Let me tell you a story

I often make up stories. I don’t mean fictional stories or lies. I mean sometimes I encounter situations of which I’m simply an observer and I’ll make up a story in my head to fit the scenario. I do it just to amuse myself, or to pass the time. Unlike the story I’m about to tell, I rarely share these stories with anyone.

I did, however, share the first part of this story with Loverman a few weeks ago. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we moved to this neighborhood last spring and in an attempt to guarantee that we have some solo, adult time everyday, and consistent exercise, Loverman and I take our two dogs out for a walk twice a day. These daily walks have been great in acclimating us to the neighborhood and meeting a few of our new neighbors. One of our neighbors included a household with two parents, twin little boys and a baby daughter. Throughout the summer, these kids would play in their backyard and run over almost every evening to pet our pug, Chester, as I came around the corner. Their mother and I would wave and exchange pleasantries. As the summer came to an end, I noticed that I hadn’t seen the kids or wife in a while, but I didn’t give it too much thought. A few mornings I’d see the husband riding his bike to his house and he’d give me a little nod to acknowledge he’d seen me. I’ve never spoken to the husband. A few weeks after I’d noticed not seeing the wife and kids, a dumpster appeared in their driveway and after two days it filled with old furniture and other odd items. The dumpster was removed within the week. And, after dark, there would be few lights on in their house, but it would be enough to see that the house looked pretty empty with no photos or art work on the walls in the living room. The energy around the house was too still, it was void of energy. I guess it dawned on me sometime in October that not only hadn’t I seen this man’s wife or kids but also their car was never in their driveway. I guess it was about this time that I began making up this story.

The story I imagined was simple, nothing too morbid, yet I didn’t share it with Loverman until the end of October. Finally, I shared with my husband that I think the Mrs. picked up the kids and left the husband and even though the thought made me a bit sad, I guess the husband was cool with it because it didn’t take him too long before he hired a dumpster to clear out all their left over stuff. As expected, Loverman hadn’t even noticed not seeing the kids or wife over the last six weeks. What can I say, Loverman isn’t very observant!

Well, guess what? Last night as we made our way around the corner with the dogs, a car very similar to the one the wife used to drive was in the driveway. I’m not sure if it’s her’s or not, but Loverman said, “What about your story now? It looks like they're back.”

As much as I hope this is true, my longstanding addiction to Law & Order and Snapped, assures me that this is not a foregone conclusion and few scenarios could be at play:

a.) the wife and kids may have returned
b.) the husband got himself together and got a car
c.) none of the above

Loverman says if the leaves in their yard are raked up in the next few days, wifey and the kids have returned. I say, if they have returned, the wife was called away to nurse a sick relative who lives in another state and thought it best to take the kids with her.

To be continued…