Chapter 1

The treehouse ... Just. Grew. Up. Now, treehouses are bigger, higher, and more out of this world than ever before.

Meet Pete Nelson: The Treehouse Man. He travels the country with his top-notch crew, building the most amazing treehouses on Earth, connecting people to nature.

Daryl may not be sure what the heck a goat is doing in a treehouse, but he and the rest of Nelson Treehouse and Supply know that with every job they go out on a limb to master: The Art of the Treehouse.

It was a typical day at Treehouse Point near Fall City, Washington. Pete Nelson and his dog Chica were on the roof of a treehouse known as the Temple of the Blue Moon. Pete was nailing shingles in place.

“A storm blew through last week and really tore up some of the roofs here at Treehouse Point,” Pete told the television crew and, through them, the audience which would eventually be watching on cable TV.

“What do you think Chica? These new blue shingles a good idea?”

Chica had no comment but simply sat watching. The crew at Animal Planet would probably add a cute caption under the dog’s image: CHICA – Architectural Consultant, or something similar.

Judy, Pete’s wife, stepped onto the bridge connecting the Temple to a nearby hilltop.

“Hey Pete!”

Pete stood up to look at her before calling back.

“Hey Jude!” he called out before he could stop himself. His wife liked the Beatles well enough but didn’t want to be referred to by the first words of any song, at least not on TV.

Judy seemed not to notice the unintended song quote.

“I just got a call from a couple in Tupelo, Mississippi,” she informed him.

Pete’s face lit up.

“Tupelo, Mississippi!?” he practically shouted. “That’s where Elvis Presley was born!”

“I know,” Judy nodded, hoping Pete wouldn’t do his Elvis impersonation on TV. Best to change the subject. “And this couple wants to surprise their daughter for her sweet sixteen.”

Pete liked the sound of that, and he knew it could make for good television. Still, NTAS was a business, and a business has to make money if its owners want it to remain a business for long.

“What sort of budget are we looking at?” he asked.

“Seventy-five to eighty thousand,” Judy informed him, adding, “The mother says if her promotion comes through she might go to eighty-five.”

Pete liked the sound of that. Sure he could build something for almost any budget, but he could build a lot of treehouse with seventy-five thousand dollars, and he said so.

“Let me get down from here and get going!” he hollered.

Taking hold of Chica, Pete stepped into the bucket of a cherry-picker. Within hours he was on a plane to Mississippi. He knew that the good people at Animal Planet would put an animated map on the screen showing Tupelo, Mississippi relative to Fall City, Washington. He was sure that they would not show him collecting his luggage, checking into a local hotel, or renting a car. Probably, they wouldn’t pick up the footage until he was driving along a street in Tupelo, looking for the Harris residence. By the time he was driving through Tupelo he was able to relax a bit and enjoy the scenery. He glanced at the camera as he spoke.

“Mississippi has some of the biggest forests in the South, and just look at all these great trees.” Pete waved his hand in the general direction but mostly kept his hands on the steering wheel.

“You got a big heavy pine over there.” he continued. “There’s an old oak; right there’s a tupelo tree. That’s the tree they named the whole town after!”

It didn’t take Pete long to find the house he was looking for. As soon as he pulled into the driveway he was met by a handsome African-American man of about forty and an attractive white woman a couple of years younger. Pete stepped out of his rental car and smiled at the couple.

“Paul and Paula Harris?” he asked, extending his hand.

“That’s right,” the man answered as he took Pete’s hand. “And I recognize you from the show.”

Paula hugged him briefly.

“So,” Pete started, “you’re wanting this treehouse for your daughter Julie who’s just turned sixteen?”

“About to turn sixteen,” Paula corrected.

“The thing is,” Paul explained, “her bedroom is right next to ours. So, she has friends over and they get to talking, or they watch a movie or something, and we can’t get to sleep.”

Paula added, “She likes this electronica music and Japanese metal...”

“Japanese metal?” Pete interrupted, not sure he’d heard right.

