He’d forced himself to stop switching his lights on and off, but his teeth were tingling from the constant brushing. He trembled with nervous energy at the thought of strangers soon to arrive in his abode, even though he knew it was necessary for them to be there. He couldn’t carry the boxes downstairs by himself, or he would have. He’d tried but given up when his back had transmitted the reality of their weight now that they were fully assembled.They weren’t much to look at, he knew, but like many treasures, their inner beauty was what gave them their value. He’d been working on them for a month, first designing them, then machining all the parts required, and finally fitting them together with the precision of a Swiss watch. Now all his work was done, and the only thing that remained was to hand them off like a proud parent.“Big surprise. Going to be a big surprise, all right,” he said softly, reaching out to touch one of the smooth surfaces and then jerking his hand back like he’d touched a stove burner.
