One Carpenter Spent His Savings to Keep Five Young Siblings in His Woodshop

The orbital sander left a white swirl across the grain because my hand shook. It was the third piece of walnut I had scarred this week.

Thomas leaned over the workbench, his breath smelling of peppermint and stale tobacco. He tapped a fingernail against the wood, right over the pale sapwood edge.

“The estimate on the yellow sheet said three hundred and continue reading …