It was a typical Midsummer day as watered the plants hanging off the front porch of our mobile home. My daughter was lounging around in her bedroom with their headset on.
"God! I wish we could get enough money to move out of this shit hole. The neighbors are so loud we can't get any sleep, none of the people I know want to come around here. This is the worst fucking place in the world. Hmmm, my husband should be home around now," I thought to myself.
Just then I saw a car whip into the driveway and slam on its breaks, stirring up a cloud of dust. My husband jumped out of the driver's seat and rushed up to the porch with a big grin on his face.
He bounded up the steel steps of the porch. Wrapped his big arms around me and picked me up and swung me around.
"Oh hunny, oh baby. I've got the greatest news. That promotion I was supposed to get last year. Finally, it happened. It was supposed to happen last year. My boss told me there was some kind of mix up in the corporate and I never received it but, I got it now and he gave me a years worth of retro pay to make up for it. Here is the best part. That gated community a few miles away, peach Hills. There was an opening in it and I put a down payment on a house there. The real estate agent says we can move in right away. I know I should have waited to make this decision together but, I was so excited. Where's Judy? I got to tell her the good news."
"Oh, she's where she usually is doing what she usually does. Let's go tell her together and will have to tell mom too," my mother was living with us at the time, I said excitedly.
We told Judy the good news and she was as happy as I have ever seen an 18-year-old girl be. Jumping up and down and forgetting all about what she was listening to. Mom was just as happy to hear the good news also.
The next day we packed up all our belongings and headed the 5 miles over to peach Hills. We didn't have very much to pack as we didn't really plan on staying that long, even though it was over a year.
As we pulled into the driveway of a cute little white aluminium sided home, my jaw dropped open. It had flower boxes, shrubs planted all around it, and a neatly mowed yard. Judy jumped out and ran up to the door and started tugging on it.
"Hey, wait a minute. It's locked. I need to unlock it first," my husband shouted.
When he opened the door, she screamed out. "This is rad! Where's my room?"
My husband said to me, "I told you hunny, didn't I? It comes already furnished. Oh, and baby girl - your room is the last one down the hall."
Judy, excitedly, ran down the hall to her new bedroom and flopped right on the bed. Me and my husband started carrying in the boxes with our belongings in them.
After we moved in all the boxes and put their contents away I said, "I'm too tired to cook. Can we order some pizza?"
"Sure we can," my husband said, kissing me on the cheek.
"Mmmmm, mmmmm, this is so good. Why can't we do this more often?" My daughter mumbled out, mouth full of pizza.
As we finished the last bit of pizza the doorbell rang, startling us all. "Hunny could you get that," my husband asked?
I open the door and there stood three women. Two were my age and an elderly woman about my mother's age.
"Hi, we're your neighbors. I'm Karen and this is my mother Marge. We live next door. And this is Tina she lives on the other side of you. We would like to welcome you to the neighborhood. Oh, is this a bad time? We can come back."
"No, no, it fine," I assured them.
"Well, if it's okay. I'd like to tell you that the woman that used to live here, Tina, and Sue from across the street, all used to come over to my house for tea and cookies. If it's okay with you I would like you to take her place. You can come over tomorrow and bring your mother and daughter with you too. Your daughter and mine are about the same age. I'm sure they'll get along fine."
All of them seemed very nice and friendly. I thought it was a great way to meet the neighbors. Besides that, Judy needs to get out and meet some people. If I don't watch out. She'll just end up like she was in the other place, laying around listening to music all day.
The next day after "Mark" my husband went to work, Judy, my mother and I went next door for some tea and cookies. When we got there the house was filled with the aroma of fresh baked almond cookies.
Joyfully Karen welcomed us in. "I'm so glad you could come. This here is Sue and you already know Tina and my mother. In this here is my daughter Becky," Karen said with a big grin. "You're just in time. I just took a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven."
"I've seen you at school," Becky said to Judy. Judy nodded back at her. I was pretty sure these two were going to hit it off right away.
"Let's all sit over here," Karen motioned toward the dining room.
We all sat around and oval-shaped table. Karen came carrying a platter with a teapot and cups. Tina came carrying a platter with a plate full of cookies. "Dig in. Don't everybody be modest," our host said loudly.
We all poured our own tea. Each of us grabbed a cookie. "Oh, this tea is just heavenly and these cookies are so good. You'll have to give me the recipe," I told Karen.
In
After we had finished the tea and the cookies all disappeared. Karen announced, "well enough chitchat, let's go downstairs and get down to business."
"Yeah, I'm going to need this badly," Sue exclaimed rubbing her crotch.
Sue and Tina practically ran for the basement door with Marge not far behind. Karen urged me and my mother to follow them.