Chapter 62

“Just inside the door.” Charles looked over the front yard, mostly barren as it was. “We need to hire a gardener for the backyard this year.”

“Oh?”

“Henrietta can’t do it anymore. Not that there’s much left. A few flowerbeds and the old rose bushes. The lawn, of course, but we’ve let the area shrink in the last few years, too.” Charles’s tone was wistful. “There was a treehouse in the backyard, in an old walnut. Lots of space for….” He cleared his throat. “My breathing always gets worse this time of year. We both know it, Hen and I. I think this year will be my last one.”

Francis hadn’t worked with the elderly in a long time, but he could hear the wisdom and the truth in Charles’s words.

“I’m telling you, because once I’m gone, Henrietta needs to sell the house and move closer to Moira.” Charles looked at Francis. “We already care about you. We know you’re a good man, Francis. If she needs a push when the time comes, I’m sure you can find a way to be that force for her.”