In March the Maple Court neighborhood association asked for volunteers to help organize the annual spring cleanup.

I put my name down before remembering that Roger used to handle anything requiring a truck.

Patty promised we could borrow her brother’s little trailer, and two high school students offered to carry the heavy bags.

For three hours we cleared branches, picked up litter, and planted flowers near the entrance sign.

A woman I’d hardly spoken to before approached me beside the recycling bins.

She said she’d seen Roger in the driveway months earlier and wanted to apologize for not checking whether I needed anything afterward.