Paying three hundred thousand dollars of debt before being ordered out of the house
“Raking the last of them?” he asked, leaning his hands on the wooden rail.
“Yes,” I said. “The new owners will have a clean start on Friday.”
“They have two little girls,” Mr. Henderson said. “The youngest was running around the porch when they came by last week.”
“I hope they like the yard,” I said.
“It is a good yard for children,” he said. “My kids used to climb that oak tree when it was half this size.”
“It is a sturdy tree,” I said.
“You going downtown?” he asked, pointing toward my car.
“Yes,” I said. “An apartment near the park.”
“No leaves to rake there,” he said, smiling slightly.
“No,” I said. “Just the balcony.”
He nodded, tapped the gate post with his hand, and walked on toward the corner.
I finished the lawn, packing the remaining leaves into the green paper bags and lining them up by the curb.
The garden looked orderly now, the soil dark around the rose bushes and the grass cleared of debris.
I leaned the rake against the garage wall and went back inside to wash my hands.
