the hired man

"I don't know what to do," the farmwife  said. "He never shows up when he's supposed to." There is a lot of work on the farm—horses, cows, fencing, haying—and then there are all the houses she rents out. They are a lot of work too. Especially the one she rents to the hired man and his family; he is several months behind in rent, and is supposed to be working it off. But he doesn't show up. The farmwife's kitchen, which he is meant to be renovating, looks like a demolition crew blasted through.
      "What did he say was the reason today?" I asked.
      "You will not believe this," she said. "He said he had to go to his appointment  with a psychiatrist. For depression."
      "What's the problem?"
      "He says," she wailed, "the reason he's depressed is because he owes me money!"

NB This photo does not picture the hired man. It is meant to be  evocative.