A bee buzzed Festus Dunston’s face as he wrangled the extension ladder into place against his two story colonial. He wasn’t a young man anymore, and he was carrying an extra forty pounds around his middle, but his determination carried the day.

The ladder creaked ominously as he climbed nearly all the way to the top of its reach.

“Son of a bitch,” he exclaimed, as he eyed the small trees that were growing out of the gutters. The overgrowth was even worse than he’d assumed when he’d been down on the ground, “This is going to take me all damn day!”

He began yanking the muck out of the gutter, throwing it angrily down to the lawn below him.

The ladder shook. Festus pulled his hand out of the sludge and clenched the ladder as he glared down at the figure at the base of the ladder.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Festus’ tone was furious, but the sudden beads of sweat sliding down his paunchy cheeks gave away his alarm.

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