Chase stared down at his cap.
“But I’d trade all of it for him showing up to one baseball game.”
The room went quiet.
Then I asked the question that had really been bothering me.
“Why were you mowing my lawn?”
Chase closed his eyes.
“Because I wanted to be here.”
When he opened them again, there were tears in them.
“My family used to own this house.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
“The garage.”
He nodded.
“My grandfather built the workbench inside. He taught me to fix bikes there. I learned how to ride on that concrete floor. When it rained, we’d sit inside and listen to the water hitting the roof.”
His voice cracked.
“After Grandpa died, everything fell apart. Mom couldn’t keep up with the mortgage. We lost the house.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“And your father?”
“He wasn’t around.”
I thought about the black SUV.
“He had money?”
“He always had money. He just fought Mom about helping us. By the time the court finally ordered child support, we’d already packed everything.”
Chase swallowed.
“I used to ride my bike past here after we moved. Then I saw the For Sale sign. When you finally bought the place, I thought…”
He looked toward the backyard.
“…if I couldn’t live here anymore, maybe I could still take care of it.”
“You didn’t actually need a mowing job.”
He shook his head.
“That wasn’t the real reason.”
“What were you looking for?”
His answer came quietly.
