we agreed upon the details and I took the time off from work.

The Monday of start date was already heating up to be a hot summer day. At about 8:00 am I heard some vehicles pulling up to my house. I looked out of my upstairs window and saw a big pick up truck, with lots of material in the back and a white van. A black guy in work gear got out of the pick up and went over and opened the van. Out jumped the crew members one by one. I couldn’t believe my eyes, as eight big “thug types” assembled in my front yard. They made their way across the yard towards my front porch, all muscled up, and dressed in various kinds of works clothes.

I immediately ran downstairs and opened the front door.

Rocco was not there, which I thought was very odd. The driver of the van, who I assumed was the prison escort, was an old fat guy. He stayed in the van, already starting to read his newspaper. There were three Latinos, two white guys, and four black guys (one of which was the driver of the pick up). Rocco did send big guys, but two of the black guys towered over the rest.

All eyes were on me. I started, “Um, is Rocco here? Or, um, should I show you guys around?”

The black guy who drove the pick up responded in a friendly tone, “Mr. Miller? I’m Tyrone and Rocco should be here soon. But, I’m the foreman and will take care of the work that needs done. We’ll do good by you.”

“Oh thanks, and you can call me Daniel. Um, well, um, how about I show you around the inside.” I was surprised how nervous I was, as I had a little trouble speaking.

Tyrone followed me into the house, most of the guys started moving towards the pick-up, but the two colossal black guys also followed us. I showed them the different rooms and what needed to be done. They were pretty quiet the whole time. As I would explain things, I was aware of my own uneasiness. Tyrone would just listen, nod and look around. The two big guys were almost gawking at me. I guess it was like we had come from two separate worlds. As I exited one of the bedrooms to go back into the hallway, the two huge dudes were blocking the entrance.

“Oh, excuse me.” I asked, trying to be polite. They obliged by giving me some space to get by, but since they were so big, I had to squeeze myself between them and I couldn’t help but brush up against both of them. They seemed to be examining me as I passed between them. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

We walked through the upstairs bathroom, which oddly enough, contained the door leading up