Neighbour By Proxy

We have *ahem* neighbours.
Note that I didn't add an adjective.

I can't honestly say they're wonderful,
because, who is, really?
They're not horrible, either.
I want to say they're nice,
but I hesitate.

They haven't really done anything wrong,
so it's very unfair of me to say that.
And TH will probably lecture me on this.

But they didn't really bother me much,
until he pointed out something.
(So it's TH's fault, really.)

TH began to notice that the neighbours
are always there.
ALWAYS.
When we leave the house,
when we come home,
when we walk Puppy,
when we're gardening.

They're always there.
It's like that scene from What About Bob
Whip the door open:
He's always there!

When the girls were over for Spa Day,
I pointed this out to BJ.
We left Cousin Alex at home
(she was in the middle of an intense game of Wii)
and we went out to return a video,
and pick up pizza.

As we left the house,
Neighbour Guy was getting into his car and also leaving.
I waved.
Big smile.
"Hellllooooo!"

Total Game Face.

But BJ knows me very well.
We get in the car.
"What the hell was that all about?!"
I laugh, and fill her in on
TH's stalking theory.
She doesn't believe me.

Until we return to the house.
And Neighbour Guy is also getting home.

"Oh. My. God." says BJ, "TH is right!"

And sure enough,
when we took Puppy for a walk,
Neighbour Guy and Neighbour Son
were out raking the lawn.

BJ gives me a knowing smile,
which Alex doesn't miss,
and she asks what's up.
We fill her in.

So now we're all on Neighbour Alert.

Last night, TH picks me up from the GO Train.
It's after 10 o'clock.
It's dark.
As we pull into the driveway,
we notice there's a teenager
sitting on his bike,
in the middle of the sidewalk,
in front of the Neighbour's house.

"Who's that?" I ask.

TH replies:
"That's the Stand-In.
They couldn't be here when we got home,
but they wanted to be sure someone was there for us."

You know,
he might be right.