The Nappy Neighors Strike Again!

Again, this totally happened like 2 1/2 months ago. Sad. I will catch up one day.

Dylan, Sadie, and Micah were out front playing with the Nappy Neighbors. Sadie came running in with a furrowed brow, saying, "Mommy, Ashlynn is throwing rocks at our car." I was like, Jigga WHAT?? Ben was home, and he went outside to investigate. A few seconds later, he came in and said, "Ashlynn threw a rock at our car, SHATTERING the windshield." There were several more expletives that laced that sentence, but I'm in a Mormoney mood since conference weekend and not wanting to fill your mind with substitutions, which make you think of the real word anyway.

You're welcome.

So I went outside to look. Behold the carnage:

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that she would do something so horribly stupid and wrong. I also couldn't believe that a skinny little girl like her could do so much damage. Right after the window shattered, all three Nappy Neighbors had run inside to hide. Their mom was at home (miracle), so Ben went and told her what happened.

And then he called the police. I love that about him, that he is willing to do something that might make someone mad, someone that we will see every day for many, many years. I wouldn't have called the police for that very reason. But he did. And I was glad. The police said that they couldn't do anything, since Ashlynn is a minor.

The mom, Laura, called her homeowner's insurance - I guess they are the ones that can cover things like this. She got a case number, blah blah blah, and wrote it down for us. We were supposed to hear from the insurance agent in three days. Then she and Ashlynn cleaned up every bit of glass.

I hadn't said a word to any of the neighbors - I was too afraid that I would say something really, really mean. There were many mean things being said in my head, rest assured. I had to go to work, and they were still out there cleaning. I was planning on ignoring them, huffily getting into our non-shattered car (the one with no air-conditioning), and speeding off, but Laura flagged me down.

"We're cleaning this up," she said, "Because that's what you do when your child makes a mess."

"Yeah," I said awkwardly.

"We've called the insurance company, and everything will be taken care of."

"Good..."

"I found the rock she threw inside the back of your car. It's really teeny. I can't figure out how something so small could have shattered your windshield."

Like it's my fault my windshield shattered!!! And she never, ever said, "I'm sorry."

I had to ask Ashlynn something. "Ashlynn," I said, "Why would you throw a rock at a car??"

Her answer: "I was trying to throw it at your house and missed."

Yeah.

I think there is something really, really wrong with her.

After three days, we hadn't heard from their insurance agent. We had his number, so we called him. He apologized and said that he was waiting on some more information from Laura and her husband. He said he had called them several times and left messages, but hadn't heard back from them.

After one week, we called the agent again. He was still unable to get ahold of the Nappy Neighbor Parents. We were pissed. It was a rainy few weeks during that time, so we had plastic bags taped over where the back windshild should be. The bags would vibrate horribly when we drove, come undone, etc. It was a nightmare. We wondered if the Nappy Neighbor Parents were avoiding paying for this. So Ben went over there. He informed Hoyt (the dad) that, if we didn't hear from their agent that day, we were going to press charges in court.

Have I mentioned how much I love him??

We heard from the agent that day. :) We got the windshield replaced like the next day.

Things have been strained, honestly, since "the incident." Hoyt and Laura won't let their kids play out front anymore. (Good.) We don't talk to each other - no exchanging of pleasantries. Our kids don't play together anymore. (Good.)

I have a neighbor who lives diagonally across the street from me named Nephi. He is really, really cute. He wears rainbow suspenders every day. Micah's occupational therapist thinks he is the cutest guy ever. She smiles and giggles every time she sees him through our windows, mowing his lawn or watering it. Anyways, Nephi comes and chats with me for hours and hours whenever I'm out gardening, which is a lot. I love gardening. If there is any gardening to be done, I feel like I can legitimately skip doing dishes. It makes me feel better about the state of my kitchen, to have at least gotten some gardening done.

Anyways. Nephi knows the scoop on everyone in the whole neighborhood. If you want to know anything, ask Nephi, or "Neef," as he likes to be called. He informed me that another neighbor informed him that the Nappy Neighbor's house is IN FORECLOSURE!!! (Good.) Is it wrong to rejoice over someone else's misfortunes? Yes. Yes, it is. So we'll see if the rumor is true. I think there's a way you can get a foreclosure list, but I'm a tad bit too busy to drop by a realtor's office and pick one of those up. All I know is that this information, whether it's true or not, has made me sooo cheerful. Seriously. So happy.

In other Nappy Neighbor News, we think our new across-the-street neighbor is a drug dealer. True story. There is a steady stream of dicey cars with dicey people in them, coming to her house, running in (not ever knocking), running out with a little package, and leaving. Even in the middle of the night. I see the transactions from my kitchen window when I'm preparing a bottle for Gage's middle-of-the-night feedings. When she's home, she leaves a gas can outside her garage. When she leaves, the gas can goes back in the garage. Lately, she will leave her car door open to signal something. We're not sure what. The sad thing is that she has the most adorable daughter Sadie's age. Her name is Katie. Katie and Sadie.

She was the one that told me about the gas can signal. I don't think she knows what it's for. Someone came and took off in her mom's car, and I had to take the kids to run errands.

I was like, "Is your mom gone now? Do I need to take you with me?"

She glanced out our windows. "No," she said, "Whenever mommy's home, she puts the gas can outside so that people know she's there."

Katie also told me her history. She is from one dad. Her younger brother is from another dad. The other dad and her mom just broke up. No marriages have ever taken place - just relationships and kids produced from those relationships. The second dad takes care of Katie's brother - she hardly ever gets to see him anymore. It's so, so sad. She deserves a good, stable home. I feel really badly for her. I just want to take her in and protect her. She comes over to play a lot, and I don't mind at all, because I know that she's safe in my house, you know? And little girls are so easy to baby-sit. Sooo much easier than little boys. Little boys are LOUD. Little girls stay in Sadie's room and quietly play with Polly Pockets.

Ben called the police department to let them know of our suspicions about our Drug Dealer neighbor. They said they would "drop by" sometime and check it out. Yeah right. My friend said she had drug dealers on her street, and she was told to write down times, license plate numbers, etc. She did, and I think she handed them in to the police. The drug dealers ended up moving out. So Ben and I have started writing down times and license plate numbers. Ben has been brazenly walking out to the cars and pointedly writing their license plate numbers down. I know the lady has seen him doing it - I see her watching him out her window. And she hasn't been as friendly to me since he's been doing that. :) He really is so ballsy.

Yeah, our street is going to pot. Or maybe crack. Whatever drug it is that she's dealing. Time to move. But not really. We can't afford to. Maybe when the market rebounds. And if a money fairy gives us some money to get into a nicer neighborhood and a bigger house.