Sawyer at Evening

Sawyer at Evening by John Higby Sawyer and his wife were on the porch when the car came into the yard. Ellie was paring a bowl of apples and did not look up from her work, but Sawyer rose from his chair and walked off the porch to meet his guest, a man about his own age dressed in town clothes. "I didn't mean to come this close to supper," the man said, "but I had a client in the office and couldn't get away any sooner." "You've come soon enough anyway, Mr. Brinegar," Sawyer replied. "I can't really say I've reached a decision." Brinegar stood with his hands on his hips and poked his toe at a clump of grass. "I thought we agreed that this would be the day for a definite answer, Mr. Sawyer. I hate to push you, but I'm in a spot myself." A girl perhaps sixteen came and stood behind the screen door. She was dressed in riding boots, a chambray shirt, and jeans which fit to reveal a good figure. She had shoulder length yellow hair and heavy dark eyebrows above intelligent eyes. The lower part of her face was drawn grotesquely to the right by a malformation. When Brinegar looked in her direction, she faded into the room behind the door. "If I agree to sell, I'll lose the place my family has had for nearly a hundred years," Sawyer said. "The minute I shake your hand, it's gone." "Not really gone,' said Brinegar. "We've already agreed that you can keep your house and three acres. About the family plot, all we're asking is the right to bury other people. This is a beautiful 38 spot, Mr. Sawyer. People who come out here to live will probably want to be put to rest here." "Once I shake your hand, I'll never have my place again," Sawyer said. Brinegar tried familiarity. "Look, Bob," he said, "your neighbors have sold and the project's going to be done. All you can do is cut yourself out of the money, which may not be available later on. I can't promise that the developers won't make problems for you if you make problems for them." "I don't want to make problems for anybody," Sawyer said. "I iust hate to think of giving up my land. The girl reappeared at the screen door for a moment and faded again. Ellie finished her apples and went into the house without looking at the men. "But you don't farm it anymore. It's little more than a tax burden if you don't 39 use it. And it will be here for you to enjoy as pretty as it ever was. We re not going to give you fifteen hundred dollars an acre for nearly one hundred and eighty acres and then tear it up. What have the doctors said about Jocelyn?" Brinegar asked, appearing to change the subject. "They say they can make a change, but they're not sure how much." Sawyer replied. 'Doctors are careful people, Bob. They usually underestimate what they can do. They might be able to do it so no one could ever tell." "If I sell to you, do you still plan to flood the bottom for a lake?" Sawyer resumed the business as hand. "Just a trout pond, Bob. Just six acres. As I keep telling you, we're going to be real careful with everything we buy. We can't expect to develop a successful village if we don't. One of our selling points will be that we are offering our clients an authentic mountain community . Look at it this way. If you deal with us, you'll give up some taxes for a few more neighbors. Everything else will stay about the same." "Except I won't have my place anymore ." "Not the trouble of keeping it up, but it will still be here for you to enjoy." Sawyer walked away from his guest to the edge of the yard. A horse grazing in the adjoining meadow lifted its head to watch him...