Chapter 12
The weekends were our sacred time,
and we spent them outdoors mostly.
We decided to build a birdhouse,
and we went to the hardware store.
Rosie held my hand in the aisle,
and she pointed at the different paints.
She chose a bright yellow color,
and she said birds liked the sun.
We bought the wood and the nails,
and we drove back to our garage.
I set up the small wooden table,
and I gave her a pair of safety goggles.
She looked like a tiny scientist,
and I could not stop smiling.
I carefully cut the wooden boards,
and I showed her how to sand the edges.
She rubbed the sandpaper back and forth,
and she blew the dust away.
We hammered the pieces together,
and the shape of a house appeared.
It was a little bit crooked,
and the roof was slightly slanted.
But Rosie thought it was perfect,
and she immediately started painting.
She covered the walls in yellow,
and she painted a blue door.
Her hands were covered in paint,
and she even had some on her nose.
I took a picture of her messy face,
and I sent it to her grandparents.
They called us a few minutes later,
and they asked to see the masterpiece.
Rosie held the phone with both hands,
and she gave them a grand tour.
David praised her excellent carpentry,
and Helen said the birds would love it.
We hung the birdhouse in the oak tree,
and we filled it with tiny seeds.
We sat on the porch to watch,
and we waited for our first visitor.
A small red bird flew down,
and it landed on the wooden perch.
Rosie gasped quietly in excitement,
and she squeezed my hand very tightly.
The bird took a seed and flew away,
and we cheered softly on the porch.
It was a tiny victory for us,
and it felt incredibly rewarding.
We spent the rest of the afternoon reading,
and the sun slowly set in the sky.
I made a simple pasta dinner,
and we ate together at the table.
There was no shouting or arguing,
and the plates were not thrown.
There was only the sound of forks,
and the gentle chatter of a child.
I cherished these mundane moments,
and I guarded them with my life.
This was the childhood she deserved,
and I was determined to provide it.
The stars came out one by one,
and the night was cool and clear.
I tucked her into her warm bed,
and I read her a story about oceans.
May you like
She fell asleep before the end,
and I kissed her soft forehead.
