Then, while my husband and I were out of town for the 4th of July, those same neighbors climbed into our backyard and threw a party in it.
They just didn't know I could see everything.
For weeks during construction, they had treated our pool like some kind of neighborhood crime scene.
The workers would arrive during normal daytime hours, and before long, a patrol car would appear.
Noise complaint.
Again.
One afternoon, I heard one of my neighbors telling someone across the street that people like us were ‘ruining the neighborhood.’
I remember standing behind my fence with my jaw tight, saying nothing.
My husband looked at me and said, ‘Don't give them anything to use against us.’
So I didn't.
When the pool was finally finished, I stayed completely out of their way.
No invitations.
No bragging.
No loud parties.
I simply enjoyed the backyard my husband and I had paid for, on the property we owned, behind the fence they had spent months complaining about.