And now you're one of the people I'm going to miss. Calvin didn't have a response to that. That wasn't too much or too little. So, he settled for the truth. Well be here, he said.
She nodded. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out something small, a folded piece of paper. She held it out to him. He took it. He looked at her questioningly.
Open it later, she said. After I'm gone, he put it in his shirt pocket. She looked at the house one more time. Robert was still on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, watching the car at the curb. He wasn't watching Sophie cross the yard to Calvin's porch.
He was giving her that, too. The private goodbye. She turned back to Calvin. Take care of him, she said. The gutters, the mower, the furnace, all of it.
I know. A pause. But now take care of him like he matters to you. Not just as a neighbor. Calvin held her gaze.
He always has, he said. She looked at him for one more second, then she turned and walked back to the curb. She said something to Robert. He put his arm around her shoulder, brief and deliberate, and she leaned into him for just a moment before straightening and opening the car door. She got in.
The car pulled away. Robert stood on the sidewalk and watched it go. He stood there until it turned the corner and disappeared. Then he stood there a little longer. Calvin waited.
Finally, Robert turned and walked back up the path toward his front door. He was moving slowly, his hands loose at his sides. His face carrying the specific tired expression of a man who has spent himself completely on something and doesn't regret regret, but needs a moment before he can do anything else. He stopped at the foot of his porch steps. He looked at Calvin.
"Come for dinner Sunday," he said. Calvin blinked. What? Dinner Sunday 6:00? He said it without hesitation, without the old reticence.
She's going to video call at 7 and I want you there. Calvin looked at him. Okay, he said. Robert nodded. He went inside.
Calvin sat back down on his porch steps. He reached into his shirt pocket and took out the folded piece of paper Sophie had handed him. He opened it. It was the bank statement. The old one.