Camilla lets her new neighbor, Claire, use her grill… until she returns home to a backyard disaster.
When she asks for basic respect, her neighbor demands that Camilla follow her rules.
But when Camilla exposes the truth online, the fallout is far worse than anyone expected. Some lessons are only learned the hard way.
When my new neighbor, Claire, moved in six months ago, I thought she was normal. Like just a woman who would stay in her lane and not disturb the neighborhood too much.
I mean, she was in her 40s, lived with her 16-year-old son, Adam, and at first, she seemed chill.
Friendly, even. I lent her a ladder, and a garden hose, and even let her use our outdoor grill station when we weren’t home.
I didn’t think much of it. It’s just being neighborly, right?
Wrong.
One weekend, my husband, David, and I took the kids to visit my parents.
“We can have a date night while your parents take over with Grandma and Grandpa duty,” David said, packing snacks for the two-hour drive.
I had to admit, I was ready to get out of town for a while.
I had been feeling restless, and I just wanted a change of scenery before I started to feel suffocated.
We were gone for two days.
And when we got back?
My God.
Our backyard looked like it had survived a frat house BBQ apocalypse.
There were empty beer bottles littering the patio, my potted plants were turned upside down, and the kids’ toys were thrown everywhere. Grease stains covered the deck. Our once beautiful grill station looked like it had barely survived an explosion.
I stood there, staring at the mess, my eye twitching.
Deep breaths, Camilla, I told myself.
Maybe there’s an actual explanation for this.
So, I went next door and knocked. Claire answered, still in pajamas, looking completely unbothered.
“Oh, yeah,” she said, laughing. “That was Adam’s birthday party.
You know kids, right? It’s just what they do.”
I blinked. My brain felt like it was ticking away.
That’s just what kids do?
Was she mad? Didn’t she see the mess? What the hell?!
“My backyard isn’t a public park, Claire.
You could’ve at least cleaned up.”
“Oh, don’t be so uptight, Camilla,” she said, shrugging. “It’s just a little mess. You’ll get over it.
Surely, you and your husband can use a hose? A little bit of water will clear that up.”
I could have thrown something at her.
Oh, I’ll get over it? Um, sure.
I went back to my home, trying to figure out what to do.
I could be reasonable, or I could be erratic and make Claire pay.
“What’s that look on your face?” David asked as I walked into the kitchen. “Found the culprit?”
“It was Adam’s birthday party. Apparently, that’s how he spent it.”
“Isn’t he, like, sixteen?” David asked, making me a cup of tea.
“Something like that,” I said, getting the jar of biscuits.
“Oh my goodness. Underage drinking! There are so many beer bottles out there.”
David looked at me and laughed.
“Every kid does it at least once, Cami,” he said.
“But, I mean… you could use that as leverage, right? To scare the kid?”
I nodded.
“But I want Claire to feel something, too. She told me that we could just hose down the mess and that I’d get over it.”
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