The officers stopped near the edge of the patio.
Ethan looked from the woman to the uniforms behind her, trying to understand why anyone would bring the police to an ordinary backyard gathering.
ETHAN: "Can I help you?"
WOMAN: "You can start by explaining why this entire group thinks it can do whatever it wants."
The accusation was so sudden that Ethan briefly wondered whether she had mistaken his house for somebody else's property.
ETHAN: "I'm sorry. Do we know each other?"
The woman ignored the question.
She looked at the grill, the plates on the table, the chairs on the patio, and the men standing around her.
Then she turned toward the officers.
WOMAN: "These are the people I've been telling you about. They're creating problems, and nobody seems willing to do anything about it."
Ryan exchanged a bewildered glance with Chris.
RYAN: "Creating problems? We're eating lunch."
The woman immediately turned toward him.
WOMAN: "I'm talking about the whole group, not just you."
RYAN: "Well, we're all standing right here. You can tell us what the problem is."
She drew herself up, clearly irritated that the men were answering her rather than standing silently while she complained.
WOMAN: "The problem is that people in this neighborhood have standards."
Ethan took a slow breath.
He did not want an argument in front of his friends, and he certainly did not want a confrontation with the police over something he could not understand.
ETHAN: "Ma'am, this is my backyard. We haven't been playing music or doing anything unusual. We're just cooking food."
WOMAN: "And you think that gives you permission to do whatever you want?"
ETHAN: "I think it gives us permission to have a barbecue at our own house."
The male officer looked briefly toward the grill.
The female officer scanned the patio and the surrounding fence.
There was no overturned furniture, no broken glass, and no sign of a fight.
The men were standing several feet apart, and nobody appeared to be threatening anyone.
Still, the woman continued speaking as though the situation had already been decided.
WOMAN: "This is exactly the attitude I'm talking about. People move into a community and immediately act as if the rules don't apply to them."
David folded his arms.
DAVID: "Which rule are we breaking?"
She looked at him sharply.
WOMAN: "Excuse me?"
DAVID: "You keep saying we're breaking rules. Which one?"
For the first time since entering the backyard, the woman seemed briefly unable to respond.
Then she pointed toward the grill again.
WOMAN: "Look at all of this. Do you honestly expect me to believe that this isn't disturbing anyone?"
CHRIS: "The only thing disturbing us right now is somebody walking into our lunch and accusing us of something without explaining what it is."
The woman took a step toward him.
The female officer shifted slightly, maintaining a clear view of the conversation.
FEMALE OFFICER: "Let's keep our voices down, please. We need to understand what happened."
WOMAN: "I've been trying to get someone to listen for days."
ETHAN: "Listen to what? This is the first time you've spoken to me."
The woman looked at him with open disbelief.
WOMAN: "You really expect me to believe that?"
ETHAN: "I can't tell you what you believe. I can tell you that we invited three friends over for lunch."
Ryan nodded toward the table.
RYAN: "The food is right there. We haven't even finished cooking."
For a few seconds, the only sound was the faint crackling of the grill.
The woman seemed determined not to let the conversation return to anything ordinary.
She turned back to the officers, raising her voice again.
WOMAN: "You need to do something about them. They can't just gather like this and expect everyone else to put up with it."
The male officer looked at Ethan.
MALE OFFICER: "Sir, can you tell me whose property this is?"
ETHAN: "Mine. I bought the house earlier this year."
MALE OFFICER: "And these gentlemen are your guests?"
ETHAN: "Yes. They're my friends."
MALE OFFICER: "Has anyone been threatened or injured?"
ETHAN: "No."
The officer glanced at the others.
MALE OFFICER: "Have you been involved in an argument with anyone today?"
ETHAN: "Not until a few minutes ago."
Ryan let out a short, incredulous laugh, then stopped when he saw the officer's serious expression.
RYAN: "We were literally discussing how long to cook a steak."
The female officer looked toward the grill again.
FEMALE OFFICER: "All right. Let's take this one step at a time."
The woman shook her head impatiently.
WOMAN: "You're focusing on the wrong thing. The point is that these men are creating a problem, and somebody needs to make them understand that."