I switch the screen so I can watch what’s happening outside. It’s a bright red Mustang. But not a new one. It’s an older model but shiny enough to assume it’s been recently restored. It’s still too far away for me to make out the driver.
Ben heads to the front door just as the Mustang stops in front of the house. The driver gets out and approaches Ben. He’s Black, about the same height as Ben but a stockier build. He’s dressed in jeans and a button-down.
Ben’s frustration is long gone and he’s nothing but smiles as he slaps the guy on the back and acts happy to see him.
“Eddie, good to see you,” Ben says. You wouldn’t know he wasn’t being genuine unless you’d witnessed his reaction at the man’s arrival.
They shake hands.
“Wasn’t sure if I’d catch you at home but took the chance on surprising you,” Eddie says.
“Oh, you surprised him, Eddie,” I whisper to the screen.
They walk to the Mustang and spend several minutes looking it over, even going so far as popping the hood. They’re clearly talking about the car, but they’re too far away for the camera’s mic to pick up their conversation.
I study them, trying to figure out what is going on. Is Ben considering buying this car? Hank is the one who loves old cars and fixing them up, not Ben. Ben is a “brand-new, straight off the lot” kind of guy, so I’m completely stumped.
After a few minutes, Ben gets in the driver’s seat while Eddie takes the passenger side and they drive away.
What the heck? Where are they going?
I stare at the screen for several minutes while I debate what to do. Surely they’re coming right back after a spin in that car.
Not long after Ben left in the Mustang, another vehicle comes down the driveway. It’s an old brown work truck with a huge toolbox mounted on the bed.
Who is this?
The truck stops almost exactly where the Mustang was parked. The driver gets out and I don’t recognize him either. He’s a tall white guy.Lanky. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, but it’s hard to make out too many details since he’s wearing a ball cap and it’s pulled low over his face.
This guy takes out his phone and walks across the front yard toward the side of the house where the garage sits. Then he disappears from view.
“Where’d he go?”
A moment later I hear the familiar rattle of the garage door opening.
Oh my God! How did he get the garage open? Is he breaking into our house?
I stand up quickly, iPad gripped in my hands, and pace around in a tight circle. I pull up the camera in the kitchen that will show the door that leads to the garage, waiting to see if he comes inside.
Almost two minutes pass and there’s no sign of him. And then I hear the garage door lower.
My heart is racing.
I try to sit back down but I’m too nervous, so I continue my pacing while I wait for him to appear on the front porch camera again.
And there he is, casually walking across the lawn back to his truck, where he leans against the lowered tailgate.
Before I can even think about what any of this means, the Mustang pulls back into the driveway.
The white guy waves as the car inches closer.
Does Ben know him? Did he give him a remote to the garage?
Ben parks the Mustang in the overflow spot near the garage and the white guy joins them as they get out of the car. He shakes hands with Ben and it’s clear that yes, he knows this man too.
Ben leads them toward the house and then into his office, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. “Shane, Eddie, have a seat.”
Okay, so new guy must be Shane.
