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Julie pushed out the blade from the utility knife and repositioned Flat Finn on the thick towel that she'd spread out on the kitchen floor. "Inhale and exhale, Celeste. Inhale and exhale."
"Flat Finn is having second thoughts! Flat Finn is having second thoughts!"
"Flat Finn is not having second thoughts."
"You are going to cut him into two pieces," Celeste said in a severely accusing tone. "That is a rather monumental injury."
"It's not an injury. It's a modification. I agree that it'll be pretty creepy for a few moments. He will indeed be in two pieces. But I swear to God that I'm going to put him back together." Julie held up the hardware that she'd bought the day before. "See these hinges? They'll hold him together, just like we talked about. Then he can bend at the waist. He can even fold in half, which is a damn good party trick if you ask me."
"Flat Finn does not attend parties."
"He might after this." Julie pushed the metal ruler against the cardboard and checked the cutting line again. She poised the blade at the edge of the cutout. "You ready?"Celeste moved away from Julie. "I think that I will stay on this side of the room and turn my back to you."
"Fine," Julie agreed. "Why don't you talk to him while I work."
"Talk to him about what exactly?"
"Reassure him. Tell him everything will be peachy. That he'll be happier in the long run. Stuff like that. OK, here I go." Julie pressed the knife into Flat Finn's waistline and etched a cut across the width. "Start talking, Celeste!" She began to retrace the line, sinking the blade deeper into the cardboard."This is a great day to increase limberness!" Celeste yelled unconvincingly. "Think of all of the things you will be able to achieve, Flat Finn!"
"He's doing great. Keep going," Julie encouraged."Um... It was stupid Julie's idea, and so you will hold her responsible if this surgery ends in tragedy!"
"Very funny. Try again. Tell him that this is an important and necessary step in his development. That he will thank you for helping him fit in with others. This is a challenging time, but you are here for him and will get him through this." Julie finished the cut and separated Flat Finn into two parts. OK, even she had to admit that this was pretty freaky. "There!"
"You did it? He has been divided?" Celeste's voice trembled. "Hurry. Julie, hurry. Please!"
"I am. Don't look." She grabbed the screwdriver and a set of hinges. "Your boy here needs to know that you support this step, Celeste."
"OK, OK... Flat Finn? I support this modification?"Julie could hear Celeste pacing at the other end of the room. "With a little more conviction, please."
"I support this modification!"
"You will be his pillar of strength!" Julie prompted."That is a vile cliche, and I will not say that."
"Then come up with your own phrases," Julie said as she continued screwing in the silver hinges."This is difficult. I cannot think of the appropriate thing to say." Celeste let out a frustrated, guttural sound that made Julie flinch. "Help me. You talk to him."
"Oh, Flat Finn, my dear. This is nothing to get all stressed out about. I realize that you're having an understandably nervous reaction to this simple procedure. Just because you want this, doesn't mean it's easy. You're doing very well. Much less complaining than most flat people. Really. I'm quite impressed."
"Julie, hurry up. You have to hurry up."
"Almost done, kiddo. Just one more minute, and... Ta da!" Julie rolled back on her knees and examined her work. Not bad for someone who could barely identify most tools. "Want to see him?" She lifted Flat Finn to a standing position and turned the small semi-circle dial that she had put on the back to prevent him from collapsing in half at inappropriate times.Celeste turned around and eyed Flat Finn warily. After a few moments, her face softened. "Actually, I quite like his appearance. It's as though he's wearing a belt buckle. You might have selected gold, but the silver isn't terrible."
"Yay! You have some contractions back and an added concern for fashion."
"Do I really do that? The thing with the contractions? No one has ever mentioned that."
"You do. It's sort of cute sometimes. You sound like Matt. But you might want to ease up on it. It'd make you sound more relaxed and casual. Comfortable."
"I will try to pay more attention to my speech. I mean, I'll try."Julie bent Flat Finn forward and back a few times at the waist. "Look! He's exercising. Or practicing to pick up pennies off the sidewalk. Oh, my God, he's a cheapskate, isn't he? What a loathsome quality."
"He is not a cheapskate." Celeste cracked a smile. "He is conservative. Thoughtful."
"Yeah? Christmas is coming up. I expect big things." Julie brushed a smudge off his arm. "If this hinge deal works out, maybe we can add more later? At the arms, legs, neck?"Celeste examined the spot that Julie had wiped off. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"Come on. Let's take him for a test run. Follow me."
"Where are we going?"
"Just follow me." Julie led the way up to the second floor, with Celeste and Flat Finn close behind her. She knocked on Matt's open door. "Hello! You have visitors!"As usual, he was seated in front of his laptop. "Hey." Matt looked tired, but his eyes widened as Celeste toted Flat Finn into the room. "What's going on here?"