Let Me Do It
By Damien McKeating
Damien has come to terms with the fact that there will never be a complete Lego set in the house again, and ‘Let Me Do It’ is his testament to that. He has short stories published across numerous anthologies and magazines, and is currently working on self-publishing his first novel. He is fond of corvids and is currently the oldest he has ever been.
“Not like that.” Dad hunkered down next to me. “Here, let me do it.” He took the pieces out of my hands, overlapped the holes in the metal pieces, slid the screw in and put the nut on the back.
“I can do it,” I said. Of course I could do it. It was my birthday present. Why would it be a present for me if I couldn’t do it? “I think it’s too old for you,” Dad said. He held more pieces in place, his massive hands moving with a swift precision. He didn’t even use the little tools that came with the set; he tightened everything up with his fingers. Those long fingers, crowned with callouses, roughened from a lifetime of taking apart engines, building wardrobes,
and turning his hand to any job in the house. “Let me do it,” I said. “Hang on.” He moved so quickly. I’d barely begun to get the body of the helicopter together, but he was already slotting the battery powered engine into place. I’d been looking forward to that part. The thought of seeing those helicopter blades spin around had my stomach flipping with excitement.