I live on the outskirts of Charlotte. It's not suburban or rural, ruban, maybe? Just enough distance between neighbors so you can have all the privacy you want. Not enough distance so you can get to know your neighbors if you want. That's what this story is about, my neighbors. They moved into a large house down the road that had been vacant for more than a year. It was slow selling because the house and property are large, and that means money. There weren't too many buyers in the market for property at that price point then.
My wife and I were in our early sixties at the time and married more than forty years. The kids are grown with children of their own. With the few glimpses I had of my new neighbors I guessed they were in their late thirties, early forties, my kids' ages. It was hard to tell at that distance.
Being retired I spend a lot of time puttering around the house and yard. My wife still works. While I knew she wanted to retire the prospect of dealing with me 24/7 was too daunting so she kept working to get some breathing room. I noticed that my new neighbors were around pretty much all day, every day so my curiosity had me trying to figure out their situation. Either they worked out of the house, had money or both.
My wife and kids have always accused me of over-analyzing things. It certainly was true in this case. What did they do to afford that house and a stay-at-home lifestyle? Who were these people? There just wasn't enough information to be had watching them to put it all together. To get more meant I had to introduce myself. This is not easy for me because I am not a social person. In other words, I am somewhat introverted. But the older I get the less I become.
About a month after they moved in I made it a point to catch the new guy at the mailbox. He introduced himself as Bill, and his wife as Judy. He seemed like a nice guy, so nice that I invited them over for drinks to give us a chance to get to know one another. He accepted.
Predictably, my wife didn't like the idea of company on a weekday night but I told her I would take care of everything. What's not to like? I called Bill and explained her need to go to bed early and that to make it an early evening we had to start before dinner. I found out he drank beer and Judy white wine. My plans now included an outdoor grilled, dry-rub flank steak. It's easy to prepare and delicious to eat.
Bill and Judy arrived at six. I set them up with wine and beer on the patio and we made light conversation for about fifteen minutes until my wife came in from work. After brief introductions she excused herself to change and freshen up. She joined us a few minutes later.
It was a pleasant evening and I accomplished my objective. I found out that they ran an Internet business out of their home, and according to them it was very lucrative. They were married ten years and made their money from their business. They seemed to be normal folks but normal people didn't look as good as they did. He was just over average height and weight, trim and with regular features. So regular that I'd call him handsome. A good looking guy as evidenced by my wife quickly warming to him. She even liked Judy. Normally she is wary of women thinking they all want to lure me into bed. People like attractive people. Even so, my wife didn't embarrass me.
Judy had her hair in a ponytail and wore jeans with a tucked-in, white oxford shirt. She was a redhead with wavy, not frizzy hair. I have always been a sucker for red hair. Even scrubbed clean with no makeup it was clear that she was very pretty and when dolled up God only knew how pretty she could be. With a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose I would err on the side of calling her beautiful. Like her husband, she was above average height. Weight is always a tricky thing with women so I can't say that she was average, whatever that is. Let's just say she was trim, too. Nice and curvy, but it was hard to tell just how much with a blousy oxford shirt that gave nothing away. The jeans weren't hugging her hips but they were tight on her thighs and being straight cut added to the impression of her being trim. They also gave an indication of her having long legs. I didn't embarrass myself, either. We called it a night by nine. This gave my wife a chance to get a good night's sleep for the following day's work. She enjoyed herself, too.
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A couple of days later Bill met me at the mailbox. He thanked me again for the dinner. They apparently enjoyed themselves, too. Enough that he said they would like to reciprocate. In the mean time he suggested I come over for a couple of beers in the afternoon. He was remodeling and needed another pair of hands to get some things done. I showed up after lunch.