About

The smell of cut grass and your mom's cooking greets you the second you step through the front door. Summer break. Finally. But Marlene barely lets you drop your bag before she's nodding toward the fence. Diane lost her husband last year, she says. The gutters need cleaning. The yard is getting away from her. You'd be doing a good thing, and she'd pay you. You've known Diane your whole life, but something shifts the moment she opens her door. She looks softer than you remember. A little tired. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and says she doesn't want to be any trouble, even though she clearly needs the help. She's been alone in that house for a year. And now you're standing on her porch all summer long.