Phil's Cabin Works Out Well

How far to push it? "Seventeen, maybe eighteen."

She had a big smile on her face. "I'll be a senior when I go back to college this fall."

"Whoa, really?"

"True."

"A senior in what?"

"Mechanical Engineering."

I sent a questioning look in her direction.

"Seemed more practical than physics or math."

"Didn't want to be a teacher, huh?"

Nina had been nuzzling Ingrid the entire time we'd been talking.

"Probably. You ever need a dog-sitter, let me know. What's her name?"

"Ingrid."

"Wie geht's, Ingrid."

I laughed. "Well said, Nina."

"You here for a week, two weeks, the summer, what?"

"We live here."

"Oh, cool. Do you work, or are you rich? You're a little young to be retired," she added with a giggle.

"I'm setting up a woodshop in my backroom. Hopefully, I can make things for people."

"How soon are you going to have it set up? I leave for school in three weeks."

"It's about halfway there. I hope to have it all in two more weeks."

"I'd love to watch you make something. Engineering and making things go together."

Nina had me a little puzzled. Was she just really friendly, or did she have other thoughts? Did it matter? Was I so damaged and fragile that I couldn't be friendly with a college senior? Admitted a very cute and, because of the personality I'd already seen, enticing young lady. Short and nearly black hair, dark eyes topping what I considered to be a tiny frame. I'd be surprised if she was five-two.

"Let's see how the shop goes. If we get down to one week, I'll make something simple, and you can come and help."

"Thanks," Nina said, "but I'm happy to watch."

"Hands-on engineers are the best. You'll help."

"Thanks again, Phil."

"Before you leave, give me your cell number. It may come in handy."

She smiled. "Good idea."

We followed the usual routine with Nina reciting her number, me tapping it into my phone, then calling her so she'd have my number.

With a final goodbye to Ingrid, Nina was on her way.

I spent the rest of the day playing with my new housemate. She loved to chase her ball and eventually learned to bring it back to me so she could chase it again. Tug-of-war seemed to be another favorite...hers since I didn't enjoy quite as much being dragged all over the cabin by the energetic doggie.

Happy but exhausted, I was ready for some sleep. I carefully folded the blanket and placed it at the side of the bed. Ingrid gave it a good sniff, then jumped up on the queen-size bed with me. I was too tired to argue or to have a training session with her. Plus, she seemed content to stay on her side.

Her side? I think I'd already lost the argument.

I didn't fall asleep right away; my mind centered not on Nina but Jolene. Maybe it was a guilty conscience. She had so many problems with the cabin and no hope of solving them by herself. Not that I could do it all, but I suspected I might be able to help quite a bit. The problem for me wasn't the cabin but the cabin owner. She was a total puzzle to me. I wasn't sure I wanted to get involved in any way, and I was sure she wasn't expecting me to. I fell asleep undecided.

◇-◇-◇-◇

At least the sun was up when the licking began. Ingrid was ready for her day...mostly her breakfast which seemed to disappear with a few quick gobbles. When I sat down to eat, she brought her ball, ready to play. I couldn't be more pleased with the way we were connecting.

I was in the process of building a pair of workbenches for the shop and hoped to have them finished today. The table saw, and band saw were in place, and the router table had arrived a couple of days ago. The planer had been the first thing to arrive and would be helpful in most projects. I was waiting for the lathe and the 3-D printer along with the compound miter saw but had a cabinet full of hand tools. I had enough equipment to make some simple projects. Maybe Nina wouldn't have to wait till that last week to get involved.

I still had the question lingering in my mind--what to do about Jolene and her cabin. I looked at Ingrid and smiled. I wished I could discuss it with her. Maybe I should just suck it up and head back to Jolene's place and at least take a look and see what was needed. Maybe it was totally hopeless, and there was nothing to be done except demolition...or fire.

I grabbed my phone and texted Nina.

I have wood and tools if you'd like to help with a project

when

this afternoon

let me know time

I added a "thumbs up" to her last text.

"Well, Ingrid, are you ready for another walk?" She cocked her head to the side. I was sure she'd be understanding "walk" before long. I grabbed the leash, and her demeanor changed. Wagging tail and turning in small circles said she was ready.

