cookies,” Elaine suggested. “I’ll be in my office if you have trouble.”
Jenny snorted. Baking. There’d be something more fun to do if she was a boy.
“You could read your new library book.”
“Are you saying that because only girls read books?” Jenny asked.
Elaine rolled her eyes. “You like reading. You’ve read six books in that series.”
Jenny snorted again.
“How about a video game?” Elaine suggested.
That was something boys did. But Jenny only liked them if she could play online with Shelby or Alison.
Elaine looked at the clock. “Why don’t you go out to the shop and see what your dad’s doing.”
“Fine,” Jenny said, heading for the porch.
“Don’t wear your good sweater,” Elaine hollered, just as Jenny was zipping it up. She traded it for one of Connor’s old sweaters and went outside.
She found her dad, Jeff, in the shop with the Hanson’s farm employee, Mark.
“Dad,” she said. “Can you teach me to weld?”
Jeff laughed. “You’re nine. Let’s give it a year. Anyway, I’ve got three seed customers coming by today. I can’t start a big project.”
Jenny was starting to pout when Flora, the German shepherd, bolted into the shop. Jenny found the bag of liver treats and held one out.
Flora sprinted over with so much enthusiasm she almost knocked Jenny down.
“Stop Flora. Sit.”
Flora sat, but only until she ate the treat.
“I could teach her to jump through a hoop,” Jenny said.
Mark laughed from where he was cleaning up the seed meter augers, so they’d be ready to start seeding in a few short weeks. “Good luck kid.”
Jenny spotted the hoop the Hansons used to count canola plant stands hanging from a nail on the wall. She pulled it down and called Flora, but just then one of Jeff’s seed customers drove into the yard. Flora sprinted off to sniff the truck for exotic smells and see if the truck driver brought treats.
Jenny leaned back on the workbench. It felt like she’d never been so on her own.
“Come over here kid,” Mark called from across the shop.
Jenny followed Mark to the corner where they kept the coffee pot. Mark picked up a coffee-stained notepad and an old pen and started sketching something.
“What’s that?” Jenny asked.
“What’s it look like?” Mark asked.
“A birdhouse. I can draw those.”
“Want to make a real one?”
“Really? When?” Jenny asked.
“Now?”
That surprised Jenny. Good things almost never happened “now.”
“What would we make it out of?” she asked.
“Wood. Nails.” Mark said. “You could hang it from that tree by your mom’s garden.”
“Really?” Jenny asked.
“Really.”
Jenny followed Mark outside to a stack of scrap plywood in an old shed. He pulled out a piece and handed it to Jenny.
“We’ll need a tape measure and a pencil before we start sawing.”
“Sawing? Really?” Jenny asked.
“Really,” Mark said.
With Mark’s direction, Jenny drew the plans onto the plywood. Mark handled the circular saw, but Jenny helped enough to feel satisfied.
Jeff came back in as Jenny and Mark finished cutting.
“Need any help? Jeff asked.
“We’re good,” Mark said. “Just doing some construction.”
Jenny giggled.
“Okay. I’ll make myself a coffee while I wait for Gavin to show up.”
Jenny and Mark ignored Jeff and went on to the next step.
“Have you swung a hammer before?” Mark asked.
“Nope,” Jenny said.
“First rule,” Mark said. “Don’t hammer your thumb.”
Jenny laughed. “How could that happen?”
Three minutes later Jenny saw how it could happen. She bit her lip to keep from crying. She didn’t want her dad to make her go to the house.
“That’s gonna bruise,” Mark said.
Soon Jenny and Mark had something that was definitely a birdhouse, complete with a hole in front and a perch where birds could sit.
“Can we hang it up?” Jenny asked.
“First you have to paint it,” Mark said.
They went back to the shed to look through the Hansons’ stash of half-used paint cans. “Here’s some white from when we painted the shop … green … blue from your grandpa’s bathroom …”
“Blue and white,” Jenny chose.
“Sounds fancy,” Mark said.
Mark set the painting supplies up on a workbench, then went back to work with the seed meter augers.
Jenny imagined birds living inside while she painted.
When she finished the last stripe she set her paintbrush down and took a critical look. Some stripes might be a little crooked. But it was beautiful.
“Mark!” she shouted. “Look!”
Mark came over to see.
“Good job kid,” he said.
“Now can we hang it up?” Jenny asked.
“We’ll let the paint dry first,” Mark said. “And we’d better get that paint off your hands before your mom sees you.” He looked her over. “Maybe she won’t notice your sweater.”
Jenny and Mark stood out in the yard while he wiped her hands clean with a gas-soaked rag. “Can I tell you a secret?” he asked.
Jenny nodded.
Mark whispered. “Jody’s going to have a baby.”
“You’ll be a dad?” she asked.
“Yup,” Mark said.
“Wow. Maybe I could babysit.”
“Sure,” Mark said.
Jenny stood a little taller. A secret and a job?
“I’d better get back to work,” Mark said. “We’ll hang it up tomorrow.”
Jenny took a last look at her birdhouse before she left.
When Jenny got back to the house, Elaine’s Zoom call was over. Jenny held her arm sideways so her mom couldn’t see the paint on her sleeve.
“What were you doing out there for so long?” Elaine asked.
“It’s a secret,” Jenny said.
“Hmmm,” Elaine said.
Jenny laughed all the way down the hall to her room, where she picked up her stack from the library. What would happen in Book Seven?
