But the gathering irritated her.
She decided that the smoke was a nuisance.
Then she decided that the men were being inconsiderate.
Within minutes, her annoyance had grown into the conviction that somebody needed to intervene.
Victoria was at home when she made her decision.
She had been preparing to relax after finishing several household chores.
A bath towel was wrapped securely around her body, and her hair was still damp from a shower.
She heard a sound outside, looked toward the window, and noticed the smoke again.
Her expression tightened.
She went to the back door and looked toward the garden.
The barbecue was still going.
The men were still talking.
Nobody appeared to be paying attention to her.
Victoria felt that the situation had gone on long enough.
She grabbed her phone and contacted the authorities.
Her report described a gathering she considered disturbing and asked for officers to attend.
She spoke with urgency, emphasizing that she wanted someone to address the situation.
The call was received and assessed according to the information available to the dispatcher.
Victoria then hurried toward the back door.
She pulled the towel more securely around herself, slipped into a pair of house sandals, and moved toward the garden entrance.
When she learned that officers were on their way, she decided to meet them.
She wanted to be present when they arrived.
She wanted them to see the men for themselves.
And she wanted the gathering to stop.
Meanwhile, Nathan had no idea that a complaint had been made.
He was checking the temperature of the meat when Jason noticed movement near the gate.
JASON: "Nathan, is somebody coming over?"
Nathan looked up.
NATHAN: "I wasn't expecting anyone."
The wooden gate opened.
Victoria appeared, still wrapped in her white bath towel.
Two uniformed police officers walked beside her.
One was a male officer in his early forties, with short sandy-brown hair and a serious expression.
The other was a female officer with dark hair tied neatly into a bun.
Both wore standard navy uniforms and carried themselves with the calm alertness of people accustomed to arriving in situations where they did not yet know all the facts.
Victoria moved ahead of them.
She pointed toward the grill.
VICTORIA: "Those men! They're the ones I'm talking about!"
The sudden arrival stopped the conversation immediately.
Jason lowered the plate he was holding.
Eric turned away from the table.
Michael rose from his chair.
Nathan placed his tongs on the metal tray beside the grill and looked toward the officers.
For several seconds, he could only stare.
He recognized the uniforms.
He did not recognize the reason for their presence.
NATHAN: "Can I help you, officers?"
Victoria stepped forward, pointing toward the gathering.
VICTORIA: "They can't keep doing this!"
The male officer glanced toward the barbecue.
The female officer surveyed the garden.
She saw the grill, the table, the chairs, and the four men standing several feet apart.
There was no obvious sign of a fight.
No one appeared injured.
No furniture was overturned.
The men looked surprised, not aggressive.
MALE OFFICER: "Good afternoon. We received a report about a possible disturbance. Can someone explain what's happening here?"
Nathan looked at Victoria.
NATHAN: "We're having lunch."
VICTORIA: "That's not what it looks like to me!"
NATHAN: "What exactly are you saying we're doing?"
Victoria gestured toward the grill as if it should have been obvious.
VICTORIA: "Look around! You've got a whole group back here, smoke everywhere, and nobody seems to care about the people living nearby."
Jason glanced at the grill.
Then he looked at the wooden fence and the small garden surrounding them.
JASON: "We're cooking food. That's what a barbecue is."
Victoria turned toward him sharply.
VICTORIA: "You don't need to make jokes."
JASON: "I wasn't joking."
The female officer stepped slightly forward.
FEMALE OFFICER: "Let's take this one person at a time. Ma'am, can you explain what specific problem you reported?"
Victoria appeared eager to answer.
VICTORIA: "They're creating a disturbance. They're acting as though they can do whatever they want in this neighborhood."
MALE OFFICER: "Did anyone threaten you?"
VICTORIA: "That's not the point."
MALE OFFICER: "Did anyone threaten you?"
Victoria looked at Nathan.
VICTORIA: "I don't feel comfortable with the situation."
The female officer nodded, acknowledging the statement without treating it as proof of misconduct.
FEMALE OFFICER: "I understand that you're uncomfortable. We still need to know what happened."