We were approaching Jolene's cabin, only having seen two other people on our walk. I stopped in the road and carefully appraised what I could see. There was plenty to be seen on the outside that needed repair or repainted. She'd indicated the inside might be equally bad or worse. I sighed and headed for the door.

The door creaked as it opened.

"Didn't think I'd see you again."

"Ingrid wanted to stop by and get her chin scratched."

Jolene snorted. "Guess I should teach you to scratch her chin." She stepped outside...and scratched under Ingrid's chin.

She looked at me and squinted. Same blue eyes as yesterday.

"Too bright out here already," she grunted.

I wondered if that came from a hangover. I didn't know anything about her finances other than there wasn't much there, but I hated to see her use it, well, unwisely. She looked much the same as she had yesterday, a little mused and unkempt. Was I about to go beyond where I was welcome?

"Jolene, I'm going to say something, and if I'm way off base, just tell me."

I got the full wide blue-eyed look. "Okay," she answered, raising one eyebrow.

I took a deep breath. "Let me look through your cabin...and see if there are things I can do to help get it ready for winter."

I waited for an answer. There was none forthcoming. She continued scratching Ingrid's chin.

"What's up, Phil?"

"What's up is what I just said."

"Yeah, but there has to be more."

"Why do you think that?"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Who said it was free?"

"Ah, see, there ya go," she said, nodding at me, then shaking her head.

How to answer that look I was getting?

"You ever hear of sweat equity?"

"Yeah, I have."

"That's the part that isn't free."

I got the look from those blue eyes, but she seemed satisfied.

"Are you really saying that you'll come here and fix this mess...and there are no 'benefits' for doing it?"

"Oh, there will be benefits."

"Ah-ha."

"Seeing you happy will be my benefit."

A long quiet look and a kiss to Ingrid's head.

"You're ruining my belief that all men are bastards."

I wasn't sure what I was, but I'd made a quick decision and hoped it was the correct one. Time would tell.

"Now, I'm embarrassed to let you see it."

"No problem, Jolene. I'll just look around."

"Phil, you may hate me, but I'm going to be a hard-ass about this. I want to at least straighten things and put junk away. I may be a total mess, but...you know."

Jolene's entire demeanor and tone of voice had changed. The change was very satisfying.

"I do know. Is two days enough?"

"What's today?"

"Monday."

"You come back on Wednesday morning, and I'll be ready."

"Deal," I said. "You get started, and Ingrid and I will finish our walk."

As I started to leave, Jolene stepped in front of me.

"Thanks, Phil."

"You're welcome, but I haven't done anything yet."

"I know, but I think you're not going to be like all the other bastards that have been part of my life."

I hoped not.

We were off, happy about what had happened with Jolene this morning.

I wasn't sure how Ingrid would adapt to the wood shop, the noise, and the dust, but I was going to find out. I'd picked up some wood--red oak, maple, and hickory, all rough-cut 4/4 lumber, ready to make whatever I chose to make. I needed to decide since Nina would be here this afternoon, and I thought I should be a little ready.

Something simple would be good...for both of us. I'd done some woodworking with my grandfather, who also happened to be a mechanical engineer. It wasn't extensive, but it made me respect the equipment and the value of doing things correctly the first time. He was an advocate of the measure twice, cut once principle. Maybe cutting boards would be a good beginning project. We could make several, and Nina could take one to her mother. I assumed she lived with her mother and father or at least came to the cabin with them. I'd find out.

The maple or the hickory would be good for cutting boards, both hard but workable. The hickory was a much nicer-looking wood but more difficult to work with as well. Maybe I'd let Nina make the decision.

I had been reading for about thirty minutes when I heard a growl from Ingrid. The fur along her spine was standing straight up, and she was at the front door, ready. I heard a gentle knock. I opened the door a crack and peeked out, not sure what Ingrid might do.

"Hi, Ingrid," that soft voice said, which created a wagging tail. I opened the door.

"I'm ready, Phil," she said, and the Nina that came through the door was a different Nina than the one I'd seen before. A flannel shirt, khaki work pants, hiking boots, and a baseball hat had replaced the shorts and sleeveless blouse from earlier. She did look ready.

