JASON PULLED UP THE GORDONS’ DRIVE at six o’clock in the morning. Michael guessed he was about Ed’s age, maybe a little younger. His face was leathery from the outdoors. “Climb on in,” Jason said, pointing at his rusty orange Toyota pickup truck with rakes, hoes, and a wheelbarrow in the back. A big black Lab sat waiting in the cab. “That’s Flip. She’s a good girl.”

The cab smelled like dirt and dog breath. Flip stood to lick Michael’s face, then turned to lick Jason, and her tail swatted against Michael like a windshield wiper. Jason slipped his Red Sox cap on his head and took a drink from his thermal mug. “You got your pruning shears on the dash, rain jackets behind the seats, work gloves all over. Do me a favor: try harder than I do to keep them in pairs.” Fay-vah. Pay-as. His accent sounded so thick to Michael that it was almost a speech impediment. “You have problems gettin’ up this early?”

“No,” said Michael.

“You’re in this for beer money?”

“I actually like working with plants.”

“Look, all I care about is you show up when you say you’re going to show up, you work hard, keep it honest. And you need to learn quick because I’m so goddamn behind I don’t know my ass from my elbow. Weather this year is kicking my ass. Shaw is riding my keister about his goddamn yaah-d. He’s the type who wants his grass mowed in a checkerboard pattern. Too rich to do his own yard, too poor to hire a property manager. So here we are.”

“Is he a bad guy?” Finally Michael had someone to ask.

“He’s money, that’s what he is, and money is what I need right now. I’m running my business from my backyard and my neighbors aren’t happy. I’m trying to buy some land in an industrial park in Eastham. Bigger crew, space for my tools. Speaking of money, I pay shit, but you work hard and I’ll see you get your due at the end of the summer. I got you on manure duty today. You’ll go home smelling like you crawled up a cow’s ass.”

MICHAEL LIKED JASON. He was demanding and rough, but also creative and patient. He loved what he did. He showed Michael how to nurture hearty Cape Cod plants so they’d survive the high wind, salt air, and sandy soil. He taught him how to make planting charts, explained how lavender, bee balm, and citronella deter pests, and showed him how to use stakes and string to trim the hedges. Michael loved how Jason talked about plants and gardening—breaking buds, deadheading, air layering, double-digging, scarification. He treated Michael as an equal, not some kid who’d once been an orphan.