(All persons engaged in sexual activity are over 18 years old and any similarities between this story and real life are purely coincidental.)
*****
I love the little neighborhood I live in just outside San Diego, California. I leveraged an inheritance I received when my father passed away many years ago and purchased my home at the age of 25 after graduating with my MBA. 20 years later, I was still single, which was probably better given my busy international travel schedule and my proclivity toward inviting hot women over to my home. But, despite being single and having no other family in California, my neighbors were great and treated me like a member of their families.
To the left of my place were the Poole's. Susan and Tim were about my age, but that is where the similarities stopped. We moved in within a few months of each other, but they quickly set the pace for procreating. The Poole's are Mormons and had apparently entered some contest to see who could visit the maternity ward at the local hospital the most. 20 years later, they had 6 kids ranging from 18 down to 5. I know they didn't approve of my lifestyle, but for the sake of neighborly peace, they kept their conservative beliefs to themselves. Besides a slight shake of the head and look of disdain when we would meet in the front yard as one of my latest "female friends" was coming over or leaving, they were very gracious to me. And their children always kept me laughing, buying badly made lemonade at their sidewalk stand, or investing in their latest school fundraiser.
To the right of my place was Bill and Joan. Retired when I moved in, they were now in their 80's and always watched over my place and took care of things while I was gone. Joan's cooking could rival anyone you might watch on one of those cooking shows and there was always a plate of cookies, loaf of chocolate chip banana-nut bread, or some other homemade delight for me to munch on.
Bill had become a surrogate father to me over the years. In the presence of Joan he would always nod when she encouraged me to "quit looking and just pick one" (woman), but when we'd work in the yard or on a project together, he always loved to hear about my latest escapades. He taught me many things my father never had the chance to impart to me, and was a voice of reason and wisdom when I needed it. We drank the same beer and when Joan told him he had to take a few days off from drinking, he'd sneak over to my place to have a cold one. She always knew.
Bill and Joan had adopted two Korean children as infants, Annie and Bill Jr. They were happy I was around to keep an eye on their parents; helping out with home repairs or lifting something heavy after Bill would give up saying, "it isn't really too heavy, it's just awkward." Bill Jr. was serving in the Army in Germany and rarely visited, but Annie, her husband, and their little boy Zach lived in Austin, Texas, and came out to San Diego from time to time.
Bill Jr. was younger than me and married to a German woman who I had never met. The few times he came to San Diego, we always made time to golf, head to a Padres game, or drive up to LA for a basketball game, and hit up the local sports bars to drink and eat to excess. He had a "you can read the menu, but you can't eat out" policy on checking out other women and always loved to hear stories of my latest flings.
Annie had grown up in San Diego and still had a lot of friends who lived in the area. Whenever Annie and her family came out to visit, we'd have some great parties in the greenbelt area behind our homes that included a man-made lagoon. We would play volleyball, badminton, corn hole and any number of other games while we bar-b-q'd and shared side dishes.
Annie was a petite, cute Korean woman, but generally plain and not a head-turner. She had shoulder length hair that was just straight and black and, while she had nice legs, there was nothing memorable about her small frame. She was very sweet and we always had a great time when they visited. Her husband Trevor was very friendly, but always struck me as an odd-duck. I'm sure most of it had to do with our differences growing up.
I played sports throughout high school and college; earning a full-ride scholarship to college in baseball that paid for my education. I was 6' 4" and stayed in pretty good shape at 220 pounds. I golfed a lot and did just about any other outdoor adventure sport I could find time for. Trevor was about 5' 8", an accountant, and seemed quite feminine. He didn't follow any sports, but knew a lot about fashion and culture trends. Our conversations were always short. His father-in-law didn't like him, often saying, "why can't be more like you, John?"
Having just returned from a two-week business jaunt to the east coast, I was sitting in Bill and Joan's backyard enjoying an evening cocktail and catching up on life in the neighborhood since I'd been gone. Joan, the unofficial expert on everyone's business in the neighborhood, had all the latest dirt on people who parked in the visitor's spots, left their garbage cans out too long, and a whole host of other homeowner's association no-no's. Despite Joan's proclivity towards being the town gossip, they were like family to me and I missed them while I was gone.
"John, we have a favor to ask you," Joan started.
"Anything for you guys," I replied.
"Next month, for the long Memorial Day weekend, my sister, her new husband are going to be in the area. We haven't seen them for years and they are going to stay with us. We're so excited."
"Wow, that's great. I remember meeting them about 5 years ago. So, what do you need from me?"
"We had previously told Annie and the family to come out at the same time and well, is there any chance they could stay with you?"
"Of course! Are you kidding me? For sure."
"Thank you. That is so sweet of you."
After going home, I double checked my travel schedule to confirm I'd be home that weekend. I figured maybe I should bone up on the latest social media nonsense and watch a few Lifetime TV movies so I could hold a conversation with Trev. Just for fun, I clicked the channel from the NBA playoff game to the Lifetime channel and caught 5 minutes of a movie about a woman who fell in love with a poet who wrote about cats or something. After switching back I thought to myself, "There is no way in hell I could fake liking this shit."
A couple weeks later, after returning from a much needed week long, golf vacation in Hawaii, I saw Bill in his front yard watering the plants because "the damn automatic system just doesn't do the trick." I stood with him and filled him in on the local Hawaiian woman who made time to give me a few special massages after my golf rounds; ending my story abruptly when Joan came out.
"Hey John, it's good to have you back. How was your trip?"
"Very relaxing," I said as I winked at Bill.
"Good to hear. Did Bill fill you in on our family drama?"
"No, what?"
"That son-of-a-bitch son-in-law of mine left Annie and Zach high and dry."
"What? He left them?"
"For a fucking dude. Seems my suspicions about that pretty boy were always true," Bill said, drawing a dirty look from Joan.
"Oh that sucks. How is she?"
"She's fine. Says she always knew. She'll move on," Joan said.
"Is she still coming to visit in a few weeks," I asked?
"Yes, her and Zach will be here. They can still stay with you, right," Joan asked?
"Of course."
I retrieved my mail they'd kept while I was gone and headed into my house. "I can cross 'trying to be more in touch with my feminine side' off my list without Trev coming," I laughed to myself.
The day before Memorial Day weekend came and I stopped by to see Joan as she asked me to, "Hey Joan, what's up?"
"Oh John, I am so flustered and busy getting ready for my sister, Alberta, to arrive and I am so behind. That lazy Bill is no help."
"How can I help, Joan?"
"Can you run to the airport tomorrow night and pick up Annie and Zach?"
"Say no more, give me her phone number and I'll get the information from her."
"I am going to cook you a truckload of my banana bread for this you wonderful saint," Joan said engulfing me in a hug.
I texted Annie a little later on:
