It sat in the front yard. Old. Stained. Exquisitely ugly. A cardboard sign on it read, FREE - TAKE IT. I took a couple of pictures, and then she stormed out of the house.
"What are you taking a picture of?" she demanded.
"Your couch," I said.
"That old thing?!" She was incredulous. "Why?"
"I think it's amazing," I said, not wanting to reveal how I really felt. (Who the hell is going to want that piece of junk?)
Another woman came out. She was younger, similarly tattooed, missing several teeth, and with a number of nose and ear piercings. "Gramps put that there," she said. "God knows why. It's filthy. No one's gonna want that piece of crap."
"Can I take your picture," I asked the first woman.
"No way," she sputtered, emphatically. "But wait here, my kitty loves to have her picture taken. Wait. Don't move."
"Okay," I said.
"I know who likes his picture taken," the second woman said. "Gramps. He's back there somewhere. I'll go get him." She wandered off.
A child came running out. "I'm this many old," she said, and promptly raised four perfectly straight fingers against her cheek.
The first woman returned, holding a cat. "She's an Abyssinian," she said proudly, holding the cat to her chest. I managed to take only one frame before the cat struggeled out of its owner's arms and ran away.
I thanked the woman, and turned to go. "Hey!" she said. I stopped in my tracks. "D'you want a couch? It's free!" A twinkle played in her eyes.
