Summary

In “The Grape Man,” after Crosley’s roommate moved away, she found an apartment on her own (118). Upon moving in, she met the neighbor who lived below her, “Don, a sixty-something man” with a penchant for gardening (118). Unlike most New Yorkers, Don had an outdoor space he took care of. He insisted that if his grapes took over her window, Crosley should tell him so he could trim them. When he caught her pruning the vines with scissors and a cleaver, he encouraged her to pick and eat the grapes. Delighted by the fruit, Crosley left Don a bottle of wine. The wine initiated a gift exchange, and the neighbors began leaving one another tokens outside their doors. Unlike many neighbors, Don was “considerate without being intrusive” (122). Therefore, when Crosley returned home one day to find a note on...