Single Dad Helps Older Woman Mow Her Lawn, Soon Gets a Call from Her Lawyer — Story of the Day(1/2)

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 boxes.

Nothing concrete turned up initially. There were plenty of antique boxes, but only a few resembled the one Mrs. McAllister gave him.

It was when he took a photo and ran an image search that he finally found a match.

Felix’s gaze flickered between the photos on the webpage for a prestigious auction house and the box in his hands.

His fingers began to shake as he admitted to himself that they were a perfect match.

Felix swore under his breath. This box was worth $250,000! It was an almost unimaginable amount.

If he could sell it at full price, or more…his brain ran through all the possibilities of what he could do with that much money.

Then he remembered Suzie saying she never got nice things before running from the room. He decided then to keep the box for her and that any money he made from it would go toward his daughter’s future.

Felix put the box away in a safe place so he could think about the best way to sell it. A few days later, Felix had just arrived home from a morning job when his phone rang.

An unknown number was calling, but that wasn’t unusual. He assumed it was a client until the man on the other end spoke.

“This is Tim, Mrs. McAllister’s lawyer.

I’d like to meet with you, if you don’t mind?”

“Uh, sure,” Felix replied uncertainly. “When?”

“As soon as possible. Are you available now?”

Tim’s urgency made Felix wary, but he agreed to meet the lawyer at a cafe in town.

Despite his unease, he was curious about why the lawyer wanted to see him.

His confusion grew when he entered the cafe and saw a familiar face seated at a table with the man who had to be Tim.

“Henry.” Felix nodded politely to Mrs. McAllister’s no-good son. “My condolences for your loss.”

“Thanks.” Henry glared at him.

“Take a seat, and let’s get to the point.”

“Henry, calm down. Felix has come all this way at very short notice, let him at least get comfortable and perhaps get something to drink.” Tim smiled at Felix. “This is all on me so order whatever you want.”

“Thank you, Tim, but I’d like to know what this is all about, so…” he glanced from Tim to Henry expectantly.

“Well, you see—” Tim started, but Henry cut in.

“It’s about a very valuable family heirloom that’s gone missing from my mother’s house, a small box with some dials on the lid.”

Henry set his elbows on the table and leaned toward Felix.

“You were the last person in her house. I know that box didn’t just vanish and I wanted to give you a chance to do the right thing.”

“You think I stole from your mother?” Felix yelled.

“Let’s all lower our voices and discuss this calmly,” Tim said. “Now, Felix, nobody is accusing you of theft—”

“Actually, I think that’s exactly what this lazy show-off is doing.” Felix sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“I do have the box you’re looking for, not because I stole it. Mrs. McAllister gave it to me as thanks for cutting her grass—a chore you should’ve done for her!”

“Mom would never have given you that box!” Henry stabbed his finger in Felix’s direction.

“It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, a well-known politician, who commissioned it from a famous artisan! It’s one of only two in the world! Why would she give it to a nobody like you?”

Felix shrugged.