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about how my house must look to others in the neighborhood. You see, I spend all my time working on my statues, it passes the time, you know.”
    “ Oh, okay, that makes sense. But how ‘bout this?” Ricky suggested. “Me and Eric and maybe a few more of our friends could come over and clean things up for you. Maybe you could give us a couple of bucks for ice cream, too.”
    Mr. Rollin rubbed his unshaven jaw as he considered the proposal, and then his face lightened and he smiled. “That, Ricky, sounds like a wonderful idea. How about tomorrow after school? You boys have school, right?”
    “ Yes, sir,” Eric replied. “Till three.”
    “ Fine then, after three it is.”
    Ricky turned and walked over to Mr. Rollin, now seeing the old man for who he was, not someone he had only seen from a distance when standing on the street. Now he saw a nice old man who had lost his wife and was lonely.
    “ And do you think our friends could come in and see all of the cool monsters? I know they’d love to.”
    “ Well, I don’t know, Ricky,” Mr. Rollin said.
     
    “ Please,” Ricky said, stretching the syllables of the word out so it was a subtle begging.
    It was apparent, though Mr. Rollin liked his privacy, he liked company even more, and finally he nodded yes. “Fine, fine, they can come and see my statues, but you must explain that they can’t touch them, only look. If you can promise me that then yes, they can come in and see them.”
    “ All right, no problem, I’ll kick anyone’s butt who doesn’t listen,” Ricky said, clapping happily.
    Mr. Rollin looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was getting late.
    “ You two should be getting home now. I’m sure your parents are getting worried.”
    Both boys glanced at one another, knowing their ruse to their parents should still be working, but Mr. Rollin didn’t know that.
    “ Okay, you’re probably right,” Ricky said.
    “ Come, boys, why don’t you leave through the front door instead of using the window this time, hmmm?”
    Both boys looked down ruefully, feeling bad about what they had done.
    “ Oh, don’t worry about it. I was young once, believe it or not, I know all about curiosity. Besides, I guess I did a good job on my zombie if you actually thought it was real.”
    “ Oh, yes, sir,” Eric said. “Ricky was totally fooled.”
    Ricky chuckled. “Yeah, he’s right, I was positive there was a real live zombie down here.”
    “ Well, now you know the answer so you can go. Follow me, and give an old soul a second longer, these old bones aren’t as young as you are,” Mr. Rollin said as he headed for the basement steps.
    Ricky grabbed his flashlight where it still lay on the floor and the two boys followed Mr. Rollin.
    He led the two boys up the stairs to the first floor and then to the front door. Both Eric and Ricky took in all they could see and were surprised to see the first floor was neat and clean. Everything was in its place, the house immaculate. It appeared only the outside needed some upkeep. Mr. Rollin walked the two boys outside, then to the gate of the wrought iron fence where he unlocked it for them so they could leave like houseguests.
     
     
    “ So long, boys. Despite how you arrived, I’m glad you dropped by. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have company and now that I have, I have to say I’ve missed it. I’ll see you tomorrow with your friends. I bet when you’re done, the old homestead won’t look the same.”
    “ No, sir, it won’t, you’ll see,” Ricky said as he and Eric waved goodnight.
    Mr. Rollin closed his gate and shuffled back into his house. As he closed the front door, he showed a smile, something he hadn’t worn in many a year.
    As Ricky and Eric walked back to the cul-de-sac and their prospective homes, Eric stopped Ricky and pointed back to the old house.
    “ Well, Ricky, so much for your zombie. What do you have to say for yourself?”
    Ricky gave one of his patented shrugs. “Nothing,