***
A black van pulled into Melinda’s driveway.
I noticed it from the window.
Melinda walked out onto her driveway holding a cup of coffee, already looking annoyed, as if someone had interrupted her morning.
Then the van door slid open, and a man stepped out.
He wore a neat blazer, a badge clipped to his waist.
I noticed it from the window.
Melinda glanced at the badge first, then at the man’s face.
That’s when her shoulders stiffened, and her face went pale.
The coffee slipped from her hand and hit the ground as she realized who’d just arrived.
***
I stepped out into the yard out of curiosity. Ethan followed close behind me.
Melinda didn’t move from where she stood.
Her face went pale.
The man glanced at my neighbor briefly, then his eyes shifted past Melinda’s fence toward our yard and the wreckage.
His expression changed to concern. Instead of walking toward Melinda, he walked to our gate and stopped.
“Hi, I’m Jonathan from the neighborhood association,” he said gently. “Mind if I come in?”
I hesitated for a second, then nodded and opened it. “This is Ethan.”
He crouched down to my son‘s level. “Hey, Ethan.”
“Mind if I come in?”
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