Over the next few months, little comments kept coming.
Ethan would mention the fence during casual conversations. How it blocked the sunset. How it made the yards feel smaller. How it wasn’t “neighborly.”
Mara started talking about “shared outdoor experiences” and how the boys felt “cut off” from nature because of the barrier.
I ignored it. The fence was legal. On my property line. Properly maintained. Their feelings about it weren’t my problem.
Then I went on vacation.
One week. Beach town in South Carolina. I’d been planning it for months.
I left Daisy with Caleb. Locked up the house. Told nobody where I was going except Caleb and my sister.
Seven days of ocean, sunburn, and not thinking about work or neighbors or anything.
When I pulled into my driveway on Sunday afternoon, the first thing I noticed was the view.
Too much view.
I could see straight across my backyard into Ethan’s patio. Into his yard. Into spaces I’d never seen before because my fence had always blocked them.
I got out of the truck slowly. Walked to the backyard.
