“He’s fishing.”
“He’s challenging me in front of residents.”
The Homeowner answered:
“That’s not a security violation.”
A woman in yoga clothes near the path laughed.
The President turned.
“Is something amusing?”
The woman shook her head.
“No.”
Clearly yes.
The President’s phone began ringing.
She looked down.
Board Vice President.
She rejected the call.
The Homeowner sat back down.
Picked up his rod.
Cast.
That action humiliated her more than anything else.
He was done with the confrontation.
She was not.
“You think you’ve won something.”
The Homeowner watched the line settle.
“No.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“I just realized I’ve been fishing the wrong side of the reeds.”
She stared.
He looked toward the Supervisor.
“Anything else?”
The Supervisor handed back the deed.
“No, sir.”
“Thank you.”
The President turned toward security.
“We are not finished.”
The Supervisor answered:
“My incident report will document the property record.”
“I want no report filed until legal reviews this.”
“That request will also be documented.”
That silenced her.
The Homeowner almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
She stormed back toward the white SUV.
Neighbors parted.
No one spoke to her.
The vehicle pulled away harder than necessary.
The Homeowner watched it disappear.
Then looked toward the water.
The man in the golf shirt approached.
“I owe you an apology.”
The Homeowner frowned.
“For?”
“I thought she was right when she walked over.”
“Why?”
The man looked embarrassed.
The Homeowner waited.
Finally:
“I’d never seen you before.”
The Homeowner pointed toward the large brick house directly behind them.
“That’s mine.”
The man looked.
“I know that house.”
“Apparently not the person.”
The man nodded.
“Fair.”
He walked away.
The Homeowner returned to fishing.
Five minutes later, the bobber vanished.
He pulled.
A bass broke the surface.
Finally.
He smiled.
Then his phone began vibrating.
Eleven missed notifications.
Neighbors.
Board email chain.
Security report.
His attorney.
He looked toward the fish.
“See?”
He whispered.
“You had the better morning.”
He released it.
By noon, the entire neighborhood knew.
Not accurately.
Neighborhood information never traveled accurately.
Version one said the Black Homeowner secretly owned the entire lake.
False.
Version two said the HOA President had been arrested.
Very false.
Version three said the Homeowner was suing every resident.
Completely invented.
Version four was closest.
The HOA had attempted to remove a resident from land he owned.
That alone was bad enough.
By Sunday evening, the board called an emergency meeting.
The Homeowner received the email at 7:12 p.m.
MANDATORY SPECIAL SESSION REGARDING LAKE TITLE DISPUTE