My name is Max. Actually it's Maximus Steward. I think my parents were out of their minds when they named me. It's November 2018. I'm 26 year old and I was just dumped by my fiancé three months before we were scheduled to be married. She cited numerous reasons and concerns but truth be told I think she was already cheating on me.
Her parents were very upset and rightfully so. They stood to lose their deposit money plus had to face the humiliating task of letting their friends know that their precious daughter's wedding was cancelled. Now for normal folks like me, that wouldn't seem to be all that important in the grand scheme of things. But the Jenkins family was no ordinary family. They were descended from the Boston Adams lineage.
They were very wealthy, belonged to exclusive clubs, attended the finest universities etc....you know the type. In fact that's how I met their daughter, my ex fiancé, Emma. We both attended the same university, well kinda. I was attending Duke University law school while Emma was an undergraduate. We met, dated, had sex, and decided that marriage was the next step. Well actually she decided that.
Looking back at my situation, I am not terribly upset with the cancellation. We were from two different worlds. I came from an upper middle class family in Jacksonville, Florida while she grew up in the exclusive conclave of Mamaroneck, NY located right on Long Island Sound.
For me it was almost a feeling of relief when she told me that she was calling off the wedding. Sure I feigned being upset and shocked but deep down I was feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. Actually a couple of times I had to try real hard not to smirk as I noticed she was getting upset that I wasn't being more upset.
Her parents tried very hard to convince me to be patient with Emma. They said she was acting tempestuous and would soon find her way back to me. I listened patiently, as I liked both of them, but in the end I knew in my heart of hearts that I was done with Emma. C'est la vie.
Armed with a law degree from Duke University I decided to head back home to Florida. I stayed with my parents until I passed the Florida State Bar exam. It was nice to spend time at home but after a couple of months I was ready to leave.
While staying with my parents I spent a lot of time researching where I wanted to live and practice law. I was of the mind set that I would try to start up a small law practice out of my house until I was fully able to fund an outside office. I wanted to be a lawyer that handled small disputes for common people who otherwise would not have any additional recourse.
Certainly a challenging way to earn money but money has never been my driving force. Helping people is what motivates me. I know it's very naive of me to think that way but I am a very principled man.
I decided to buy a modest home in Estero, Florida. Estero is just North of Naples on Florida's southwest coast. While not as pricey as Naples it is a cute community that offered a lot of amenities located nearby. My parents lent me the money to buy the house with a full cash offer.
The neighborhood was fairly new and very nice. The house was a 3BR/2bath with an attached 2 car garage. It had a caged lanai with a pool and spa. The house was move in ready which was a big plus. Once I was fully situated I went to my neighbors on each side of me and introduced myself.
One neighbor was a young couple, Tom and Beth, a little older than me with two children. They seemed nice and welcomed me to the neighborhood. The other neighbor was an older woman, probably in her mid fifties. Sherry, was the type that knew everything that went on in the neighborhood. I made a mental note to tap into that knowledge to see if I could get any new clients.
The next morning I woke and went for a run. It was still winter so the morning temperature was crisp and inviting for a workout. As I ran through the neighborhood I saw a lot of people out and about, all of them friendly, waving hello as I ran past them. Some of them very attractive which also caught my attention. As I was walking back to my house I ran into Sherry out front.
"Max, you are already the talk of the neighborhood. All the women are calling me asking who my new handsome neighbor is? Looks like you have gotten everyone's attention."
I grinned, wagged my finger and said, "Sherry, you aren't exaggerating a little are you?"
She smiled and said, "Listen Max you are a handsome young man. There are a lot of divorcées that would love to snatch you up. Young and old they are coming after you. I'm just giving you a heads up."
I laughed, "Okay Sherry, thanks for the heads up. By the way what's going on with that house?" I pointed to a house directly across the street that looked as if it was abandoned or in foreclosure.
"Oh pay no attention to that. Kit moved in two years ago after her husband divorced her. She doesn't get out much these days. Every once in awhile she'll hire someone to mow the yard and do some repairs."
I glanced over there and felt sorry that anyone would be in that much despair. "Is she all alone? Doesn't she have friends or family nearby?" I asked.
Sherry gave me a cliff notes version of Kit's life, "I think she is in her late 30's. She has a daughter who is away at college. I don't think her daughter visits much. As for friends, I try to stop by and check on her but she has become a bit of recluse. Max, you stay away from her. You can have the pick of the litter right now and you will do much better than wasting your time with her."
I laughed and said, "Sherry I'm just concerned, I'm not looking to date her or for that matter anyone else."
I sat down and relaxed. The neighborhood seemed to be a non stop hub of activity. I looked out my window and I couldn't stop thinking about Kit being all alone. It didn't seem right to me. Seeing it was still morning, I decided I would do a good neighborly deed and mow Kit's yard. I grabbed my AirPods and went outside.
As I pushed my lawn mower across the street I wondered if Sherry was looking out the window yelling at me to go back. I laughed at the thought and started to mow her yard. The grass was pretty long so it took longer than expected.
Thankfully her yard was not very big. An hour later I finished mowing so I started to rake the grass clippings into piles. Once finished I grabbed a couple of plastic bags for the grass clippings and filled them up. I started to walk back when I heard a soft voice, "Excuse me. How much do I owe you?" I turned around and saw a woman standing in the door.
I smiled as I approached her and said, "I'm your new neighbor from across the street. My name is Max" and I extended my hand. She hesitated at first before she reached across and softly shook my hand.
She said, "I'm Kit, thank you for mowing my lawn. How much do I owe you?"
I smiled and said, "Kit it's nice to meet you. You don't owe me anything. I had free time on my hands."
From what I could tell she looked to be an attractive woman. I thought to myself that there has to be more to this woman than meets the eye. She said, "Thank you. Can I get you some water?"
I answered, "That would be great Kit. Thank you."
She said, "Come inside out of that hot sun and I'll get you some water."
Well that was a nice first step. It seems like she was comfortable enough with me to ask me in. Maybe Sherry got it wrong. She didn't seem like a recluse. I waited inside the door and noticed the house was a mess, not dirty mind you but just kind of discombobulated.
She came back from the kitchen with a glass of ice cold water, "Here you go. Pardon the mess. I wasn't expecting company."
"Kit that's quite all right. Thanks for the glass of water. It really hits the spot. I guess it was hotter than I expected."
