The Resolution
A line of ten-year-old boys marched purposefully down the dirt path, in the same order they often found themselves in. Hunter, the leader, always setting the course and assuming the others would follow. Making sure they did was Echo, the trusted number two. Tech and Wrecker were often interchanged in the middle, depending on who got the most distracted along the way. And at the rear, Crosshair, keeping an eye on everything.
Today, they were on a mission. It was a new year and they had just learned about the concept of setting resolutions. Things they wanted to accomplish in the new year. Their mom had suggested things like winning a soccer game or keeping their rooms clean. But there was one task Hunter had his sights on, and after an animated 5-minute speech in the living room, his brothers were all on board as well. They had to have a treehouse.
Well, it would be more of a house on the ground next to a tree. But being only 10 and having no father to help safely construct something so high, they'd have to make do. And the Batch boys were nothing if not resourceful.
Their first step was to get some inspiration. They needed to check out a few other treehouses first, starting with Waxer and Boil's.
The Kenobi house was modest but its yard was massive. The backyard was seemingly always under construction. It'd started with an extended patio, then came along a pool, and most recently a small putting green got added. Obi-Wan had his vegetable garden in the corner and kept talking about adding a chicken coop. And somehow there was still land to spare for more of their dreams and tinkering.
In the front, the ground rolled and dipped for several car lengths from the road to the door, and it had towering pine trees that provided plenty of shade. It was between three of these pines that Cody had built a sizable treehouse for his sons just a couple years prior. Their friends' parents heard about nothing else all summer.
Now the house mostly went unused, save for a few random playdates with friends who still found it cool. Hunter was one such friend. His imagination ran wild every time they were invited over. And oftentimes he found himself longing for one as he spun up adventures in his own yard. He'd even put it on his Christmas list but all he'd gotten were socks and LEGOs. Well, he supposed he was grateful for the LEGOs. But he still wanted his treehouse.
Hunter gathered his brothers in a half circle around the pine trees at Waxer and Boil's house and stared up at the real-life example. Normally they'd gaze at it in awe and wonder, but today their eyes narrowed in analysis. How was it put together? What did they like or not like? Was there any way to replicate it on the ground and still have it look cool?
"Whatcha doin?" came Waxer's voice from the front door. He'd noticed them through the window and came shuffling out, still in his pj's and munching on some sort of candy. The break from Christmas through New Year's was the only time his dads let nutrition and routine slide.
"We're gonna build a treehouse," said Hunter matter-of-factly.
They all continued to stare up at the thing, the only sounds coming from Waxer's snacks.
"Wait, so what are we doing?" asked Wrecker, never one to sit in silence long.
That got the ball rolling. Hunter directed Tech to take notes as he and Crosshair circled the trees, calling out things they noticed. It was made out of wood. It had windows on all sides. The roof was flat, which didn't really look like a house. They'd want one of those pointy roofs for theirs, especially if they grew tall one day. Eventually Wrecker was allowed to climb up into it with Waxer and start describing the inside for them. Since the house was wrapped around the trees, there wasn't much room on the floor to move about. Hunter recalled the last time they were all up there, seven of them, and it was pretty cramped.
"But we won't have trees," Echo pointed out.
Hunter nodded seriously. "Okay, so it can be the same size. Waxer, what's the size?"
The boy clambered down one of the tree ladders and landed with a shrug. "I dunno."
"Can you ask your dads? We need it exact."
"Ooh, maybe I can Google it!" said Tech, who finally looked up from his notebook. Their mom was allowing some supervised computer time later in the week to look up information on treehouses, and Tech was very eager to come up with things to Google.
"Sure, add it to your Google list."
Tech swiped through his notebook and scribbled Size underneath the only other item on the Google list so far: floor plan. What shape it could be and where to put things. His mom had helped him with that one.
"That means we'll need a door," said Crosshair. He was holding onto Waxer's bag of candy while he ran inside and not-so-subtly sneaking a few pieces for himself.
Tech flipped back to the other page to scribble Need a door.
The Kenobi's front door reopened and out strode Cody. He, too, was still in pajama pants and slippers, a rare sight for the otherwise disciplined man.
"So, what's this I hear about you boys building a treehouse?" He settled next to them with hands on his hips and an easygoing smile. He'd always been fond of Bethany and her boys. He just wished she'd let him help out more. Maybe now was his chance.
"It's our rez-oh-loo-shun." Wrecker over-pronounced the word to get it right. He'd been practicing all morning, tired of Tech correcting him.
"We're going to build it on the ground," explained Hunter. "Mom said we could put it by the tree in the backyard."
There were several trees in their backyard, but Hunter had already taken to thinking of the one in the corner as the tree, the treehouse tree.
