Felix sees his elderly neighbor struggling to cut her overgrown lawn and rushes to help her. She forces an unusual antique box on him as a token of her appreciation, but her gift lands Felix in deep trouble when her lawyer phones to request an urgent meeting.
Felix put his head in his hands and sighed. No matter how often he went through the monthly figures for his home handyman business, he couldn’t deny the facts.
He was facing another shortfall this month.
He adjusted his budget for several upcoming jobs, reduced his salary, and then made another cup of coffee. Business was good enough that he and his daughter wouldn’t suffer too badly because of this issue, but dang it, Felix was tired of struggling for money.
The growl of a lawnmower drew Felix’s attention. He leaned over to peek through his kitchen window.
His jaw dropped as he saw what was happening in his neighbor’s yard.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” He rushed from the house with a grim expression on his face.
“Mrs. McAllister!” Felix waved his hands to get his elderly neighbor’s attention as he jogged toward her.
She didn’t notice him at all. Controlling the lawnmower with one hand while using her cane with the other was clearly taking all her concentration and strength.
The lawnmower carved great zigzags through the knee-high grass, defying her efforts to keep it straight.
When Felix caught up to her, Mrs. McAllister was red in the face and sweating profusely. She switched the lawnmower off.
“Felix…is there…something…I can help…you with?” she panted.
“Yes, you can step aside and let me help you!
Honestly, Mrs. McAllister, why would you decide to cut this overgrown lawn by yourself?”
“Someone has to,” she replied. She hobbled to her porch and sat on the steps.
“I didn’t realize…it would be so…demanding.”
“This grass is pretty tall and with all the rain we’ve had lately, it hasn’t had a good chance to dry out either. Can I get you something? A glass of water?”
Mrs.
McAllister waved him off. “I just need to…catch my breath.”
“You know, I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it again: Your son should be helping you with these sorts of things. It ain’t right to let your elderly Mom struggle alone.”
Felix started the lawnmower then so Mrs.
McAllister wouldn’t need to reply. He knew she’d make excuses for her son, Henry, and Felix didn’t want to hear them, not after what he’d just seen.
Everyone on the street knew Henry as the type of man who liked to draw attention to himself by driving too fast and excessively revving the engine of his fancy car. Nobody had the heart to tell Mrs.
McAllister they thought her son was a menace, but they all thought it.
Felix clenched his jaw and set to work. It took him a good part of the morning to cut the long, damp grass and rake it all together. By the time he’d finished, Felix had reached a decision.
He marched up to Mrs. McAllister’s door and called out to her.
“Oh, thank you, Felix!” Mrs. McAllister beamed at him as she looked out over her neat lawn.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page.
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