Mittens

When the kids were little our neighborhood didn't have a lot of children. Still, they made friends wherever they could. Down at the end of the block were a couple of apartment buildings. There were kids living there from time to time, not a lot, and those that did move in usually moved out again in a few months.

One of those children, a boy of about 8, would come around from time to time. He was never cheerful, but otherwise seemed to be OK. As the days grew colder, he would be outside without proper clothing. A light jacket on freezing days, and never any mittens. We always had a big box of various gloves and mittens, some mismatched, but there always were an extra pair or two if one of the boys got their regular pair wet.

I brought out a pair of those mittens for the boy from the apartments one December day. The temperature was in the thirties and the wind was raw. I felt sorry for him, he looked really miserable. He wouldn't take them. I told him he could have them, then he grudgingly put them on.

Later, when he had gone home, I found the mittens lying neatly on the ledge next to sidewalk at the corner of our lot. He moved away soon after that.