Gemotions

From across the kitchen table, Leo was holding forth on their disastrous attempt to build a treehouse. He was practically vibrating with enthusiasm as he detailed the wood warping, the nails bending, and the gravity-defying angles of the final, lopsided structure.

I watched him, a slight upturn at the corners of my mouth. In my mind, the treehouse was, in reality, a rather pathetic, wonky platform that barely reached three feet off the ground.

Leo was making it sound like they'd been attempting to construct the Eiffel Tower. He described a near-fatal fall (from a height of maybe a foot) and a dramatic rescue (involving a slightly panicked hoist).

He paused, beaming at me. "Remember how terrified you were?" he asked. I suppressed a snort, instead taking another bite of my toast. The whole thing was just wonderfully absurd.