A Nathan Story

Pop a Zit

Nathan gripped the handles of the large brown paper bag. It was a very big bag and he was just a small, but careful, boy. The sack held a red shirt, navy shorts and a clean pair of underpants. His favorite blue blanket lay on top of his clothes. He looked up at the six grown-ups standing around him. It was nighttime so Julia and Emily were already in bed. Before they walked out the door he hugged his Dad and Mom goodbye. He felt very excited he was going over to Papa and G-Ju’s house to spend the night. Aunt Cristin buckled him into his car seat then squeezed into the back seat of the car next to him. Uncle Daniel sat in the back seat with them. G-Ju drove and Papa sat up front.

The inside of the car was dark. Only the lights from the occasional street lamps would suddenly send everything into brilliant relief. Daniel reached over and poked Nathan in the ribs.
 “Nathan’s it,” he said.

 Nathan poked Cristin.

“Cristin’s it,” Nathan declared.
 Cristin poked Papa.

“Papa’s it,” she said.
 Papa reached back and poked Nathan.

 “Nathan’s it,” he boasted.

The play became fast and furious the words ringing through the car until the words got slurred. G-Ju started laughing and everyone looked at her because she wasn’t even playing. She was driving. “It sounds like you are saying ‘pop a zit’ when you say ‘Papa’s it’. Everyone else laughed Nathan just shook his head. He didn’t see why that was funny.

As soon as they got to Papa and G-Ju’s house it was time for Nathan to go to bed. His room was downstairs next door to Papa and G-Ju’s room. He slept on the bottom bunk. This was always his bed when he spent the night. A stack of picture books sat on the end-table next to Nathan’s bed. He loved for someone to read him stories before he went to sleep.

In the morning he jumped out of bed and ran into Papa and G-Ju’s room. Papa and G-Ju were snoring like cows but they woke up when Nathan jumped on their bed. Nathan was excited because he and Papa were going to do a special project out in Papa’s workshop in the garage. A week or so ago he and Papa had made a tool box for Nathan just his size. They had carefully picked out tools to put in the box that Nathan could use. Today they were going to make a treasure box for Julia.

He had worried all week that he had gotten a tool box and Julia and Emily didn’t get anything. Nathan loves his sisters and always wants things to be fair. He ate his breakfast and got dressed. Papa was sitting on his favorite big soft leather chair. Nathan climbed up on Papa’s lap.

“When do I get to use my tool box to help make Julia’s treasure box?” Nathan asked.

“Let’s go do that right now.” Papa said.

Nathan loved Papa’s workshop. There were big power tools, stacks of wood, workbenches with drawers full of cords, saw blades and work gloves. Beautiful handmade hand planes and bow saws hung on the wall with a myriad of other tools. Papa had explained to Nathan about how to use a bow saw a year or so before and when Papa made Nathan a bed for his room Nathan called it his bow saw bed.

They cut out the wood for Julia’s box and cut a groove for the lid to slide in. Then they glued and nailed the dado and rabbit joints together to form the box. Nathan tapped in a little piece of dowel into the hole in the lid for a handle.

Nathan was so excited when his mom and dad came with Julia and Emily to pick him up and take him home. He couldn’t wait for Julia to see her new treasure box. Julia loved it because her big brother had help make it for her.

Nathan gathered up all his clothes and blanket and put them back into his large brown paper bag. He hugged Papa and G-Ju and then Uncle Daniel and Aunt Cristin good-bye. He loved to spend the night at Papa and G-Ju’s but he was glad to be going home. He was a very brave boy to come and spend the night at Papa and G-Ju’s all by himself.

July 2011 While Katie, Joe and the kids were living in an apartment in Fort Worth waiting to move to NM.