Ever
since a couple of years ago, I’ve been involved in a sort of feud against a
woman living three houses up the street and her two sons, all because they sometimes use my parking
spot.
Granted,
it isn’t like I ALWAYS have this problem, but when I do, it’s always their car
in front of my house, well, one of the three cars they own. I have a hard time
understanding why they just don’t park
a few yards down the block where they won’t take someone else’s parking spot.
Once, they left their broken down car for over a week in front of my house, and
I had to insist they called a mechanic or else I’d have it removed. Three days
later, they obliged, but my patience had already run out.
After
that, every other month I will go home to find either of their cars in front of
my house, problem to which I’ve had different approaches, such as asking
nicely, demanding, or just telling them and explaining how this is a problem
for me, and even left them a short letter saying what I’ve already said before.
Anyways,
last Saturday, I came home from work and yes, you guessed it, there was their
car in front of my house. I was in no mood to deal with them so I just ignored
it, since I knew I was going out in a bit and also wouldn’t be back till late
at night, I sort of hoped they’d move it by then. But when I came back at one
in the morning it was still there, and I had no choice but park my car down the
street on the next block. Full disclosure: as I passed the car I might have ever
so slightly scratched it with my keys. It wasn’t even that noticeable, but at
least I know it’s there.
The
next morning I noticed they’d moved their car, but someone else parked there,
but I could tell those people would leave soon, and so I decided I’d just use a
block brick I sometimes place in my spot so as to discourage people from
parking there as a sign that it’s taken, since I was about to go out anyways,
but I just didn’t want to see a parked car there when I would come back. Just
as I was about to put my shoes on and head outside I heard the motor of a car
suddenly turning off, and it was the woman and her son who had just parked
there, again.
I didn’t want to lose a second so, from my
bedroom window I asked them to move the car. The woman agreed and said they’d
move it as soon as they got their groceries out. And then this happened:
Woman
neighbor: Do you like sauce?
Me:
… Excuse me?
WN:
Yes, hot sauce… Do you eat spicy food?
Me:
I guess…
WN:
Alright, then. I’m making hot sauce anyway, so I’ll be right back with some for
you.
Me
(to myself): What just happened?
A
little later, after her son moved their car and I decided not to move mine from
my spot right away like I had previously planned, the woman came knocking at my
door with a plate of tortillas and a mug with hot tomato sauce, which she
handed me with a smile. Now, some might think that it was a peace offering in
an attempt to bury the hatchet, but to tell you the truth I wasn’t buying.
If
anything this is the vibe I got from her.
I’m
pretty sure there were crushed laxative pills mixed in it, and/ or she had both
her sons spit on it. So, I decided to go with my gut and not have any of the hot
sauce. It was a bit of a shame because it actually smelled really nice, but I
wasn’t risking it. Even my Mom told me to throw it away. Was I wrong? Was I wise? I may never know,
but the thing is, how could I trust a woman who has always been rude to me,
encouraging her sons to be offensive and disrespectful towards me?
Either
way, I did the polite thing to do, which is what my Mom taught me, whenever
someone hands you a plate of some sort, when you return the recipient you must
never ever give It back empty. I’ve read that in some countries to not give
something back will bring bad luck, but my Mom says it is simple common sense.
I
gave both dishes back two days after the whole incident with a cute display of
assorted cookies. I said ‘Thank you for the hot sauce, it was very good, indeed’
and then I left. That way, if she was genuinely being nice she will see I was
nice, too. If she wasn’t, well then she’ll see I’m a better person than she is,
even if I didn’t really eat her sauce due to justified paranoia.
Either
way, I guess it’d be better to just be nice to her from now on, since we’ve
shared food now. At least until they are gone. Oh, I didn’t mention this
before, but they have a ‘FOR SALE’ sign on their house, so I suppose they’ll be
moving soon. What if that was a final
attempt at harming me before they go? Or maybe she meant to leave on a good
note? See? I can’t decide what her true intentions were. Ugh, I better forget
it.
Still,
I’m glad I didn’t think of doing the same to her, like maybe rubbing the
chocolate cookies on my dog’s butt. Just thinking of what kind of karma that would bring makes me shudder.
Image via
