My husband Irvin and I had enjoyed a peaceful
marriage for seventeen years before our new neighbor Vanessa moved into the house next door. She was recently
divorced and lived alone, so I initially felt deep sympathy for her and welcomed her with a homemade apple pie to ease her transition. However, within weeks, Vanessa developed an alarming habit of relying heavily on Irvin for completely trivial household tasks. She asked him to open jars, change unreachable batteries, and repeatedly move the exact same shelves back and forth across her walls. Because Irvin was always the kind of man who rushed to help anyone in need, he blindly viewed these constant requests as harmless favors for a lonely woman adjusting to a difficult new life. I knew better because I watched the way she stared at his forearms while he worked and eventually listened to her openly declare her intention to pursue my husband. She brazenly warned me to prepare for a
divorce because she believed men always grew bored after nearly two decades of marriage. I calmly dismissed her from my home but realized our peaceful neighborhood life was entirely over.