But first, there were a few minutes with Ingrid, who was getting to know the neighbors very well. She did something different today, rolling onto her back and encouraging Nina to rub her belly. Some giggling from the girl and squirming from the dog. It made me smile to watch them together.

"Phil, I think Ingrid got a good home when she picked you."

"I couldn't be happier. And I'm looking forward to learning more about her."

"Cool. Does she like the workshop?"

"I think we'll find out soon. You ready to get to work?"

"Yessir, boss. Let's go. You've got a lot of equipment in here already," Nina said, looking around the shop. "And room for lots more. Not many of the cabins have a big room like this."

"That's why I bought this one. It fits what I need...and want."

"So, what are we doing today?"

"How about cutting boards? Simple but useful."

"Sounds good to me."

"They're a simple rectangular shape, so that's easy too."

Nina looked thoughtful, then glanced at me with a questioning look.

"You said 'boss' before, but we're doing this together, so if you have something to say, say it."

"Well," she said, looking around, "my aunt has a cutting board that she got who knows where. But it's not rectangular--it has several curves, and it's very pretty. It's nice enough to be a stand-alone decoration." I received another look.

"Do you remember what it looked like? Could you sketch it? We can get a little fancy if we want to. No grades on this project."

Nina chuckled. "Not sure I remember it exactly, but I've had a couple of ideas just standing here thinking about it."

I went to one of the cabinets and opened a drawer, pulling out a piece of poster board and a pencil.

"Sketch away."

She thought for a moment, then began sketching. Her cutting board had curved but parallel sides, a scallop that shortened one side, and a thin extension at the top with a finger-size hole.

Watching her make the sketch, I'd learned something about her.

"You're an artist, aren't you?"

"Why do you say that?"

"The way you look at the sketch as you're doing it, the easy way your hands move. You could see the outline on the paper...it was just a matter of putting pencil lines to what you could see."

"I suppose, yeah. I like art, and music, and English." She looked away, out one of the windows.

"And engineering?"

"And engineering," she added, but something was off.

"What else do you like...or do."

A long look this time. "I play soccer and volleyball. I'm an outside hitter," she said, I think testing me.

"If you were six-foot-two, I might believe that."

She smiled. "I'm a libero, and short for even that."

"Height isn't everything."

She sighed. There was still something bothering her.

"So," I continued. "You had two categories when you told me about all that. One category of things you like and one of things you do."

"You caught that, huh."

"If it's none of my business, just say so."

"Are we just work buddies here or friends?"

"The way you and Ingrid get along, I'd say we better be friends."

"Okay, deal. You sure you want to hear what I'm going to say? It's your chance to say it's none of your business."

I felt a little awkward. I'd only known Nina a couple of days, and it looked like she was ready to share something very personal, perhaps. She'd be leaving in a few weeks, so I decided to take a chance.

"Tell," I said simply.

"I'm an only child. Mom and Dad had me, and dad could hardly wait to get a boy. There was a traffic accident with Mom. She's very crippled; most of her time is in bed and a little in a wheelchair. But she couldn't have more children. She wanted to adopt, but dad wanted a 'blood son.'" She stood and shoved her hands into the pockets of her work pants. "I've spent my life trying to be that son."

It was making sense now,, the likes and the dos.

"It doesn't change anything," she added. "I am who I am, and I'm happy with who I am. Mom and I could never do the things most mothers and daughters do...shopping, cooking, other stuff like that. I'm thankful I was good at soccer and volleyball and am doing well in engineering. Dad seems happy."

Wow. I felt like she needed to share that with someone, and I came along at the right moment to make it happen.

"You seem happy, too."

"I am. I really am." She smiled. "But now you're wondering if this shop thing is me trying to do something else masculine."

"Hadn't thought of that, but it doesn't matter. I'm happy to have you in the shop with me so we can make some fancy cutting boards."

"Let's get started then."

We talked about wood and selected the hickory, particularly in view of the unique shape the boards would have. We both masked up and ran the hickory boards, enough of them to make four cutting boards, through the planer. Chips and dust everywhere.

"What a mess," she said when we'd finished planing."

"Yeah, but it looks like a regular wood shop now."

Nina used scissors to cut out the poster board pattern.

"We have to fasten these boards together somehow to make them wide enough, don't we?" she asked.

