He was applying for positions with several industrial equipment manufacturers, but he also had an idea for a small repair business.
He wanted to restore affordable lawn equipment for homeowners who couldn't afford expensive replacements.
His father supported the idea.
Not because the family needed Marcus to earn money immediately.
But because he had watched his son spend years taking things apart and figuring out how to put them back together.
When Marcus was eight, Daniel gave him a broken radio.
The boy spent three days trying to repair it.
He didn't succeed.
But he asked so many questions that Daniel eventually took him to a local electronics shop and introduced him to the owner.
By fourteen, Marcus was repairing old bicycles.
By seventeen, he could rebuild a small gasoline engine.
And by twenty-three, he had become the kind of young man who couldn't pass a broken machine without wondering what it needed.
The red lawnmower had been his latest project.
He purchased it secondhand for seventy dollars.
The previous owner believed the engine was beyond repair.
Marcus cleaned the carburetor, replaced a damaged fuel line, serviced the blade, and adjusted the controls.
Now it started smoothly.
He planned to mow his father's yard, test the machine under ordinary conditions, then donate it to a community gardening program.
Daniel watched him carry the mower from the garage.
“You know we already have a lawn service.”
Marcus grinned.
“I know.”
“Then why are you working on your Saturday?”
“Because I want to see how the repair holds up.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“That's your idea of fun?”
Marcus laughed.
“Coming from a man who reads county budget reports at breakfast?”
His father smiled.
“Fair point.”
For several seconds, they stood together near the driveway.
Then Daniel looked toward his son.
“Any news from the engineering firm?”
Marcus nodded.
“They want a second interview.”
“Good.”
“It's next Thursday.”
Daniel smiled proudly.
“You'll do well.”
Marcus looked down.
For a moment, his expression became uncertain.
“What if I don't?”
His father considered the question.
“Then you'll learn something and try again.”
Marcus nodded.
Then laughed.
“You make that sound easy.”
Daniel smiled.
“It isn't.”
For a moment, they stood quietly.
Then Marcus asked.
“Dad, did you ever regret becoming sheriff?”
The question surprised him.
Daniel looked toward the street.
Then back at his son.
“Sometimes.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
His father took a breath.
“Not because I stopped believing the job mattered. Because I learned how much harder it was to make an organization live up to its promises than to make those promises.”
Marcus nodded slowly.