Sylvia insisted that every volunteer sign in and out.

That was how I knew the work was real.

It was beginning to look less like a heartwarming story and more like a dependable service.

PART 10

Clarence fell on his front steps in the middle of August.

It wasn’t a dramatic accident.

He simply missed the last stair while trying to bring an empty watering can inside.

By the time I reached him, he was sitting on the grass, annoyed more than frightened, and insisting that the bruise on his knee was hardly worth discussing.