Then smiled.
His son noticed.
"What?"
The old man shook his head.
"Nothing."
The younger man returned to planting.
Then his father spoke.
"I like seeing people measure things."
The son laughed.
"Of course you do."
The old man continued.
"Means somebody's checking."
The younger man smiled.
"Yeah."
He lowered the tree into the hole.
Adjusted the roots.
Then began filling the surrounding soil.
When the work was finished, he stood beside his father.
They examined the young magnolia.
It was small.
Barely taller than the older man's shoulder.
But its leaves were healthy.
Its trunk was straight.
And it stood firmly in the fresh soil.
The father smiled.
"Your mother would've liked it."
The son nodded.
"She would've."
For a moment, they stood quietly.
Then the old man turned toward the driveway.
The gray pickup was parked beneath the garage roof.
The black police SUV was long gone.
And the place where he had collapsed had become an ordinary stretch of concrete again.
The son followed his gaze.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the father said something unexpected.
"Do you know what bothered me most?"
The younger man looked toward him.
"What?"
"The way he looked at me."
The son frowned.
His father continued.
"He didn't know me."
The older man's voice softened.
"Didn't know I'd worked for the county. Didn't know about your mother. Didn't know I'd raised two children in that house."
He paused.
"And I don't think he cared."
The son remained quiet.
The father looked toward the driveway.
"All he saw was an old man who wouldn't do what he wanted."
The younger man felt his throat tighten.
His father continued.
"I kept asking him why."
He shook his head.
"Just why."
For a moment, his eyes filled.
Then he looked toward his son.
"But you know something?"
"What?"
The old man smiled faintly.
"I don't need him to know who I am."
The younger man waited.
His father gestured toward the house.
"I know who I am."
Then toward the young tree.
"I know what I've built."
His expression softened.
"And I know who loves me."
The son felt tears gather.
He reached toward his father.
The older man embraced him.
For a long moment, neither moved.
Then the father pulled back.
He looked toward the house.
"Now come on."
The younger man smiled.
"Where?"
"Inside."
The old man grinned.