A solitary gentleman lives three doors down and across the street. The story goes that his wife died a few years ago, though I never knew her. In my five years on Linwood Place, he is among the few in the immediate vicinity to whom I've not spoken.
I've seen him often. I’ve waved and nodded hello from my porch, from my bicycle, and while walking Luke The Dog (who joined our family after my wife's father met an untimely end). The solitary man shows his kind side, evinced in a slight left limp. There's a story I long to hear. I look up from a book as he pulls in at 6:30, the last on the block to get home. My vision is somewhat bleary from the last fifty pages and it adjusts as I follow his path.
He always walks slowly from the car, evaluating the flowers and the grass — do they need water tonight? — coyly looking toward the neighbors' yard, where the kids play in the last minutes of daylight. He wants to wave; he wants to engage. He is dressed business casually, but carries a briefcase that he sets down on the steps as he doubles back to the hedge, checking whether it has started to flower for Autumn. Not yet.
The kids notice him. He raises his hand far over his head and waves gently. The parents, whose third was born two weeks ago, knock on the front window and return his gesture. They spill out on to the porch and exchange daily pleasantries.
He walks back to the stoop, picks up his briefcase, and looks around his porch. The loveseat-swing hangs motionless, his almost-finished repairs to the columns and railings should be done any season now, but fading daylight will steal tonight's progress. With a languid pace, he unlocks the door - hundred-year-old solid oak, strong as the day it was hung. He and his briefcase disappear inside.
Article comments
1 - duane
Very nice, Brian. Evocative.
2 - Mel
Powerful writing. I watch people all the time, and it's interesting how many of those who struggle quietly and fiercely never get noticed. It's also sad. Thanks for bringing this man's story to light.