The Listons had lived in the fourteen hundred square foot house with one and three quarters bath for twenty-six years to the day as of the date the Thayers became their neighbors; they watched from their kitchen window as the young couple, with their beautiful golden retriever, unpacked the half-filled Ryder truck. It brought back so many memories. A time before Robert’s unforgettable tenth birthday. Before the washer flooded the basement. Before the ugliest wallpaper in the world was removed.
The following day, George and Emily Liston made the short trip across the yard and knocked on the large white door. They readied their smiles. Glenn Thayer answered and invited the Listons into the house to meet his new wife, Lily. George and Emily offered the bread and wine they brought. That they may never know hunger or thirst. A tradition they had learned from It’s a Wonderful Life. They shared small talk. The Thayer’s golden, Grady, nuzzled Emily’s leg. And when they left, the Listons wished the Thayers good luck with their new home. A good start.
About six months later, deep into the humidity of August, George glanced out his window to see an odd sight. Glenn was digging large holes along the property line. It didn’t immediately dawn on George that Glenn was building a fence. Well, not until Glenn started erecting the posts. George walked out casually and started with some small talk about the weather. He soon turned the conversation to Glenn’s project. Glenn joked that good fences make good neighbors, a Robert Frost original. George wasn’t amused, especially since the fence, he claimed, was on his property. The conversation took a turn for the worse. George stormed away. And Glenn kept building.
Soon, the fence stood between the Listons and Thayers. And that wasn’t the only boundary. Emily heard George complain about that brazen eyesore. And Lily listened as Glenn barked about their completely unreasonable neighbor.
In early September, a category four hurricane named Lucy hit the neighborhood. It ripped roofs from houses. It damaged cars. And it completely destroyed the fence between the feuding neighbors. The following weekend, Glenn gathered the splintered wood and made a trip to the local dump.
He didn’t build another fence.
Nor did he and George ever speak again.
6 comments:
Nature has made a resounding comment on the futility of it all! A well-paced narrative!
This is good in so many ways. Loved the way you've weaved a tale here. Deft writing, to be sure.
well that was sad! I hoped that they would "mend their fences" once the fence was blown away. Probably more realistic this way. Dang, now I'm depressed!
What a masterfully written story! Drew me right in. :)
A sad tale, well told!
A great story!
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