A Busted Nail
The huge, brooding oak tree in the back of the Pines family yard has always been intimidating due to it's sheer size. It's dark green leaves never failed to to turn brown in the fall and beautifully scatter across the ground the ground. It's deep, dark bark, along with it's always weakly swaying branches, never failed to foretell of a potential doom. It was this sort of doom that the Pines family has been susceptible to over the years, so naturally even the small fears of this tree could prey upon them. And so it was this fear that sat in Dipper Pines' mind as he watched his young daughter, Annabelle, scale this humongous tree one blisteringly hot summer day.
"That tree is just too big…" Dipper said aloud to no one in particular. "Something has to be done about it."
Wendy Pines also was watching her daughter climb the tree, although she seemed more at ease compared to her husband. "I don't know honey." She said. "It's just a tree, I'm sure she's fine."
"Didn't your dad get himself hurt trying to cut a tree not nearly that height?" Dipper asked rhetorically. Wendy's silence was her response that question, filling the room awkwardly for little more than a moment, even as it felt much longer.
"Ok, that was a little uncalled for…." Dipper said timidly, breaking the silence. "My point still stands though: we need a solution for her activities in that tree."
Just then, a crashing sound from the outside interrupted their discussion. From the window, the two were only able to tell that it was a tree branch, so they hurried outside. It was far worse when they walked out the door.
"Oh my God, that branch is… humongous!" Dipper said in horrified shock. He'd seen large tree branches of course, but none so dangerously close to his own home and family. It was no smooth piece of wood either; it had several curves and sharp edges, making it a danger to grab or touch it without gloves or an ax to whittle it down to several smaller, safer pieces.
"Alright, let's safely-" Dipper began approaching the piece of wood before Wendy just picked it up and ripped it in half with her bare hands.
Woah, that's kinda hot. Dipper thought to himself. That brute strength of her's... Dipper then kicked himself out of it as he saw his daughter slide down the base of the tree.
"Annabelle honey, what are you doing?" Dipper asked her. She just giggled at her dad. "Just playing "bushback" with myself."
"Bushback?" her parents asked in unison.
"So basically I pretend to be a monkey and bring the branch down and jump back to the tree before I fall to the ground!" She said, her tone lowering from exuberant to more worrisome as she went on, as her parents faces were scrunched in horror. "It's fun…" she said, now sounding unconvinced herself in her own game.
"Don't worry honey." Dipper said as he put his arm around Wendy's shoulder. "We are gonna make you a treehouse so that you can have fun in the tree safely!"
"What do you mean we?" Wendy replied half jokingly.
Later that day…
A few hours had passed and Dipper was now ready to get started on the treehouse, having found his old toolbox after a good hour plus of searching for it. It didn't resemble anything modern, with it's rusted handle and molded, decaying locks barely keeping it together. It was a reflection of the user to some extent, as Dipper couldn't have remembered the last time he'd even used it. Still, he was determined to take control and make this treehouse and make it well. Walking out of their shed house he saw Annabelle playing with the shattered branches carefree ingly and Wendy suntanning.
Is she sleeping or suntanning? He asked himself. I guess I'll have to go find out.
He then walked over and gave her a brief shake to wake her. She then grabbed his hand and clutched it hard. "IT's mm-eee…" Dipper whimpered as her grip lightened. "Oh sorry dude." She said. "You know better then to walk behind me like that though."
I remember why now! Dipper composed himself (and his hand) to pick up his toolbox. "Can you come help me with this treehouse?" he asked her. "I got everything set to get started." Wendy just kinda sighed back.
"Alright, I'll help out for a bit." she said. "Don't expect me to bring this tree down like I pull you down." Both just laughed as approached the humongous oak, both silently unsure of how their daughter could scale this thing with such ease as they had witnessed her to do.
"Well I guess somebody has to start climbing…" Dipper said as he grabbed a hold on to the wood and immediately repulsed back.
"Dipper!" Wendy asked. "Is something wrong?"
"I-I… Got a splinter!" Dipper exclaimed. All Wendy could do was sigh.
"Dipper are you done cleaning out your thumb?" Wendy asked, sounding slightly annoyed. "You've been in the bathroom for almost twenty minutes now!"
"Yeah, I'll just be another minute." Dipper responded. He then walked out with a band aid wrapped around his formerly blistered finger, to which Wendy just forced herself to ignore. They headed back out, the sun now beginning to set as it was now becoming evening and they had nothing to show for their work except for a splinter and… well that was it. Frustrated, Dipper climbed the tree and sat on the first branch he could along with a piece of wood and a hammer and continued to hammer at it repeatedly.
"Dipper?" she asked concernedly.
"Just come on up and give me a hand if you can." He said blankly. She complied, but it didn't end the unnerving silence that had begun between them as he simply worked without a word. Finally after about an hour of pounding at wood, Dipper leapt off the branch and onto the ground and both of them looked at the treehouse. This treehouse resembled little of the one that had been in Dipper's mind this morning, with sharp wooden boards sticking out, a small hole on the top that was right under dripping sap and water and the tree branch itself looked unstable and weak, nearly incapable of holding it up. And yet…
I don't care anymore. At least not tonight. I just don't. Without a word he walked in and Wendy followed momentarily. Another hour would pass before either would speak to the other, when the two were in their bedroom and with Dipper trying his hardest to sleep the day off.
"Are you mad at me?" She asked, sounding sad.
"I'm fine, just tired." He replied gruffly.
"That didn't answer my question." She replied.
"I just wanted some help." He said, unable to contain his annoyance. "I was trying to make things safer for our daughter and you were… just messing with a power drill while I was doing the hard work."
Wendy said nothing for a moment which Dipper mistook that she was done talking, so he turned the light off to head to sleep.
"I'm sorry." She said, her tone full of melancholy. "I should have helped you out and not just watched."
"Thanks, I appreciate it…" Dipper began before she interrupted him.
"Not done yet." She said, sounding more confident. "But the thing is, I was never on board with it like you were. She hadn't hurt herself before and she probably won't now, so it was unnecessary…"
She stopped briefly, hoping for a response, before deciding she had a little more to add on.
"What I mean to say is… Being parents is a partnership, not a dictatorship. I have a say too, so let's make sure we're both on board before just putting together whatever that deathtrap is in our backyard now." She finished.
"Your right." Dipper said remorsefully. "I'm sorry, I'll take it down in the morning… As long as your ok with that."
Dipper couldn't see Wendy's smile in the darkness, but he felt her hand on his leg so he knew where this was going.
"Do you wanna fully make up now?" Wendy asked.
I like the sound of that.