At three p.m. he knocked on my door. I still had my backpack on from school. It was my neighbor. I noticed there was a dark stain on the side of his baggy gray t-shirt, as if he had spilled water on it.  “Good afternoon,” he said. “I recently had hip surgery and was wondering if you had time to cut my grass.” I

I stared at him blankly and glanced at his hip where the stain was then replied, “Yeah of course.”

I started my lawn mower and headed over to his house. I was met by him and his wife with large smiles on their faces. I turned the lawnmower off and smiled back. 

“Thank you for doing this….”, 

“Dominic,” I replied. 

“Thank you, Dominic,” his wife said. 

Even though I wasn't familiar with my neighbors, it felt normal talking to them.

“Is there anything I should know before starting?” 

He pointed to a large pine tree and ran his finger along the lawn. “There is the cutoff between our lawn and the neighbors lawn.” 

I waited a little longer in case there was anything else. Nothing. “Alright sounds good,” I said as I started the mower. He gave me a thumbs up and I began cutting.

About an hour later I was done. I turned off the mower in their driveway and pressed the doorbell. I was greeted by his wife who was holding out a twenty dollar bill. 

“I don't need that, you keep it,” I said with a smile. 

She tilted her head and thanked me again. She then dropped the bill on the floor, “Don't let it blow away.” 

I looked at the bill then looked at her. She smiled again and shut the door. I grabbed the bill, got on the lawn mower and started my way back home. I would have liked to see her face when she found the money in the mailbox.