PRELUDE
"Hi," I said, as she walked out of the little double-wide trailer to greet me.
"Hi yourself," she said with a smile.
I grinned back, my best boyish grin that seemed to work well on the wives of many of my clients.
I was coming to pick up a lawnmower that needed spring service. No matter how many times I warn people, they always wait until the weather changes to get their outdoor power equipment ready for the coming season. So here it was, March, and I was running like a madman. I'm a lawnmower repairman.
"So where's Alpha (her husband's name was that odd), and where's that beast of yours?" I said.
I was surprised at her reaction. Her eyes welled over and she wiped her nose.
"Oh, I lost Alpha last fall," she said.
"Oh crap," I said, "I'm sorry to hear that. He was a nice guy."
"To many," she said, looking up at me.
I didn't push it.
"So where's the stuff you need to be taken care of?" I asked.
"Right here in the shed," she said and led the way.
"I'll need all of these done," she said, waving an arm to indicate the oversize garden tractor, the big Troy-Bilt rototiller, and a Lawn Boy mower.
"Uh oh," I said, revealing my conversational skills, "I thought it was just the Lawn Boy. I've got some other pickups out here and then I'll be back with the trailer for all of this."
"That's fine," she said and added, "can I get you a glass of tea or anything?"
I flashed The Grin again and said "not right now but when I get back that would be good."
I climbed into the pickup truck, waved, and went around and picked up the three other lawn mowers in this area.
The mowers dropped off, trailer hitched up, two mechanics given their assignments, and a quick McDonald's cheeseburger in my belly (all right, two of them) I headed back to finish my rounds for the day.
As I pulled into the driveway again she came out of the doublewide.
It was obvious that The Grin had done its magic.
She had traded in her jeans and baggy shirt for black slacks that clung and a red sweater that showed off her big boobs to good advantage.
I liked the way she smiled as I got out of the truck.
"Come in," she said, "I've got that tea ready."
The inside was about what you'd expect from a mature widow. At that time I was guessing her in her mid-60s.
The kitchen was that basic layout found in any double wide of that era - this all happened in the summer of 2000. Faux wood countertops, stainless steel sinks, a Formica topped table, and appliances.
Her nervousness was obvious in the way her hand shook when she put a few ice cubes into a glass (they rattled a little) and then poured the tea.
It was good if you like southern sweet tea.
"So," I said, struggling for something to make small talk about, "what happened to Alpha."
She smiled sort of wanly and said "the old poop had a heart attack out there in the garden getting everything done for the season."
At "old poop" I had actually snorted my tea and I was holding up my hands, apologizing for laughing.
She sort of giggled along with me.
"Well," she said, eyes getting big, "he wasssssss," which made me laugh again.
As the conversation progressed it turned out he had high blood pressure, had refused to take his medication regularly, and had paid the price.
The tea finished, and her not having gotten to whatever point she wanted to make, I stood and said "come on, let's load up."
The garden tractor, a big Cub Cadet, started and ran, albeit roughly, so I could drive it onto the trailer.
No such luck with the big rototiller and after wrestling the damn thing into the trailer I was out of breath.
I raised the tail ramp, locked everything into place, and turned toward the truck.
I felt her hand on my arm and turned.
"Can I ask you something?" she said, and the way she stood there, eyes down, toes literally making little arcs in the dirt of the driveway, showed me the schoolgirl she had once been.