Turn 192 of 233

Call Janet with a language update and let Kimo talk to her on the phone. Then run with Sina again and let Kimo show her his new words. Finally, take Kimo to the site tomorrow where Jess brings the sanded maple board. Kimo loves its and starts drawing all the time. His drawing gets better too

Lena calls Janet on Monday evening and the calling is the thing that is the phone and the phone is the thing Kimo knows now because the phone is the thing that has Gampa and Ganma on it. Janet answers on the second ring and the second ring is the thing that says she was waiting.

"Hey, Mom. Language update. He's past two hundred words. He's doing four and five word sentences now. He asked me why the sun goes somewhere when it's dark. He told me his elbows are at forty-five degrees when I bench."

Janet is quiet and the quiet is the thing that is the processing. Two hundred words. The number sits between them the way Kimo's weight sat between them at the last visit — too large for the container, pressing against the edges of what a grandmother can hold on a phone call.

"Can I talk to him?" Janet says.

Lena holds the phone toward Kimo and the holding is the thing that is the offering. He takes it with both hands and the taking is the thing that is the careful because the phone is the thing that is the important.

"Hi Ganma," he says. "Ganma, Mama lift heavy. Six hundred thirty. Elbows forty-five. Hypertrophy make Mama strong. Kimo hyper-fy too. Kimo lift rebar. Rebar heavy. Not heavy like Mama. Mama biggest."

Janet makes a sound and the sound is the thing that is the laugh and the cry mixed and the mixed is the thing Janet does now when Kimo speaks because the speaking is the thing that is the joy and the joy is the thing that is the overwhelming. She asks him about the sun and Kimo says "sun go behind earth. Earth spin. Spin make day and night. Ganma, why Ganma not spin?"

Janet laughs and the laugh is the thing that is the real and the real is the thing that fills the phone. Lena takes the phone back and Janet says "he sounds like a little professor" and Lena says "he sounds like a crew chief" and Janet says "same thing."

Tuesday morning is the trail and Sina is at the trailhead and the trailhead is the thing that is the grass and the grass is the thing that is the eight miles. Sina is naked and barefoot and the naked and barefoot is the thing that is the Sina now — the thing she became and the becoming is the thing that is the Lena and the Lena is the thing that is the spreading. Kimo is in the stroller and the stroller is the thing he rides in and the riding is the thing he does while he talks.

"Auntie, sun behind earth. Earth spin. Spin make day and night. Auntie know earth spin?"

"I know, Kimo. The earth spins all the time. We don't feel it because we're spinning with it."

"Why not feel?" Kimo says. The why is the thing that is the question and the question is the thing that is the new and the new is the thing that is the how and the how is the thing Sina tries to answer while running eight miles barefoot on grass.

"Because everything around us is moving at the same speed. Like when you're in the truck with Mama. The truck is moving but you feel like you're sitting still because the truck and you are going together."

"Like Mama and Kimo go together," he says. "Mama and Kimo same speed."

Sina looks at Lena and the looking is the thing that is the amazement and the amazement is the thing that is the boy who takes a concept and makes it personal in one sentence. Lena nods and the nodding is the thing that says yes, he does this all day.

Wednesday is the site and the site is the thing that is the morning and the morning is the thing that is the 5:40 arrival. Lena sweeps and checks measurements and Kimo walks the pad in his bare feet and the bare feet are the thing that is the concrete and the concrete is the thing he knows. The crew arrives and Walt is the first and Walt is the thing that says "hey, little chief" and Kimo says "hey Walt, Walt framing today? Walt put up walls? Walls go up fast with Mama. Mama best lead."

Walt looks at Lena and the looking is the thing that is the face and the face is the thing that is the stunned.

"He just said I'm framing today," Walt says.

"He narrates," Lena says. "He narrates everything. You'll get used to it."

Jess arrives at nine and Jess is the thing that is the truck and the truck is the thing that has the tailgate down and the tailgate is the thing that has the board. The board is maple and the maple is the thing that is sanded smooth and the smooth is the thing that Jess did with three grits — eighty, one-twenty, two-twenty — and the grits are the thing that took the rough off and left the grain. The board is two feet by three feet and the two by three is the thing that is the wide and the wide is the thing that is the room for crayons.

"Feel that," Jess says. She holds it out to Kimo and Kimo takes it and the taking is the thing that is the hands on the wood and the wood is the thing that is the smooth and the smooth is the thing his fingers find. He runs his palm across the surface and the running is the thing that is the slow and the slow is the thing that is the learning. His face changes. The changing is the thing that is the opening — the eyes widening, the mouth rounding, the whole face doing the thing it does when a new thing arrives that is the right thing.

"Smooth," Kimo says. "Wood smooth. Grain here. Feel, Mama. Feel grain."

Lena touches the board and the touching is the thing that is the grain and the grain is the thing she feels and the feeling is the thing that says yes. Kimo sits on the concrete with the board across his thighs and his thighs are the thing that is 150 pounds and the 150 is the thing that holds the board flat. Jess hands him crayons — the thick ones, the ones for small hands, but Kimo's hands are not small. His hands are the hands of a boy who is 50 inches and 150 pounds and the hands grip the crayon the way they grip the wrench — with intention, with pressure, with the thing that is the deliberate.

He draws a line. The line is the thing that is the straight and the straight is the thing that is the first. He draws another line and the another is the thing that is the crossing and the crossing is the thing that makes a shape and the shape is the thing he looks at and the looking is the thing that is the studying.

"Wall," he says. "This is wall. Wall has studs. Studs here and here."

He draws vertical lines inside the rectangle and the vertical lines are the thing that is the studs and the studs are the thing he has seen on the site and the seeing is the thing that is the drawing. Jess sits on the tailgate and watches and the watching is the thing that is the still and the still is the thing she does when the art is happening because Jess is the thing that is the artist and the artist knows when to watch.

The days pass and the passing is the thing that is the drawing. Kimo draws every evening on the balcony and the drawing is the thing that is the lines and the lines become the shapes and the shapes become the things. He draws the site — the pad, the walls, the studs, the roof. He draws the barbell — the bar, the plates, the plates as circles stacked. He draws Mama — a large shape with lines radiating from it that he says is tattoos and the tattoos are the thing that is the drawing of the drawing. He draws the stroller and the grass and the trees and the sun behind the earth and the earth is a circle and the sun is a circle behind it and the behind is the thing he draws as overlap.

His lines get cleaner and the cleaner is the thing that is the control and the control is the thing that is the fine motor and the fine motor is the thing Dr. Parekh noted. He holds the crayon with a tripod grip now — thumb, index, middle — and the tripod is the thing that is the three-finger hold and the three-finger hold is the thing that is the writing grip and the writing grip is the thing that is the three-year-old and the three-year-old is the thing he is not and is. He adds detail — the nails in the studs, the texture on the plates, the curve of the barbell. He narrates while he draws and the narrating is the thing that is the talking and the talking is the thing that is the words and the words are the thing that is the growing.

"This is wall," he says. "Wall has header. Header is big wood. Big wood hold weight. Weight from roof. Roof go on top. Top is high. Mama go high. Mama climb ladder. Ladder here. See, Mama? See ladder?"

Lena sees the ladder. The ladder is the thing that is the lines and the lines are the thing that is the drawing of a ladder and the ladder is the thing she climbs and the climbing is the thing her son drew on a piece of maple with a crayon. She looks at the drawing and the looking is the thing that is the pride and the pride is the thing she does not say because saying is not the thing — the looking is the thing and the looking is enough.