"Go." She motions me to leave. "And bring the garbage container out to the porch so it's easier to get to."
Walking outside, I notice the neighbor's garage is open. Tyler's done mowing but I don't see him anywhere.
As I go to get the garbage can from the garage, I look over and see someone sitting on the neighbor's porch. It's an older man with white hair and a white beard. He's on one of the wooden rocking chairs, reading a book.
That must be Tyler's grandfather. I should go introduce myself. Just because Grams isn't friendly doesn't mean I can't be.
Leaving the box in the garage I walk across the lawn to the neighbor's house.
"Good morning," I say before reaching the porch so I don't startle the old man like I startled his grandson.
He looks up and smiles. He has a warm, friendly smile, which I wasn't expecting given Grams' description of him. She made him sound like an angry old man who yells at everyone.
"Hello, there." He sets his book down. "You must be Cora's granddaughter."
"And you must be Walter. I'm Faith." I walk up to him and shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"She mentioned you'd be moving in but didn't say when." He points to the rocking chair beside him. "Have a seat."
"I'd love to but I have to get back to the house. My grandmother insists we clean out the cupboards today and she's expecting me back there any minute."
He chuckles. "She's a workhorse, isn't she? Every time I see her, she's racing to and fro, cleaning this and that."
"She's always been that way. She likes order."
"That must be frustrating."
"What do you mean?"
"She prefers order but lives in a world that isn't orderly. People's behaviors. Random events. Natural disasters. There's no order to them."
"Huh. Guess I never thought of it that way. Maybe that's why she craves order in things she can control, like kitchen cabinets."
"Exactly." He smiles. "You're a very smart young lady."
Walter's a nice man. Grams was way off in her assessment of him. I wonder why she thinks so poorly of him. Is it just because his flower garden has weeds and his tools make noise?
"You sure you can't stay a few minutes?" he asks.
Just then, Grams' voice calls out, "Faith, what on earth is taking so long?"
Rather than race over there, I decide to stay put and make her come over here. Maybe I can end this feud she has with Walter, right here, right now.
"I'm at Walter's," I call back. I smile at Walter but he doesn't smile back.
"Why'd you have to go and do that?" he mutters. "I was having a perfectly good morning and now…" He shakes his head.
So he doesn't like her either? He seems like someone who'd like most anyone, but maybe Grams calling the police on him angered him to the point that he doesn't like her and doesn't even want to talk to her.
From the corner of my eye I see Grams marching across the lawn. When she reaches the porch, she stands there, her hands on her hips, giving me the same look she gave me when I was a little kid and took cookies from the jar when she told me not to.
"We have things to do," she snaps. "There's no time for idle chit chat, especially with the likes of him." She glances at Walter.
He picks up his book and says, "Good morning to you too, Cora. For someone who's big on manners you sure don't know how to properly greet someone."
She pauses, her lips pursed, then says to him, "Good morning, Walter."
He smiles slightly, knowing his comment got to her.
"So," she says to me, "shall we get back to work?"
"I'd like to talk to Walter first. He asked me to sit for a minute or two."
"Is that so?" She glares at him as he reads his book.
"Why don't you join us?" I ask, pointing to the porch swing that's next to the rockers.
"Just made some coffee if anyone wants some," Tyler says, appearing at the screen door, holding a mug. He must've just showered because his hair is wet. He's wearing a shirt this time, a faded blue t-shirt that fits close to his lean muscular body. I liked him shirtless but he looks hot in a shirt too. His jeans are even more faded than his shirt and have some rips in them, like real tears, not like he