I know if you're reading this story, you already know I usually start with a wonderful compliment about my neighbor. I've been called whipped or a bit gullible when I talk about her. Go ahead. Call me those things. The thing is it doesn't change how wonderful she is or how well she treats me. Even after the last story when her sister popped in unexpectedly, she still made time to spend with me, albeit mostly at my place. It turns out her sister was trying to figure her life out after she and her husband separated. The mornings waking up together stopped for a while as well as some of the spontaneous things. One thing I know is that I was just happy to have her when I could.
This changed a bit a few weeks later. I was working on an email to my assistant when I received a text from my neighbor. She simply told me to come over when I could. This felt different. So, I finished my email before heading over. I was wearing my usual uniform at that time (black sweatpants, red t-shirt, flip flops) and walked straight to her front door. Before I made it, I saw a different car in the driveway. I knew it wasn't my neighbor's considering the amount of stuff we did in hers. I also knew it wasn't her sister's because hers was sitting in front of the curb. So, for the sake of modesty, I knocked on the door. The door was opened, and I saw her sister instead.
"Morning, Leo,"
I looked at her skeptically before she smiled.
"My sister told me about calling you an alias in case it gave me bad memories about an ex. Sorry she didn't tell you."
She laughed a bit as I seemed to be relieved. It was then I saw the face of her estranged husband as well. He was smiling and held out his hand as I entered.
"Glad to see you albeit unexpectedly. I came by to talk Monica into coming back. I hope she didn't make things difficult for you."
"No, everything was alright. I always say family comes first. Where's..."
She walked in just as I was about to ask where she was. She had a grin on her face as she walked over and kissed my cheek before snaking her arm around me. We all adjourned to the kitchen where my neighbor was just finishing making some coffee. As we all partook of some, I found out that her husband, Don was ready to do whatever it took to keep Monica. This made me smile and a bit of proud that they were going to try to salvage their relationship. Call me a hopeless romantic. It was a little while later that I helped Monica load her car so they could be on their way. It was while I was loading that she looked at me and smiled.
