Stranger things have happened

The fact is my husband inherited this house from the elder who owned it and counted him as a son. When Devon's family first migrated from the Caribbean, they moved to a home a few blocks away from a man named Mr. Carleton. He lived in this beautifully maintained single- family home. The lawn was always well manicured and everyone admired it. The thing that really stuck out about Mr. Carleton was he lived alone; he never married and never had any children.

Strange, huh?

Mr. Carleton was an unusual man, silent, tall and mysterious. He retired from his job the same year that Devon moved to America. Actually, he was forced to retire from his job as a senior maintenance manager because they said he was too old to have around anymore. That job meant a lot to him, Devon says he never got over it, which probably explains why most days you could find him sweeping and cleaning even when the place was already clean.

Other than Mr. Carleton's love affair with cleanliness, the only thing he loved to do more was people watch. Around noon every day, after his mid-morning nap, you could find him in his favorite chair peering through his kitchen window watching the world pass by. As he aged, he lost his mobility and one of the neighborhood boys, Devon, always volunteered to help him out before and after school. He would run his errands and do his shopping basically whatever the elder needed. Devon's parents wondered what he was doing at the ol' man's house all of the time, but never stopped him from going.

"Be careful, yuh neva can trust people; him too quiet," his mother warned.

The neighborhood women would whisper and talk about Mr. Carleton all the time.

What was wrong with him, why him neva married?

They couldn't figure him out.

Even in his golden years, it was obvious that Mr. Carleton was a handsome man. He still had all of his teeth and a head full of jet black curly hair. He made for an intriguing character and neighborhood women busied themselves weaving all manner of tales about him. One story goes that some years ago, when Mr. Carleton was much younger, the women decided to send in a decoy to test him out. Miss Mavis Fields volunteered because secretly she thought he was handsome and wanted any excuse to get closer to him. So, one day she got dressed up and 'sweet up herself' with perfume. Each of the ladies watched her not so discreetly from their front porch as Miss Mavis made her way over to Mr. Carleton's front door and rang the bell. When he finally answered, she introduced herself.

"Hey, Mr. Carleton, I am Sister Mavis. I heard a lot about you."

"Yeh," he answered disinterestedly.

"I am new to the neighborhood and wanted to meet all my neighbors." She continued, not quite ready to give up her mission.

"Nice to meet you and thanks for coming," his response was lackluster at best.

"Aren't you going to invite me in for a drink or something?" she inquired coyly.

"In where?" he retorted. "Madam I don't know you; you could be a mad woman for all I know."

"But, but, I..." before she could convince him otherwise, he slammed the door loudly in her face. BAM!

The ladies who were watching in suspense suddenly erupted into fits of laughter at Miss Mavis' epic fail with Mr. Carleton.

Devon seemed to be the only person who he allowed to get close to him. He became like the grandson he never had and Mr. Carleton was genuinely grateful to Devon for all his help. He lived at 198 Newhall Ave, which was located at one of the better and more beautiful areas in New York City. Unfortunately, two weeks after Devon graduated from college, Mr. Carleton died and with no one else to trust he had asked Devon to ensure all of his burial wishes were carried out. He was a meticulous man and he had already finalized all of his burial needs. Even though his neighbors never had an opportunity to get close to him, many long-time associates came to the funeral, some out of concern and some out of curiosity, eager to find out what would become of the "dead left." In patios "dead left," is a Caribbean term referring to any inheritance or articles that the deceased may have willed to family, friends, etc. The funeral was quiet and uneventful. The service had a full house but no family members showed.