"I've the base together already," Ellis says, though he doesn't kid himself that Richard is invested in the process. "And everything's mostly cut to size. It's a matter of hammering it together."

He claps Richard on the shoulder as he passes, hefting the base from where he'd left it leaning against the side of the house. It's heavy, and ungainly, but he promised Richard would be spared the heavy lifting so—

"Can you pull that mesh aside for me? Lean it up against the gate?"