My supervisor gave me a puzzled expression when I requested the morning off.

“It is an urgent family matter,” I explained to my boss.

“Is your father having health issues?” she asked with genuine concern.

“He is doing fine,” I replied.

“It is his new neighbor who is causing serious trouble.”

I drove out to the farmhouse at seven in the morning.

Dad was already out in the field, kneeling among the green beans with his trusty bucket.

“Dad, the official inspector will be here at nine,” I called out from the edge of the field.