It was a nice day.
Lizzy and I were sitting on the balcony and sipping our tea with crackers.
I looked at my wife, "It's so quiet and pleasant here. Remember the old days, when our children were little? They were running, shouting, fighting nonstop. I love it like this!"
She sighed, "Bob, I know what you are saying, but don't you think that it's TOO quiet now?"
"I don't know... Personally, I'd rather live without a lot of noise around."
"Honey, I guess I am different. Even with all the hassle, having other people close by allows interaction. You know what I mean, chatting, going to restaurants together."
"Yes dear, you always were more social then me."
As we were talking, a big U-haul truck, accompanied by a new BMW, approached the house next door.
This house has been empty for more than a year, since our former neighbors moved to Florida.
Three young guys opened the back door of the truck and began moving stuff toward the front door.
The BMW parked in the designated space and a woman came out. She was having on a big hat, that hid her face.
The woman rushed to the door and opened it for the workers, so they could bring the furniture and all the boxes in. Then she disappeared inside the house.
The workers completed their mission of emptying the truck and carrying everything to the house in 2 hours. When they were done, they left.
Lizzy and I thought that If the lady showed up outside, we'd invite her to drink tea with us, but she did not come out again.
...
Later in the evening Lizzy went to take a shower and I stayed in the living room.
My mind wandered.
I am 53 years old, 6'1", 190lbs. Three times a week I go to the local health facility for a 2 hours of treadmill, elliptical, weight lifting and swimming. I am a CPA, working mostly from home. I have a dedicated computer and several shelves with files of my clients (My children told me that everything could be stored in folders on my computer or in the cloud, but I am an old fashioned dude...).
My lovely wife Lizzy is 48, 5'4", 124lbs. She hardly goes to the same health facility, but she does yoga twice a week and loves to bike around the neighborhood every time the weather is nice. As a result she is in great shape. The only place one can find some fat in her body is in her perky B+ breasts... Lizzy works as a librarian in the local library every afternoon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
We met 30 years ago, got married 2 years later and have 2 children. A 26 old son, who lives in Vermont with a wife and a young child and a 24 years old daughter, who moved with her husband to Oregon.
We still live in a small town in Iowa, having nearby a nice lake and a state park.
On weekends when the temperature is acceptable, we love to stroll in the park. But in the hot days of summer, swimming in the fresh water of the lake is a good relaxing sports, that both Lizzy and I love.
Lizzy meets every week or so with a group of mostly women, who call themselves 'The good books club' to discuss new literary works. I am less interested in reading. My own social life is pretty boring. Rarely I meet our few friends, or the families of my children. Most of my interaction with other people is with my work clients and 3 other guys who I got introduced to at the health club and talk to them about politics, sports and family events. Pretty boring, right?!
Well, my life may lack adventures, but I like it this way...
...
The next afternoon Lizzy and I sat again on the balcony.
Lizzy commented that we should go to our new neighbor and offer her help in anything she might need in order to feel welcomed in her new surrounding.
It sounded like a good idea, but I had no clue how to approach this new person.
Would she be interested in us 'bothering her'?
Even if she was OK and happy to see us, what would be the best time to do it?
Lizzy didn't bother answering my doubts. She made a chocolate cake, wrapped it nicely and rang our neighbor's door.
Few seconds later Lizzy was let in with the door closing behind her.
I watched a show on the history channel and lost track of time.
Lizzy appeared sometime later, smiling, "She is very nice. Her name is Nickie. She is 50 years old, unmarried and no children. Nickie has published several stories in the past. She just moved here from Boston to get the feeling of the real Midwest, because she intends to write a story about life here."
"Well honey, it will be interesting to find out how she'll like this small place comparing to the big city."
...
The next day I woke up at 6:30 am by banging noises outside.
I went to the balcony and saw our neighbor in short pant and a huge straw hat bent forward and digging holes in front of her house.
I called her, "Nickie!"
She stood up and smiled at me, "Hi neighbor. You are Bob, right? You have a very nice wife."
"What are you doing so early in the morning?"
"I am a morning person. I like to start early, then eat breakfast, do some writing, have a pleasant siesta and be free later for anything else."
"Over here most of us sleep longer in the morning. What do you say to a compromise. You postpone the noisy stuff until 7:30 am and at 8 o'clock I'll help you with whatever you want."
"I am sorry. In Boston my house was separated by a fence from the neighbors, so they couldn't hear anything. I'll stop now and start again at 8. And you don't have to help me... unless you want to." She had a knock out smile...
Nickie had nice muscular legs. She clearly did some physical activity in Boston, either gardening or exercise in a sport facility. Her baggy blouse seemed to hide a lot. I could not see much due to her large hat and the shady area she was in.
Lizzy and I ate breakfast together and then she drove to the nearest town for some errands.
At 8:15 I joined Nickie, who resumed her digging.
"Nickie, it's nice to see you up close. I wanted to let you know that Lizzy was very impressed by you! Anyway, what are you trying to do with all the digging?"
"All my life I wanted to have a small garden and I thought that here may be the best place to make it happen."
I chuckled, "I can really help you with that. But I think we should do it differently. The ground is dry and very hard. It's better to wet it well and do the digging the next day."
"Bob, great idea! You see, you didn't lift a finger and you already helped me..."
"In the meantime, why don't you show me the plan you have for your garden. You know - Is it for flowers? vegetables? other plants? and what dimensions you had in mind."
"I love flowers, but I am not sure what flowers grow well in this weather."