“Well, now. Isn’t that a sight to behold?”
I leaned against the side of the garage doorway. Charlie sat, as he usually did in the mornings, smack dab in the middle just inside the opening like every other oldster in the world. His ratty brown coat helped ward off the early morning chill.
The cold during the night was slowly dissipating in the morning sunshine. Our little town stood close enough to the snow line that even a beautiful day in August wouldn’t reach the scorching temperatures of California’s central valley. As the summer turned into fall, we could expect cooler days. Still, we were a ways away from winter blowing in and stopping us in our tracks. For the next few months or so, our summer weather promised to be constant and entirely bearable.
Charlie and I were stationed at o
