"A-a-are ya gon-gonna l-l-let me join y-y-ya this time, dude?" Clarence asks me as I make my way into the nurse's office.
"Sorry mate, it's way too difficult to focus with other people around. But, if you like; I can keep the finished product and give it to you as thanks?"
"On-on-only if it's cool!"
"You got it, Clarence!"
After our typical high five, I separate from my friend; with my hand file and a few spare blocks of wood. As soon as Clarence closes the nurse's door, I retreat to the far corner. Tuesday, March 26th, 1996, 11:35 am. Luckily, our orphanage's nurse is taking her lunch at the same time as the younger orphans have their lunch today. With her gone, I have the perfect chance to use the nurse's office as my base to practice my grinding skills today.
My base of operation changes regularly, and is dependent upon which bloke or madam is absent from their respective room. And, I wanted it to be my means of escaping notice from the adoption day ceremonies, but, so far that was proving to be futile. With lil Sachiko's help, hopefully it becomes easier…'fool proof', even.
But, at least today, I can better remember…
"I miss you dad," I whisper while clasping my; no his hand file. Engraved into the handle reads the initials: 'V. B.' on the front; 'Da Grinder', on the back. Victor Bax, my pa; one of the greatest blokes to ever live!
"'Tommy, lad, I see you peepin' over there, you wanna see what I'm making today? Come on over here, son.'"
Pa always had new items to craft, whether it was for his job or for our home. His skills earned him a reputation as large as a city; yet, what made him happiest was…
"'Look what I made Tommy; it's for your mum.. earrings! You think she'll like these?'"
I'd always reply yes because no matter what he made for ma; it was always full of such love and passion. And, all the things he made for ma almost made it unnecessary for her to ever buy anything for herself.
"'You're like a store if it were a person, Victor; continually providing things for the people'", ma always told him. And his reply typically was: "'Obviously, but chock-full of greater love…especially for you'"—.
What made my pa happiest was his family. No matter how big or impressive the item Pa made for work was…heck, even if it was made from the finest material available; nothing compared to the excellence of what he 'grinded' for ma and me.
When I get time away from others, and the chance to practice what made my dad special; I get to relive what life was like when me and my family were whole.
"Bummer!!" I'm nowhere near his level yet; how can I be, without ever having been able to show him a completed product? That thought alone unleashes a floodgate of tears from my eyes.
"Pa, I'm gonna make a wooden lamp today; hopefully it'll be banging! Then I'll have something to make the head Bax man proud.." I profess as I wipe the tears off my face, and start to chisel away at the wooden blocks before me.
Time ebbs away faster than I would like it to during these hand filing sessions; which serve as a gateway between me and my amazing pa! Although years continue to pass since his passing, I can still remember what he sounded like; what he said to me, and to others. There's no need for me to ever want a dad different from him!
Unfortunately the warmth from today's base of operations would be interrupted by the orphanage's central bell; "Rats, lunch must be over!" I say as the lunch bell rings; its sudden occurrence rains on my parade, and makes the nurse's office increasingly colder than it was for the past half hour.
The freezing floor makes it harder for me to stay in the nurse's office without feeling great discomfort. As a result, I gather my supplies, and conceal as much as I can within my pockets. Sucks I didn't get the chance to look at my wooden lamp experiment before it was time to leave.
"D-d-d-did ya hear the b-b-bell, dude? Y-y-you gotta leave afore th-the nurse ret-ret-returns!"
In the matter expected of my best friend; Clarence was inches away from the door after I swung it open. "Here, mate, take this!" My arms transfer the unused wood from my pockets to Clarence's hands as swiftly and instantly as a gust of wind.
Yet, moments afterward; a formal but obviously countryside voice calls out to us.
"Howdy ya'll! Are you kids hurt, and in need of attention? I'll be right there!" In typical OGO fashion, the nurse spots us near her office and quickly tries to take care of us. Each step she makes is paired with the clanging of her bracelets. And, as soothing as her attention is; "don't worry, lady nurse, we didn't hurt ourselves"; Clarence and I had to get her off of our trail!
Clarence concludes: "W-w-we's pl-playing hide n seek, and I ca-ca-caught Thomas by y-your office!"
"We gotta jet back to class, ma'am!" I add, in order to support my friend's claim. As far as the sunrise is from the sunset was the distance we made between ourselves and our orphanage's nurse; in a matter of seconds. Hah! Kids will always triumph over adults in records of speed.
"Silly kids! Too bad, I would've given you all my leftover 3 layer burrito. Hah! It was too beefy to finish on my own, you hear?!" The nurse says as we scurry way. That sounded delicious, sure, but, we couldn't stop now or else we'd be late for class.
We were clear out of sight before we could hear her finish talking. "Actually, it is good that they didn't get hurt..whatever, guess it's time to mosey on back to work."
The nurse enters her office, which is decorated with an imbalance of country collectibles and actual medical supplies. You'd hardly consider the fact that this older country bumpkin of a woman was actually skilled in her craft; but she is!
As she makes her way to her seat, she notices something alarming. "Heavens, what's going on with the floor over here? I feel cold when I stand in the corner; warm the second I change positions! Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold, warm, cold, warm, warm, warm…okay, all's normal again!"
After her lively tiptoeing, the nurse concludes; "Somebody was in here…but I don't reckon I know how they made part of the room cold? Guess there's no choice but for me to put another western bar stool in my office ta' keep my place as peaceful as possible!"
As always, school resumed and ended. After which; Clarence rushed me back to our dorm room. I felt like one of the many shopping carts my parents used to push me in, when we were at the grocery store. Comfortable, yet fast, and in the action enough for me to feel like a part of the family, rather than a separate being; in need of protection.
Once I could register the environment around me fully, it was easier for me to pay attention to my friend talking to me.
"D-d-d-dude, now's the t-t-time: show me wh-wh-what you m-made!"
"Sorry mate, I didn't have enough time to finish the lamp I was trying to make," I tell Clarence as I pull the wooden base out of my side pocket. "But, THIS is what a sleek lamp base looks like! Bummer it's not complete though. You know what that means?"
"I c-c-can't keep it, can I-I?" Clarence replies with his face toward the ground. "I'll k-k-keep r-r-rootin' for ya, dude…Oh! T-t-tomorrow's adoption d-day, right!?"
I reply to my friend's inquiry, "hah! Not tomorrow, rather, a week from tomorrow, my yellow mate, but lil miss priss claims she can keep the adults off my tail. Adoption day is next Wednesday, and I've got high hopes for her success; considering how…smart she is!" While I did emphasize Sachiko's success to my friend; I'm more focused on me staying here!
Wednesday, April 3rd, 1996 arrived, in the blink of an eye. And, with it came an extremely eye opening day..