Page 87 of Just Do It
‘I would, thank you.’
A few minutes later, the four of us were bundled up and looking up at the most magnificent treehouse.
‘You built this?’ I stared at it in awe. It was like something out of a fairytale.
‘Yeah. Alice and Mark wanted one for the kids and the prices were extortionate. I knew I could do something for a lot less. And I enjoy making stuff like this.’
‘You didn’t fancy doing it as a career,’ I asked, walking around to see it from all angles.
‘Nah,’ Finn said, following me as we listened to the children laughing above us. ‘I love my job. This is my hobby and I’m happy to keep it that way.’
‘You’re so clever.’
He gave a laugh. ‘Look who’s talking! You can learn and, most importantly, retain anything. You read hieroglyphs, read, write and speak Latin. I can’t even remember what I need from the shop unless I write it down.’
‘That’s book learning. This is different. I don’t create anything. I wouldn’t even know how, or where, to begin. Did you have a plan, or a kit?’
‘Nope,’ he replied. ‘Just asked the kids what they wanted. Brought it back within the realms of reality, drew a design and did some numbers. Then we went off, got some wood, visited a salvage yard and…’ He nodded towards his creation.
‘Amazing.’
Two small faces appeared at the door to the treehouse and looked down at us.
‘Are you coming up?’ Lucy asked. ‘We have a Christmas tree up here too. Uncle Finn got it for us.’
‘Of course you did.’ I turned to him, grinning.
‘You going up or what?’ he said, giving my bum a pat as I put a foot on the bottom rung.
‘You bet!’ I said, and began climbing the thick-stepped ladder.
16
‘Happy New Year!’
My parents’ bungalow, in a prime position overlooking the coastal cliffs, had been unrecognisable when Finn and I had pulled up outside.
‘Is this it?’ he’d asked.
‘I think so.’
‘Think?’ he’d replied, a ripple of laughter lacing his words.
‘It looks a bit different from the last time I saw it.’
A second later, the door had opened and Mum had bustled out to greet us, her feet adorned in bright orange Crocs over thick, pink knitted socks.
‘Happy New Year!’ she said, waving excitedly as she opened the gate to the garden. A space which, once overgrown and neglected, was now tidy with a neat lawn, a large palm tree and various shrubs. Around the lawn, five wire reindeer grazed contentedly.
‘Do you like it?’ Mum asked, following the direction of my eye line once she’d given me a tight hug and then reached up on tiptoes to do the same to Finn.
‘Umm… yes. It’s great! I’m assuming they light up.’
‘They do!’ she said, clearly excited by this fact. ‘There are a few more in the back garden. We got rather carried away. But they’re such fun, don’t you think?’
‘I do,’ I replied, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. ‘I really do.’
Mum turned and reached to take my other one, holding them out in front of her. ‘Why didn’t you tell us the place looked a state?’
