Nice Men

You aren’t used to this, are you?

You aren't used to any form of kindness. So when he holds out his hand you are hesitant. Your mother always warned you about men with perfect teeth who smell like pine trees.

"That's how they get you," she said. "They make you think they are your home. Only once you have signed the lease do you notice the bars on the windows." 

Maybe that is why you ignore him.

He looks disappointed.

"Because you didn’t fall for his tricks," your mother says.

You tell her to mind her own business.