Garland was furious when he learned that Preston had deliberately excluded me. He had wanted to meet the man responsible for building the beautiful arch, but his son had repeatedly dismissed me as someone who wouldn’t belong among wealthy guests. Garland called Preston immediately and confronted him. During their conversation, Preston admitted that he didn’t want a working-class welder appearing at his black-tie wedding. Garland ended the call without another word. Then he turned toward me and explained that his son needed to understand what honest work actually meant. He asked me to teach Preston something important.

The following day, Preston arrived at my workshop looking uncomfortable. Garland had given him an unusual condition: he needed to learn welding before the wedding. I handed him Dad’s old leather jacket and showed him the Lincoln machine. Preston burned himself twice and ruined weld after weld. I made him grind away every mistake and start again. After twenty-three failed attempts, he finally produced a crooked but solid weld. He stared at it, then looked at his blackened hands.