Out came the biscuit joiner and the bottle of biscuits. Wood was sawn to the correct length, and soon we had glued and biscuited wood, ready for the pattern to be traced. Nina carefully took care of that, and I explained a little about the band saw, emphasizing safety.

She looked hesitant.

"Cut away. If something goes wrong, we'll make a smaller cutting board."

Nina laughed. "That's the contingency plan, huh?"

"Just cut," I said, echoing her laugh.

She was careful and precise, and the finished piece matched the template. I cut the next two, and she did the final one. All four looked identical.

We went to the drill press, carefully eyeballed the center of the hole, center punched, and then used a one-inch Forstner bit to drill the hole.

All of the edges were rounded using the router and table, and all that was left was the final finishing. Nina used the finish sander, and I did some work by hand and in another hour, the boards were ready for the butcher block finish oil that grandpa had left me.

"Wow, Nina. Your design has transformed these from nice cutting boards to a beautiful piece that anyone would be happy to have as part of their decorations."

"You think so?"

"I know so. You get two of them, and I get two."

"That doesn't seem fair. I just did a little work. You supplied all the material, equipment, and expertise."

"Don't be silly. Without your design, they wouldn't be what they are."

"Okay, but I still don't think it's right."

"I bet you have an apartment during school."

She laughed. "My roommates will be impressed."

"When you tell them you made it."

"I need to help you clean up, though."

"Don't worry about it. I've got to finish some benches, and I'll clean up when I'm done with that."

"Look," Nina said, pointing to a far corner of the room.

Ingrid was curled up there, apparently sound asleep, the noise from the equipment seemingly not disturbing her.

Nina and I talked for another fifteen minutes, and then she headed home with her two cutting boards. I'd enjoyed talking with her and was surprised she had shared some very personal things with me. I suspected we might get together for a couple more projects before she left for the winter.

◇-◇-◇-◇

It was Wednesday morning and armed with a pen and small notebook, Ingrid and I were headed for our third visit with Jolene and her dilapidated cabin with a view to correcting that. We'd have to see.

The cabin came into view, and I could immediately see a difference. The miscellaneous trash that had inhabited the front yard was gone. The paint was still chipped and peeling, and the front screen door hung crookedly, but things were different. We knocked on the door.

If the front yard looked different, the difference I observed at the front door had my mouth hanging open.

"Do you wonder if Jolene Adams is here?" she asked, a contagious smile on her face.

The blue eyes gave her away, but a clean face, carefully brushed blond hair in a neat ponytail, a bright red sleeveless blouse, clean white and very short shorts...and bare feet was a different look for the cabin owner.

"You do look different," I said weakly, not sure how to respond to the suddenly beautiful lady standing before me.

"I clean up well."

"Jolene, you certainly do. Honestly, you look very beautiful."

"Thank you, but that's not why you're here."

"I brought a notebook and a pen, so I'm ready to get started."

Jolene held the door open, and Ingrid and I went inside.

"Phil, I cleaned up in here a little too. I have a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, and I used them both. I tightened screws, bent a couple of things back to where they belong...and they worked."

"Very nice." The changes in the cabin...and in Jolene were amazing. I could help the former improve even more, and I hoped the latter was permanent.

Ingrid sniffed her way around the cabin as I made notes. There were a number of things that were still needed and would be inexpensive to repair. Some were just cosmetic but would make the interior much more attractive. Then there were the hardcore items. There was no insulation, and that would be expensive. There were three windows that needed to be replaced. Both interior and exterior were badly in need of paint. All of those items involved money I suspected Jolene didn't have. Thank goodness the roof appeared to be sound.

I could take care of the repairs, perhaps showing Jolene how to do some herself. I was trying to process how to handle the money items.

"Well?" she said when it appeared I'd completed my survey and notes.

"Sit down, and we can talk."

Even before I began, Jolene looked defeated.

"Why the look?"

"I was excited to clean up and make some repairs." Her beautiful blue eyes held mine. "I wanted to impress you, I guess."

"You have, in several ways."

Jolene was nibbling her lower lip, and I recognized that it could mean any one of several things. She turned her head quickly, the ponytail swinging around her head and then back. She returned her eyes to mine without turning her head. If she was subtly flirting with me, she was very effective at it. But I suspected it was something else.