I shook my head.
“It’s a mess. I think he’s been living on cans of beans. There’s stacks of them all over the place. And he’s been hoarding. I could hardly even get inside his bedroom.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she sniffed and shook them away. “Anyway, I’m going to stay as long as it takes to get him sorted out.”
“Grandma’s already called the lawyer and dropped the case,” I said, feeling a stab of guilt that I hadn’t paid more attention to Harlan’s weird behavior. If I had, maybe Grandma would have called Helen sooner.
“Oh God.” She held a hand to her chest. “Thank you. I’m really sorry he’s been causing you trouble, Danny. I didn’t know how bad it was.” She wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. “I feel so fuckingawful.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, trying not to think of the money. It was weird how we’d never actually gotten that far, but it still felt like I’d been ripped off. Something about counting chickens, right? Anyway, Harlan was ill, so none of this was his fault, and what kind of assholes would Grandma and I be if we took advantage of a neighbor who wasn’t in his right mind anymore? In the end we hadn’t lost anything except that poor tree, and I could replant one. Okay, it’d take another thirty-odd years before it grew to the same size as the previous one, but so what? One thing trees had was a shitload of time. “I don’t know if Harlan’ll be willing, since we’re kind of on his shit list right now, but if you need a hand cleaning up over there, me and my roommates can help out.”
“Oh, you boys don’t have to do that,” she said.
“Course we do,” I said. “We’re neighbors.”
The guys wouldn’t be happy I’d volunteered them, but they’d do it because it was the right thing to do. Besides, Helen had turned up in a tiny little rental car, and if Harlan had been hoarding, she was going to need some guys with trucks, and Wilder and I could help out on that score. Chase and Cash, not so much, given they only shared custody of a dirt bike, but they could lift boxes.
We finished our beers, and then Helen went back to Harlan’s place.
We’d already plowed through most of the groceries and it wasn’t payday yet, which meant it was a beans and rice night. Luckily, I made a killer beans and rice. Wilder got home right at dark, limping into the kitchen.
“Smells good,” he said.
“What the hell happened to you?”
He opened the refrigerator, sighed when he looked at the spot where his beer had been, and grabbed a can of the off-brand soda we had in there instead. “Fell off a roof.”
“Seriously?”
He cracked the soda can open. “Okay. I fell off a ladder. From like, three rungs up. I landed wrong. Bruised my ass mainly, but I’m okay.”
“You’d better be,” I said, stirring the beans, “because I just told Helen we’re gonna help her clean out Harlan’s place.”
“Oh, fuck you,” Wilder said, but there was no heat in it. “That’s Harlan’s daughter, right?”
“Yup. She came over and saw me earlier. She says he’s not right, and he’s been hoarding.”
Wilder winced. “Shit.”
“Right? I gave her your beer.”
Wilder peered over my shoulder at the pot of beans and rice. “I can get some boxes off Uncle Steve if she needs ’em.”
“I’ll let her know.”
I had a feeling there would be more dumping than boxing happening, though.
Wilder went and took a shower while dinner was cooking, and the twins got home while he was still in the bathroom. It wasn’t often we all got to sit around together and eat—not as often as I’d like, at least—so it was good that for once everyone’s shifts had synced up to make it happen.
“Aw, come on!” Chase said when I told him I’d volunteered us to help Helen. “But Harlan’s been such anasshole!” He relented under the power of Cash’s stare. “Fine. Whatever. Hey, do you think we’ll find his missing dog mummified under a pile of old newspapers?”
This time Cash reached out and smacked him on the arm.
“Ow!”
“We’re not gonna find a mummified dog,” I said.
Wilder nodded, then said, “That would be pretty cool, though. In a gross way.” Then he scooted back in his chair so Cash couldn’t reach him.
“He buried the dog,” I said. “I remember he planted that rose bush on top. Pretty sure we’re just hauling trash to the dump. Also, can we not talk about mummified dogs while we’re eating?”
