Not particularly a lover of nature, Danny leaves that task to the gardener. His neighbor, Harry Brown, is tending flowerbeds. It is carefully parked in a specific spot so that he can get maximum efficiency from the hose. Even the placement of the car is – to his mind – just right. Sponges, clean rags, a plastic pail, the garden hose, Turtle Wash and Wax, a Dust Buster, and finally cleaners for the glass, the vinyl, the leather upholstery, the chrome, and especially the tires – the car will not be to his liking until the tires gleam – not like new, but shining beyond newness. His equipment, too, is laid out carefully.

His old tennis shoes go on his bare feet, and he feels like he is ready to go back in time and play Frisbee in Hollis Quad. He probably wouldn’t have anyway, but with it hanging out no one can see if the snap on his shorts has opened. He doesn’t tuck his Grateful Dead T-shirt in. He has to suck in his stomach to snap them shut, and they have long ago stopped feeling comfortable, but they represent his youth so he won’t throw them out. Danny always changes into his cutoff jeans, the last pair he has left from college. First they get ready, which starts with the right clothes. People like Danny O’Brien don't just wash their cars – they bathe them with deliberation. “Widow’s Walk” is a novel about starting life over, about middle-age love, about the Irish American experience, and about the role of faith, love, and responsibility in our lives

Widow's Walk by Kenneth Weene