The Melody Land Subdivision, known in the area for its elegant contemporary homes, was serene this morning until Tropical Storm Dallas, AKA Dallas Ferguson, began her thunderous march towards her neighbor, Mr. Hoffman’s house.
“I. Can’t. Believe. I’m. Still. Going. Through. This. Nonsense.”Dallas grunted out each word between clenched polished teeth as her arms swung from side to side and her chestnut-colored riding boots clicked on the smooth pavement.
“I gave him every opportunity to do the right thing. I wrote him nice notes, and I talked to him about it face-to-face. And”she said, as she pointed her index finger in the air as if testing the wind, “Brian and I even invited him over for coffee to discuss our frustrations about Cody peeing and pooping all over our yard, destroying our bushes.
“What more could I have done? I even baked that joker a red velvet cake to take home!”she added as she continued to reflect on the situation.
“He promised he wouldn’t let Cody loose in the cul-de-sac to do his business anywhere he chose to anymore.”
“Enough is enough. I’m done!”she fumed.“I am sick and tired and tired and sick of folks mistaking my kindness for weakness.
This has been going on for two months, and that’s two months too long!” Her spleen felt like it was going to explode.
“Mr. Hoffman!”she yelled as she approached him. He was pulling down the handle of his black cast aluminum mailbox, dressed in a navy blue Egyptian cotton bathrobe, with a cigar pipe hanging from his mouth.
“Dr. Hoffman,”he corrected her as he turned to face her.
“Whatever you call yourself. This ends today. I’ve done everything I can to try to work this out with you, but you refuse to do the right thing.”
“What is the problem, Dallas?” he asked smugly.
“The problem is the same one it’s been for the past two months. Don’t go amnesiac on me!
Despite your promise, you are still disrespecting me, letting your dog run loose in my yard, pooping everywhere, and destroying my bushes.
Now, I’ve done everything I can to try to be civil and patient and work this out with you. But you refuse to cooperate and act the way a responsible dog owner and neighbor would.
“So, listen closely, Doc-torrrr,”she said as she dragged out the name of his preferred title. “The next time your dog comes onto my property, I will take this to the next level.”
“Are you threatening my dog?” he asked as he dug his house shoe-covered feet into the ground and took a Western showdown-like stance.
“Oh no, I would never threaten an innocent dog. I’m threatening you,” she replied with a crooked smile as she cocked her head towards her right shoulder.
“You know exactly what I mean. You didn’t become a Doctor of Philosophy by being stupid. You may play stupid, but you are not stupid.
In fact, you’re worse than stupid. You’re arrogant and entitled.
But let heaven and earth record this day that you were presented with a choice. I strongly advise you to choose wisely, Doc-torrrr.” she commanded as she turned abruptly and marched back to 523 Grace Lane, her home, leaving a trail of her favorite perfume, Imani, wafting through the tense air.
By the time the afternoon arrived, Dallas had cooled off from the morning’s Melody Land Showdown. She decided now would be a good time to run errands. Her list included stops at the grocery store and drugstore and ended with a grand finale trip to her favorite cupcake shop, Let Them Eat Cake.
After returning home, she checked the mailbox. She reached in blindly and grabbed the contents. Among them was a peculiar ivory linen envelope, unaddressed, with an “H” monogram in the top-left corner.
“Hmmm, what’s this?” Dallas asked curiously. She opened the envelope, and inside, on a sheet of paper, were five words: “I’ll do better. Dr. Hoffman.”
© 2024 Felicia Harris-Russell. All rights reserved.
This Post Has 6 Comments
Congratulations!
“Show Down at Melody Land”
Very intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat!
The description detailing the elegance of the community and pride of the homeowners! I felt the descriptive emotions of each characters!
To be honest, I was thrown off and anticipated a physical hurricane storm coming, to Melody Land, with Dr. Hoffman’s home being in the radar of the eye of the storm.
Then realizing that Dallas “AKA” (Tropical Storm), was Dr. Hoffman’s neighbor and wanted him to be a more responsible pet owner by training Cody, his dog to not do his “busy” on her beautiful lawn and shrubs.
This story hits home for me!
I can relate to Dallas, storming outrage at the disrespect, incompetence and inconsiderate behavior of her neighbor!
Because, curve appeal is very important to your home and can affect the market value!
Dog poop is very damaging and deadly to shrubs and can be very costly to replace!
My personal experience with a neighbor, allowed their dog out at night to do their “busy” in my yard and 13, of my shrubs were damaged and had to be removed and replaced; which was very expensive and not in my budget!
But, I had to remove the dead shrubs and to replace them. It costed me several hundreds of dollars to purchase new shrubs, plus labor cost!
After the verbal warning (threat) by Dallas and the stand-off response by Dr. Hoffman!
I would have to admit that I was very surprised at Dr. Hoffman’s written response; which
indicated that he would do better as a neighbor!
Well done!
Wowww, I’m so GLAD you found this story relatable and enjoyable. I believe there is a lot we can glean from it! Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and for being a part of my online family. Merry Christmas!!
I love that story “Showdown at Melody Land”, the characters are great and I can see more stories about the two neighbors. I’m looking forward to your next short story. Thanks Felicia, great work!
Thanks Ben. I love the way you think — future stories about Melody Land!!
What a show at Melody Land! OMG!
This is a great short story and very relatable. I can understand the neighborly atmosphere. We should all be respectful to others and especially where we call home.
People’s pets are such a great part of our family. We should train them them the right way while doing their business.
At the end, I love how Mr. “H” sent a friendly message. What a showdown at Melody Land!
It seems like there is more to come in the future. I am excited to read more..
Thank you and great job Felicia!
Thanks Brenda. I’m so glad you enjoyed the “Showdown”!!:-) And, I’m even happier to have you as part of my Community. Thanks for taking the time to post your Comment!!