“Mum, we’re early!”
That hurt more than I expected.
A six-year-old should not be excited because his own driveway is usable.
We got to school 12 minutes before the gate opened.
Ben looked at me in the rearview mirror.
“Do I still get a late mark?”
“No.”
He smiled.
That was worth the 5:30 alarm by itself.
I arrived at work early too.
My manager, Karen, stared at me.
“Everything okay?”
“Neighbor problem.”
“The car?”
I’d had to explain it after the third late morning.
“Handled.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Legally?”
“Very.”
“Good.”
Then she handed me a coffee.
I thought that was the end.
It wasn’t.
Of course it wasn’t.
That evening, Denise knocked on our door.
My husband, Mark, answered.
He knew nothing.
I’d deliberately kept the whole plan from him because Mark is a decent man with one major flaw.
He believes almost every conflict can be solved by “just having a calm chat.”
Sometimes it can.
Sometimes you’ve already had six.
I was in the kitchen when I heard Denise say, “I need to speak to your wife.”
Mark looked back at me.
“What happened?”
“Long story.”
Denise heard.
“She had my car nearly towed.”
Mark slowly turned toward me.
“You what?”
“Nearly.”
Denise said, “She waited until I was asleep and called parking enforcement.”
Mark looked from her to me.
“Why?”
I crossed my arms.
“Because she blocked the driveway again.”
He sighed.
“Denise.”
She immediately said, “It was six in the morning!”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
That surprised me.
Mark came fully outside.
“How many times have I asked you not to park there?”
She looked irritated.
“I don’t know.”
“At least four.”
I blinked.
“What?”
He glanced at me.
“I asked her too.”
“When?”
“Couple of weeks ago.”
I hadn’t known that.
Denise said, “You were nicer about it.”
Mark’s eyebrows rose.
“Apparently it didn’t work.”
I loved him a little extra for that.
Denise looked at me.
“You cost me money.”
“No. Parking illegally cost you money.”
“You knew I would move it.”
“I knew you would move it if there were consequences.”
Her face tightened.
“You embarrassed me in front of the street.”
I looked past her.
Nobody was outside.
“At 6:30 in the morning?”
“People saw.”
“Your car has embarrassed my children in front of their class three times.”
She laughed in disbelief.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
I felt my anger rise.
Then Mark touched my arm.
