---
Pim made a face. "I did not spill. The bucket betrayed me."
"The bucket will betray you again if you call it names, and play with it by swinging." Penny said. "Go."
Pim led John to the back door. The hinge squealed like a rat that had just figured out it lived with a cat. John took the pin out, cleaned it with oil, wrapped the hinge, set it back in, and asked Pim to open and close the door five times.
Pim did. The hinge went quiet. Pim looked impressed, then tried to cover it with a shrug. "Anyone could do that," he said.
"You did not," John said, mildly.
Pim rolled his eyes like a boy who knew he was seen and was suddenly shy.
They moved on. A floorboard near the hearth had lifted from the summer dryness. John showed Pim how to wet the wood, clamp it, and nail it after the wood remembered how to lie flat. Pim tried to hammer and hit his thumb. He swore a very soft swear. John passed him a rag and did not laugh.
