"Did you see the new neighbors next door?" my wife Ashley asked from across the table, "It's good to finally get some diversity in this neighborhood."
I looked up from my phone and out the bay window. A black guy was moving a table from the back of a U Haul while a black woman stood near the front door, holding it open so he could get it in the house.
"I told you we needed to leave that sign up," she continued, "Now they know we are good people and can feel comfortable around us. I expect you to be on your best behavior and make them feel welcome."
I nodded and slightly rolled my eyes. My wife, bless her heart, proudly put up this Black Lives Matter sign in the front yard a few years ago. Whenever I asked if it was time to take it down she denied me and said that since it was such a white neighborhood it was more important that we keep it up than if it was a diverse one. I knew she meant well, but the progressive streak she developed in the last few years was a little annoying sometimes. Certain jokes were off limits, other things soundly be talked about, it was all a little strange and new to me. At a minimum though, I knew it meant that we were going to have to hang out with the new neighbors and she wanted to be friends.
"I am going to work out, I think you should go introduce yourself to them," she said in a tone that was more of a command than an ask. "Maybe offer a hand. It looks like it's just the two of them."
I nodded again, then watched her walk out of the living room towards the gym room. Even after 6 years of marriage, she still had a great ass. She kept in shape, and the grey bike shorts she was wearing were skin tight below her bare midriff and loose cutoff shirt. The lack of underwear lines gave away the fact that she was wearing a thong.
My eyes followed her ass until she was out of the room. I then peered out the window to check out the new neighbors. The guy looked tall and fit and was deftly moving the furniture off the back of the truck. Dark skinned, with a white tank top and gym shorts on, he looked strong and was easily moving around large pieces of furniture. The wife was pretty, petite, with long curly hair and a nice body. A great ass and shapely thighs filled out her black yoga pants nicely.
After a few minutes I decided I should at least stick my head outside and see if they wanted a hand. I opened the door, went to the sidewalk and introduced myself. They introduced themselves and we shook hands, but you could kind of tell they felt like I was bothering them, that they thought it was weird I even came of the house to say anything. I just got that vibe. It didn't help that our handshake was super awkward.
Their names were Tyrone and Jenelle. When I asked if they needed a hand they said no, so I headed back inside, saying to ring they bell if the needed anything.
It was a nice, quiet neighborhood. The houses were on the bigger side, and expensive, with a nice school district. They were the first black family I saw move in here since we bought our house about 5 years ago. My mind wandered and i found myself wondering if they would fit in, but then I went back to browsing my phone on the couch.
A little while later my wife came back in, hair and shirt wet with sweat. She asked if I introduced myself and I said I did. I was honest and told her that it came off like I was bothering them, so she went into some lecture I heard before about how black people don't always feel comfortable around white people, and it was probably my fault. She said I needed to "do better" and then said she was going to take a shower.
"Care for me to join you?" I asked, giving her a bit of a wink and nod.
"No, not today," she said, "I just don't feel great. I have a headache. I'll be down in a bit and then we can have dinner."
I was disappointed but not surprised. She never wanted to shower together, and we rarely had sex these days. After she came out of the shower we ate, watched some TV, and went to bed.
A week or so later I was mowing the lawn in the back and saw Tyrone was working in his yard, trimming some hedges and pulling weeds. It was hot out. I was dripping sweat, and he was shirtless. He was jacked. Big arms, shoulders and pecs. I found myself wishing that Ashley never saw this guy like this.
Once that thought crossed my mind, I felt a little emasculated, which quickly turned into resentment towards them moving in. Then Ashley popped into my mind. She wouldn't want me thinking like that. Even though it wasn't a race thing, that kind of thinking wasn't cool. I decided to swallow my pride and try to make friends.
I waved and he awkwardly waved back. He was working hard in the yard, pulling weeds and some other yard yard work. When I got by the fence on his side of the yard, I decided to try to be friendly, like my wife would want.
"Pretty hot out huh," I said, instantly regretting my dumb conversation starter.
"Uh yeah," he replied with a forced laugh, looking up from the weeds he was pulling. "Pretty hot out." He went back to what he was doing. Sweat glistened against his dark skin, accentuating his big arms and chest. It dripped off his face and body onto the ground as he worked.
"Uhh do you want to come in and grab a beer in a little bit? Cool off and we can get to know each other a little bit?" I felt so awkward, "New neighbors and all that."
"Yeah, sure. That'd be cool," he replied without looking up. "I need like 20 minutes or so."
"Same here," I said, sounding more enthusiastic than I probably was about it, "I'll meet you in the front in a bit." Ashley was going to be happy, even if I wasn't completely stoked about it. She was out running some errands, but I knew that she would like that I was doing this. Maybe when she came home Tyrone and I would be hanging out like old friends.
I finish mowing, take out the clippings, and go wait on my front step. It took him a little while longer to finish up, so I just sat there on my phone for a bit. I felt awkward. I never introduced myself to any of the other neighbors. I was generally a pretty shy guy that didn't really even like socializing with or even knowing the neighbors. Then I caught a glimpse of the back of the BLM sign on our front step and felt embarrassed for myself. Oh well. At least my wife will appreciate it.
Eventually he came walking up, dabbing his sweaty face with a white t-shirt. He was still shirtless. I started to really regret the whole thing. He was too good looking to be in my house shirtless. Maybe he would put his shirt on. I didn't want Ashley to see what great shape he was in.
"Hey thanks man, I am dying for an ice cold drink right now," he said.