Then I heard him say, “Virdie, look what I found in your garden!”

Mrs. Boone was standing in the breezeway, looking through an open window at us. She came out through the screened porch, holding a coffee mug. The man said, “Look at her, she’s perfect. She’s like something out of a Thomas Hart Benton mural.”

To me, Mrs. Boone said, “Is he distressing you?” I shook my head. I didn’t trust myself to give any other answer. “Oscar?” Mrs. Boone said to the man. “Would you go get something from the house for me?”

“Sure.” He braced himself again on his skinny knees and stood up straight. “What do you need?”

“Anything that’s going to take you a long time to find.”

He opened his mouth, closed it, then shrugged and went in through the screened porch. When he was out of sight, Mrs. Boone said, “I’m sorry. He shouldn’t be pestering you.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m in the way. I should have finished up yesterday.”

She was wearing a big gray sweater over some kind of long white dress or nightdress. I kept my eyes on the salvia I was tamping in, but I’d already noted the deep hinged lines around her mouth, the lines in her wide forehead. It was like a beautiful face carved in stone.

“Carla, is that right?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Would you like some coffee, Carla?” Her voice was husky, a little rough, maybe from sleep.

“No thank you. I really do have to get to my next job.”

Mrs. Boone said, “It’s my fault for letting you sleep. I should have woken you so you could finish. But you looked so tired.”

It made me feel odd to learn that she’d come in and seen me asleep. I couldn’t decide if it was no big deal, or a little creepy. “Honest,” I said, “I just took too long. I’ll get everything squared away for you and watered in. You’ll want to water every day for at least a week. The cypress need more water than anything else. Early morning’s best, it helps prevent wilting.”

“I used to be able to take care of this whole yard myself. Not anymore.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” I said, making myself into a we and trying to sound as businesslike as I could. I didn’t much like people watching me, looking me over, whether I was awake or asleep. I didn’t like being an object of somebody’s stupid comments. I got to work with a rake to spread the mulch around and when I looked up again, she had gone back inside.

When I was done with everything, I packed up and left without seeing either of them, nor did I expect to see them again, until of course I did.

Mom