The Thing He/She Loved - John Fetto

The thing he loved was the wood. He loved working with it, carving, smoothing it out so that it was flawless, not a crack or seam, and smelt fresh. The thing she loved was the leather, pulled tight, straining, about to burst. She would wrap it around the wood, forming the seat, and after she pulled it tight, and he nailed it, each nail poking through the leather, driven into the wood. They wrapped leather around the arms and back, until the it was something half ancient tree, half bulging animal, strong, eternal, it dared you to sit down and rest in its arms.