The Poor are Richer

Boom! Steam plumed up high above the old car as neighbors peeked through windows to see what had made the noise. Terrence Clark threw his wrench on the ground and stomped away in circles cursing. His hands and face were reddened from the steam tubing, but he had been able to jump back quickly enough that he wasn't seriously burned when his repair attempt failed. His shift at the packing plant was in an hour. It was his first job in months. Rent and bills were due, and the refrigerator was empty. If it were not for his "teslator' generator, the lights would have already been off, and the heat of summer would have claimed all the food in the house and the ability to sleep in the 90-degree Fahrenheit nights. "Haha, T-man!" Called his neighbor, Lamonte. "You ain't fixin nothin on that ol' beater!" He shouted. Terrence stopped and pointed at Lamonte still holding a dirty sock for a shop rag," You think you can do better, get on down here, Lamonte! I know you can't e'en fix a sandwich!"

"Oh I know you didn't just call me out like that!" Lamonte replied.

Terrence reared back," Oh you know I did! You ain't gonna sit up there on your porch and tell me how to do, and then you can't do no better!"

Lamonte jumped off the porch and started striding across the yard," I'll go to work on you, and you won't have to drive nowhere!" Lamonte shouted and called Terrence a series of names of which 'big' and 'dumb' were the kindest. Across the street, a crowd of children was starting to gather. It wasn't uncommon to see fights in the front yards in The Bull's Run, but it was Monday evening, and nothing better was going on.

Just then, there was a loud crash and a woman screaming something incoherent on the other side of Terrence's yard from Lamonte. Both men stopped and looked, the tension suddenly shifting. Mrs. Boones dropped a large pan of hot water down her steps and yelled at it. Mrs. Boones' hands were pressed against her white curls in frustration. Her old, faded dress, covered in stains from baking for the neighborhood, had gotten caught on an exposed nail in the door frame as she walked outside to let a pot of boiled apples cool so that it didn't heat the house any more than it had already. Mrs. Boones saw the two young men staring at her and hollered across the lawns," Now you young men get ova here and help an ol lady!" Terrence and Lamonte shared a quick glance, then responded in unison, " Yes, ma'am." The two men walked side by side to her sidewalk. Terrence took a pair of potholders she had in her hands while Lamonte helped her get her snagged dress free from the nail and sat on a chair by the door. Picking up the pan, Terrence grunted," There ya go, Mrs. Boones." She pointed to a broken-down patio table held up by concrete blocks, so Terrence knew where to set it.

Mrs. Boones looked hard at both boys with the knowing look of a granny as she fanned herself with a kitchen towel. "You boys know how much I love muh apple pies," she began. Both young men nodded. She raised her eyebrows, wrinkling her forehead under her tight white curls. Mrs. Boone pulled an apple from each pocket of her apron and gave to the two neighbors, pointing at them with a paring knife in the process," But you know that you two mean mo to me than any pies, right?" She handed the knife to Lamonte so he could cut his apple. She knew that Lamonte liked apple slices while Terrence liked them whole. Both young men spoke in unison," Yes, Mrs. Boones," they said. She looked them over as they stared at the apple in each of their hands and continued to speak to them as if they were her own grandchildren," So how about you tell me how you gonna get into a fight out here in the front yard in front of all them kids?" Terrence took a grudging bite from his apple and mumbled," I'm sorry, Mrs. Boones." Her eyebrows raised again with a shocked look on her face," I'm sorry, what?" She queried. Both men exchanged glances again and replied in unison once more," I'm sorry, Mrs. Boones, ma'am." She smiled and leaned back in her chair, "That's better. Now you gon apologize to each other. You two big, strong men....Your too big to be fightin like a couple o fool children out here! Why I've known you since your mommas was little!" Terrence looked at Lamonte in silence. "C'mon now! You're big enough to go cussing in front o little ones. You're big enough to say you're sorry," Mrs. Boones chided. Terrence swallowed loudly," I'm sorry for calling you out, Lamonte. I was just angry at my car." Lamonte stared at the porch floor, and looked up slowly to Terrence," Hey man, I'm sorry. I know how it is. I had to get my car fixed over at Frank's shop last week." Mrs. Boones grinned a little and patted both men's knees. "See there, you both been friends for years, why are you going to get steamed up like that?" She began to laugh at the unintentional pun," Steamed up, hehe...You got steamed for sure, Terrence!" Terrence laughed," Mrs. Boones that ain't funny right now," he replied, which made her laugh in a loud cackle. Lamonte tried unsuccessfully to not laugh then burst out loudly with the other two. After a moment he clapped Terrence on the shoulder," C'mon, man, I'll give you a ride to work. I can't pick you up when you get off but I can get you there."

The two men walked off the porch and to Lamonte's house, talking and joking. Mrs. Boones sat on her porch watching them go. It wasn't long until the neighborhood children came up to her porch. One brave young lady asked," Mrs. Boones, do you have any more apples?" Mrs. Boones looked down at her and smiled widely with sweet old eyes," Why sure , sugar. You didn't think I throwed out my good bakin apples just to get them to stop fightin did you?"