I came home from work early to see him cutting his lawn. It was in the triple digits that day and he had really worked up a sweat. As I got out of my... car I greeted him with a wave and he smiled back. Turning off his mower, Michael walked over. He explained that he was saving up to get a car and offered to mow grass or possibly clean my pool if I was interested. He said he was just trying to make a buck anyway he could cause he almost had the money he needed. I agreed to pay him to skim leaves. Although she saw Black people as part of her everyday life, she had never held a lengthy conversation with one. He was young. She guessed in his early 20’s. Fully thirty years her junior. His accent and multicolored dreadlocks suggested a Caribbean origin, possibly Jamaica.He wore multi-pocketed cargo shorts, striped polo shirt, and flip flops. He was not a big guy, not like her 6’ 1” 220-pound husband. He appeared to be shorter than her own 5’ 7”. He probably matched her 190 pounds.“Look, I. I could sense his approach like a great calm and even Bandy stopped barking as the old man stood there in the rain, just looking at them like he knew a secret. He glanced at me and then looked again, hard with narrow eyes, and I looked back, curious and unafraid. He had thin compressed lips and a strong jaw to go with his big straight nose. Big ears too, like old people get because everything else stops growing but the ears, the nails, and the hair.My mates padded back towards me and we all. She was less concerned with her own safety, being able to defend herself, than she was about that of the children. They were still in their room asleep.Richard and I talked for a few minutes to straighten out details, and we were ready to go. I would take care of getting everything cleaned up in the morning, which was rapidly approaching. It was already 3:30 AM. Where had the time gone?I got the girls back to our apartment and set the alarm for 7 AM. The girls were still scared and clung to me.