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.
“That looks so much better. Come in, please. You deserve a cool drink after your hard work and I have some homemade lemonade in the fridge.”
“That sounds delicious.” Felix followed the older lady inside.
“Don’t mind the mess,” she said as she gestured to him to sit in the sitting room.
“I’ve gotten a little behind with my housekeeping.”
Felix told her not to worry about it, but he was secretly astonished by the state of Mrs. McAllister’s home.
Knick-knacks cluttered every surface, and all of them sported a layer of dust. There were several used teacups lined up on the coffee table and cobwebs in every corner.
The roof was obviously leaking too, and the bucket she’d placed beneath the leaky spot hadn’t been emptied since the last rain two days ago.
Worry gnawed at Felix’s heart. It seemed to him like his kindhearted neighbor couldn’t take care of herself anymore.
“Here you go, dear.” Mrs. McAllister placed a glass of lemonade on the table.
“I’ve got something else for you too, a token of my appreciation.”
Felix frowned at the metal box she held out to him. It had an odd set of dials on top of it, and although it wasn’t large, it appeared to be heavy from the awkward way she gripped it in her fingers.
“Uh…thanks.” Felix took the box, which was as heavy as it looked, and studied it.
“That’s an antique that’s been passed down in my family.” Mrs. McAllister smiled.
“I can’t accept something like this just for cutting your grass.” He handed the box back to her.
“It’s very generous of you, but it’s far too much.”
“Oh…” Mrs. McAllister frowned.
The disappointed look on his face made Felix feel guilty. “It’s just that I don’t need a fancy gift for such a simple task, Mrs.
McAllister. It’s no trouble to help you out, and you really don’t need to give me anything at all in exchange.”
“Still, I can’t let you go home empty-handed. At least take some apples for Suzie.
I must offer you something more than lemonade for your kindness, Felix.”
It seemed there was no way to escape without a gift, so Felix accepted Mrs. McAllister’s offer and sipped at his lemonade. She left the room with the box and returned a short while later with a grocery bag.
“Here you go.” She placed the bag on the table and sat in an armchair with a loud sigh.
“Are you okay, Mrs.
McAllister?” Felix sat forward.
Mrs. McAllister nodded. “I’m just worn out from fighting with that mower earlier.
Not as young as I used to be, you know.”
“I’ll let you get some rest.” Felix stood and peeked into the bag on the table. “Those are beautiful apples; I’m sure Suzie will enjoy them. And please, next time there’s something you need to do around here, just come knock on my door.”
“That’s very kind of you!” Mrs.
McAllister pressed a hand to her chest. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it, Felix.”
Later that day, Felix was tidying up in the sitting room when Suzie rushed in with an excited grin.
“Dad, look what I found under the apples Mrs. McAllister gave us!”
Felix shook his head and chuckled as he recognized the strange metal box.
“I told her I couldn’t accept that! That Mrs. McAllister really doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“I think this is a combination lock.” Suzie twisted the dials as her brow furrowed in concentration.
“But I can’t get it to open.”
“I’m sorry, Suzie, I know you love those old puzzle boxes and things, but we aren’t keeping this. It’s far too valuable.” He held out his hand for the box. “I’m going to return it to Mrs.
McAllister.”
“Come on, Dad!” Suzie held the box to her chest and gave him a pleading look. “She wanted you to have it, so what’s the problem? Please…I never get nice things.”
Although he felt terrible for Suzie, Felix insisted the box be returned.
She handed it over and then ran from the room. As Felix headed out, he heard her slam her bedroom door.
Felix knocked on Mrs. McAllister’s front door.
He tried calling for her when she didn’t answer. There was still no reply.
“I know you’re in there, Mrs. McAllister,” Felix yelled.
“I found your box and I’m here to return it…if you won’t take it, then I’ll leave it on your porch.”
Felix turned to leave, but it didn’t sit right with him. With a frustrated groan, he tried the door handle. He yelled to Mrs.
McAllister that he was coming in to put her box in a safer place, then stepped inside.
Mrs. McAllister was precisely where he had left her hours earlier, but her body now slumped in the armchair, and her mouth hung open. Her eyes stared at the wall, unseeing and empty.
Felix shouted her name as he rushed to her side, but it was no good.
When he pressed his fingers to the pulse point in her throat, it confirmed what he already knew: Mrs. McAllister was gone.
The paramedics came soon afterward to take Mrs. McAllister’s body.
Neighbors gathered in the street as word spread about the kind old lady’s passing. Only much later, after dinner and after sending Suzie to bed, Felix noticed the heavy weight in his pocket.
At some point, he’d put the box in his pocket and forgotten it. He set it down on the kitchen table and stared at it.
It still didn’t make sense for Mrs. McAllister to give this to him. He remembered her mentioning it was an antique.
On a whim, he reached for his laptop and started looking for similar