"Ah, that's quite the ambitious resolution," smiled Cody. "Need any help? I've still got a few leftover beams...."
"No thank you. We can do it."
Hunter had a hard time asking for help, and an even harder time accepting it when it was offered. Especially when it was for something like this, something that any other kid would have their dad to go to. Their mom did as much as she could for them but certain things were out of her wheelhouse and she always felt bad about it. And Hunter could always sense her sadness. If it was something Mom couldn't do, then they would figure it out and do it themselves. That's just how it worked.
Cody frowned in thought. He'd have to get crafty here. "Hm. Well, do you have any tools?"
Hunter shook his head, and behind him Tech scribbled Need tools.
"Hardware?"
Again, a shake of the head, and a note of Hard wear scribbled down.
"Where are you getting your wood? Personally, I like working with cedar, though you might want to consider a pressure-treated wood if it'll be on the ground. Keep out bugs and that sort of thing. That's what I have on the steps here."
Cody walked over to one of the trees and fondly patted a rung that was screwed into the trunk.
"And then for the roof I went with corrugated galvanized panels. Holds up better under rain. I know it looks pretty flat but I gave it a slight slope and fitted some PVC pipes in the back here to catch the runoff."
Cody walked around and pointed out his handy work with great pride. He missed talking through these details with the other parents; he'd exhausted the conversation long ago.
"Of course, that's just what I did. I'm sure you boys will figure out what works best for your treehouse."
Hunter gulped down the worry that was building in his stomach and Tech had stopped taking notes and even Wrecker and Crosshair pulled their attention away from the candy bag to gape at the amount of foreign information. This was suddenly seeming like a really big project, maybe bigger than they could handle.
Echo went over to Hunter and whispered, "I think he should help us."
Hunter pursed his lips but thought it over. What was it that Ms. Ti was always saying in class? No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. He wasn't sure why he thought about that right now. But now that he had, he knew Echo was right.
"Um, Mr. Cody?" he called out. Cody walked back over to the boys, keeping his expression pleasant and innocent. "Maybe... Maybe you could give us some advice? You know on the wood and the tools and things."
"And the size," added Wrecker.
Tech whined. "But that was on my Google list!"
Cody looked between each of them. They were all very eager, and very proud. He couldn't be the one to take that away from them. The world was bound to push them down one day. They'd need their fun and their victories now while it mattered most.
"I'll tell you what," he decided, putting his hands back on his hips. "You boys finish your research. Figure out how big you want it, where you're going to put it. Maybe draw a picture of what you want it to look like. I'll let you use whatever tools and extra materials I have in my shop. Though, your mom will probably want me handling the table saw."
He could see their eyes light back up again at the proposed arrangement.
"Anything else you need, I suggest you work for it. There'll be plenty of rainstorms this winter and spring. You can clean gutters, rake leaves. Whatever you earn, I'll match the amount to get you the rest of the materials. Oh, and whatever your mother says goes. If she needs you doing chores or homework, the treehouse can wait. Sound good?"
A chorus of Yeah's and Yes sir's echoed throughout the yard as the boys jumped for joy. Hunter, especially, was very excited. He'd thought this trip down the street was a simple recon mission, that they would get their list of to-dos and nothing else. But now they had a deal. Mr. Cody would lend them some tools and money, so long as they earned their share. That sounded fair enough to him. He and his brothers were no strangers to hard work. If they stayed after it, then they could have their treehouse by summer break.
Cody watched in amusement as the Batch boys went back to throwing out ideas again. His own sons were inside, likely playing that new video game they got for Christmas, but they had been out here with him building their own treehouse. They were hard workers, too. Cody knew as well as anyone that families came in all shapes and sizes. He was glad to see these brothers were persevering despite the challenges their family dynamic came with.
Behind him, Obi-Wan had come out to see what the commotion was and rested his chin on his husband's shoulder with a sigh.
"Does this mean I'm not getting my chicken coop this year?"
Cody rolled his eyes. "I can multitask."
Obi-Wan only hummed. He'd believe it when he saw five Rhode Island Reds in his backyard.
When Tech had finished writing down the last of their ideas, Hunter went over to shake Mr. Cody's hand and Crosshair deposited the now-empty bag of candy in Mr. Kenobi's hand. The troop then set off back home, naturally falling into their usual line-up. Hunter, looking at the wide-open world in front of him, keen to take it head on. Echo, peering over Hunter's shoulder just as often as he checked on the brothers behind him. Wrecker, skipping into the footprints of the others in the ground and Tech almost running into him as he read over his notes. And Crosshair, silent but no less engaged, observing everything they did contentedly.
It was going to be a great year.