The parents nodded, looking a touch chagrinned.

“My parents,” Paula admitted, “used to complain that they couldn’t understand the words in my favorite songs, but we literally can’t understand the words.”

“I hate to sound like an old person,” said Paul, getting to the crux of the matter, “but we can’t stand most of it, and it’s too loud. Also, she’s dating and, well...”

The father did look embarrassed at this point. Paula took up the conversation from there.

“We’re pretty comfortable with the fact that our little girl is now a young woman,” the mother assured Pete, as if it was important that he believe this, “but we don’t want to hear her love-making right next to us.”

Pete knew that his emotions had to be showing on his face, but he was genuinely puzzled and more than a little surprised.

“Between that,” Paul continued, “the talkative friends, and the loud music, Julie just needs some place where she can rock the tree-tops and not bother anybody.”

Pete couldn’t help but think, where were cool parents like this when I was a teenager? If I just held a girl’s hand her father would give me the hairy eyeball. Recovering, he got back to the business at hand.

“The first thing we need is some trees,” the Treehouse Man started. “You have some tall ones; I can see them over the roof.”

Pete had noticed this before his car had come to a stop; there were trees behind the house which were at least forty feet tall.

Assuring him that they had a few trees in mind, the couple led him into the back yard. It didn’t take Pete long to spot a splendid maple.

“This is a great treehouse tree!” Pete cried out. “It’s a bit close to the house...”

“That’s our bedroom,” Paul interrupted him, pointing to a nearby window. “Doesn’t really solve the problem.”

Well, that was out.

“I see more trees,” Pete commented, walking away from the house. The two parents and one treehouse builder headed further into the back yard. Suddenly Pete’s eyes grew wide and his grin grew wider. He could hear music and the voice, that familiar voice of trees, calling to him.

It was a perfect stand of trees: two stout oaks, a young maple, and a tupelo tree! Pete lost no time in extolling the virtues of this stand to Paul and Paula Harris.

“These trees can support a treehouse your daughter can practically live in,” he told them. “This tupelo ... they named the whole city after this tree! It’s wonderful.”

Paul looked unsure as he informed Pete, “That tree is special to Julie.”

“The tree is hollow,” Paula added, “and when she was younger and smaller she could get inside it. It was her rocket ship, her time machine, her magic changing princess booth; whatever she needed it to be.”

The music in Pete’s head came to a screeching stop.

“Hollow?” he stammered. “A hollow tree won’t be able to support a lot of weight, but...”

“You can’t cut this tree down,” Paul said. It was obvious that he meant it, too. The way the man stepped in front of the tupelo reminded Pete of a Secret Service agent, ready to do whatever it takes to protect his charge.

“Oh, no no,” Pete hurried to assure him. “This tree is healthy; no need to take it down. We just can’t use it to support any of the structure. We’ll still incorporate it, and I always avoid taking down any healthy tree.”

Paul visibly relaxed, and so did Pete. A father himself, the treehouse builder knew that he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any protective daddy rage.

“I like that idea,” Paula chirped, obviously trying to soothe things. “It incorporates something from her childhood while she moves towards her independent adult future.”

“Just give me about an hour to take some measurements and sketch things out,” Pete told them, “and then we’ll see what you think.”

The parents nodded and walked off as Pete started to measure trees. He looked into the child-sized hole at the base of the trunk of the tupelo. He did a lot of sketching and even climbed into one of the oaks. He could see the treehouse taking shape as clearly as the animation Animal Planet would add for their viewers. He could even imagine his own voice-over for the animation: “This teenage sanctuary will rise fifteen feet into the air, supported by these two strong oaks. A staircase will wind around the young maple, leading to the entrance on one side of the structure and a deck with table and chairs along the other. To let in lots of natural light, we have windows on each side, but we’ll also have heavy drapes for privacy. The main room will soar inside with fourteen foot walls, with a small bathroom and a large closet, so that Julie has a place to make herself up and room for all her clothes.”