Then one autumn afternoon, he found her standing near his fence.
No orange suit.
Jeans.
Sweater.
Her white SUV parked nearby.
He approached carefully.
“What can I do for you?”
She looked toward the construction site.
“Clubhouse is almost finished.”
“Yes.”
“They invited me to the opening.”
“Going?”
“No.”
He nodded.
She looked at him.
“You won.”
The Homeowner sighed.
“No.”
Her expression hardened.
“Please don't pretend.”
“You kept your road.”
“I lost the presidency.”
“The bank investigated me.”
“My name was in every neighborhood email for months.”
“You won.”
The Homeowner leaned against the fence.
“What did I win from you personally?”
She looked confused.
“Nothing.”
“Exactly.”
“You losing something isn't automatically me winning it.”
She stared.
For once, no audience.
No contractors.
No board.
No bank.
She looked older than he remembered.
Tired.
“I thought the road was ugly.”
He laughed.
“That's honest.”
“It cut through the parcel.”
“I know.”
“I thought if we left it, the whole project would look compromised.”
He nodded.
“So I told myself the old rights couldn't possibly matter.”
“That they were ancient.”
“That nobody would enforce them.”
Her voice lowered.
“Then the attorney warned me.”
“And?”
“I was already too far in.”
The Homeowner looked toward her.
“No.”
“What?”
“You weren't.”
She frowned.
“You were before purchase.”
“You could've stopped.”
“I would've looked incompetent.”
“That's not the same as being trapped.”
She looked away.
He continued gently.
“Sometimes people spend millions avoiding a five-minute sentence.”
“What sentence?”
“I was wrong.”
Silence.
She laughed bitterly.
“You enjoy this.”
“No.”
“You don't?”
“I've made expensive mistakes too.”
“Not like this.”
“Give me time.”
Despite herself, she smiled.
Small.
Temporary.
Then:
“I’m sorry.”
He waited.
She added:
“For trying to close the road.”
“For ignoring the deed issue.”
“For acting like owning the surface meant owning every decision.”
He nodded.
“Thank you.”
She seemed surprised.
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
“You don't want me to apologize for the things I said?”
He thought.
“You can if you want.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You’re very irritating.”