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Mildra Grosse was not a patient woman. She ran a tight ship, with a colour coded calendar that was blocked out by the hour. You didn’t become an Executive Assistant to someone like Henry Bard by being sloppy!

Mildra loved the art but hated the artists, and Nancy was the sloppiest of all of them.

She’d showed up with Dustin a week early for their meeting with Mr. Bard, and then not showed up at all on the actual one. Mr. Bard was an extremely busy man and didn’t have time to be going to public schools to look at art, so he had no idea what Dustin’s installation was about and was taking Mildra at her word that it was worth it.

Mr. Bard would be seeing the new piece for the first time at the event.

Mildra popped an Ativan and another Pepcid.

Several U-Hauls had pulled up in the back loaded with wooden crates and teenagers, and she directed everyone to the lobby where Mr. Bard had decided he wanted Dustin’s installation to be front and centre, the first thing everyone saw when they walked in.

Dustin and a black-haired girl and boy who must have been twins directed traffic, seeming to know exactly what spot to place each crate in. They’d custom-built the transportation crates; apparently one of the senior students had done it as her end of the year project. It was ingenious, really; instead of using nails and having to pry the lids off, each side of the box slid into grooved slots in the wooden frames, so if you popped the panels out by sliding them upwards, the frame naturally came apart into pieces.

As each piece was unveiled, her anxiety eased.

“I told you he has something special,” Nancy said, stepping up beside Mildra. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and he’s only twelve.”

They watched in silence as the crew began assembling the pieces of metal and wood, similar texture choices to the piece he’d built for the school display but with a totally different feel… The one at the school had felt cool and otherworldly, like the secret garden of a mermaid, or something. This one had a distinctly earthy, woodsy vibe despite the heavy use of metals.

It took almost seven hours to complete, but as they all stood back to admire their handiwork, Mildra had to admit she’d never seen anything quite like it.

While not a single individual part looked like a tree or a plant in any way, she had the very specific feeling of walking through some kind of sacred wood, each cluster of materials expertly welded and carved and melted together, somehow feeling like… the essence of trees.

It was breathtaking, and they all walked among the piece in silence, taking it in. She half expected some kind of pagan wood nymph to appear out of nowhere and take her hand, leading her away into a metal meadow.

Dustin excused himself to get changed for the event and returned wearing a very nice suit. Nancy was looking at him with pride, tears in her eyes, and even Mildra felt her heartstrings tugged. The boy was looking at Nancy with pure, unadulterated gratitude, but what she noticed most of all was that Nancy was the only person she’d seen him make eye contact with all day.

Mr. Bard’s driver delivered him to the doors at exactly 5:54pm with six minutes to spare before the opening.

Mildra watched his face as he took in the installation and smiled to herself.

She’d be getting a good bonus this year…