My neighbor is a mechanical engineer who installs and maintains heavy equipment (like turbines, I think) for utility companies. This summer he got called out to California for a month-long job and asked me to mow his grass and clean his pool while he was away. It was a great side gig: he paid well, and I could use the pool whenever I wanted. But the biggest perk was his daughter who was home from college. Let’s call her Alyssa.
I never saw Alyssa outside the house much except on the days when I came over to work. Without fail, whether it was a Saturday afternoon or a Monday morning, she’d appear in a lounge chair just minutes after I rolled up the garage or opened the pool house. I liked to imagine her presence was linked to my penchant for going shirtless, but she hid her gaze under dark sunglasses and didn’t say much. I can’t say I was as skilled at hiding my many fleeting attentions towards her. A mangled rosebush and a lopsided hedgerow stand as horticultural monuments of her ability to distract.