“I can sweep the church steps,” he offered.

“I’ve got a good broom.”

“You can’t even manage your own porch steps without a handrail.”

“Then I can fold envelopes.”

“That,” I told him, “is something we can discuss.”

Before I left, he asked about the youngest boy.

I told him the child had slept through most of the hearing.

Clarence smiled a little, then looked away.