After a week of sun and sand, Catherine was shocked to discover her new neighbor Jeffrey had built an imposing fence on her property. As a single mom, she couldn’t let this slide. What did she do to teach him a lesson he’d never forget?
Life as a single mom isn’t easy, but I’ve been making it work. I’m Catherine, 40 years old, and I’ve been raising my two boys, Liam (10) and Chris (8), all by myself for the past year.
Their father and I parted ways when I caught him cheating with another woman. Well, that’s a story for another time.
About two months ago, I bought a new house and moved in with my kids. It’s in a peaceful neighborhood with a beautiful forest nearby.
Everything about our new neighborhood seemed perfect until I met my next-door neighbor, Jeffrey. We had been at odds since the beginning.
I’ll never forget our first interaction.
It had been a day since we moved in when I heard a knock at my door. I opened it and saw him standing at my doorstep with a folder in his hand.
“Hello there, neighbor!” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Jeffrey. Welcome to the neighborhood!”
I shook his hand.
How nice! I thought. If only I knew what was coming in the days ahead.
“I wanted to discuss something important with you,” he continued, opening his folder.
“The previous owners signed this contract allowing me to build a fence on the property line.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Okay…?”
“So, I’ll be starting construction next week,” he said matter-of-factly.
I was stunned. “Excuse me? You’re not even asking for my permission?”
“Well, I have the contract right here—”
“That contract was with the previous owners,” I interrupted. “I’m the owner now, and I don’t want a fence blocking my view and sunlight.”
That’s when his face turned red.
“But I need this fence for privacy!” he yelled. “I’ve been planning this for months!”
“Why should I care about what the FORMER owner said?” I asked, but I never got a straight answer.
I just saw Jeffrey stomp out of my house.
Since that day, he’s been arguing with me almost every week about this fence. Apparently, he wants to host fancy garden parties without his guests seeing into my yard.
Well, excuse me for existing!
I couldn’t let him build that fence. I didn’t buy this house to stare at wooden planks instead of the beautiful sky and trees.
Little did I know, things were about to get much worse.
A few weeks ago, I decided to take my boys on a much-needed vacation. Liam and Chris were bouncing off the walls with excitement.
“Mom, can we go to the beach?” Liam asked.
Chris chimed in, “Yeah! And can we build a huge sandcastle?”
“Of course, boys!” I said as I hugged them. “We’ll do all that and more!”
We left for a week, looking forward to sun, sand, and relaxation. If only I’d known what was waiting for us when we got back.
As we pulled into our driveway, I noticed something odd. My heart sank as I realized what had happened.
“Boys, stay in the car for a minute,” I said as I got out.
My blood boiled with each step I took toward our house.
As I peeked to the right, I realized what had happened. There, right in front of our windows, stood a tall wooden fence. On our property. One foot from my windows!
“What the hell?!” I shouted, not caring who heard me.
Liam and Chris came running up behind me.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Chris asked in a worried voice.
I took a deep breath. I had to stay calm for their sake. “Nothing, sweetie. Just a little… surprise from our neighbor.”
“But Mom,” Liam said, frowning, “we can’t see the trees anymore.”
My heart broke.
Jeffrey’s stupid fence had replaced the beautiful view from our windows that my boys loved so much. Now, we couldn’t even see the sky!
I couldn’t let this slide. I had to teach Jeffrey a lesson.
I had two options. Either take the legal route and wait for the authorities to take action or take matters into my own hands.
I chose the second one because my boys and I didn’t have enough time to take the legal route.
Later that night, I went to the pet store. I had a plan that I knew would work.
“Can I help you find anything?” the clerk asked.
I smiled sweetly. “Yes, I’m looking for an animal attractant spray. The strongest you have.”
After returning home, I waited until the neighborhood was asleep. Then, I went up to his precious fence and poured an entire bottle of the attractant liquid.
The pheromone scent was strong. It was designed to attract dogs for training purposes. But I had a feeling it might attract more than just dogs.
I did this for several nights in a row, ensuring the solution covered every inch of the fence.
Then, I waited.
It didn’t take long for results to show.
One night, as I was taking out the trash, I saw a stray dog lift its leg against the fence. I had to stifle a laugh.
“Good boy,” I whispered.
Over the next few days, more and more animals started visiting the fence. Foxes, raccoons, even a moose once! They all seemed to think Jeffrey’s fence was the perfect place to do their business.
I watched from my window as Jeffrey discovered the mess one morning. His face turned an impressive shade of purple as he realized what was happening.
But to my surprise, he didn’t take down the fence.
He started cleaning it.
Every morning, Jeffrey would come out with a bucket and scrub brush, muttering under his breath as he cleaned off the nightly deposits.
But no matter how much he cleaned, he couldn’t get rid of the pheromone scent. The animals kept coming back, night after night.
Soon, the smell became unbearable. Even my boys started to notice.
“Mom,” Chris said one day, holding his nose, “it stinks outside!”
Liam nodded in agreement. “Yeah, can we play inside today?”
“I know it smells bad, boys,” I said. “Just give it a few more days, okay?”
They nodded, but I could see they were disappointed. I hoped my plan would work soon.
The next day, I was coming back from a grocery run when I saw one of our other neighbors, Mrs. Thompson, knocking on Jeffrey’s door.
I slowed down, pretending to check my mail as I eavesdropped.
“Jeffrey,” Mrs. Thompson began, “what on earth is that smell coming from your yard? It’s awful!”
Jeffrey seemed so embarrassed.
“I… I’m working on it, Mrs. Thompson. There’s been a bit of an animal problem.”
“Well, work faster!” she snapped. “It’s affecting the whole neighborhood!”
As Mrs. Thompson stormed off, Jeffrey caught my eye. He had this apologetic look on his face that I had never seen before. I smiled at him and quickly walked into my house.
That evening, I watched from my other window as Jeffrey attacked the fence with every cleaning product known to man.
He scrubbed and sprayed for hours, but the smell lingered. Finally, he threw down his brush in defeat and trudged back to his house.
The next morning, I was awakened by a loud noise outside. I peeked through my curtains and had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
I could see Jeffrey overseeing a team of workers as they took down the fence.
I couldn’t believe my plan had actually worked!
I woke up the boys with the good news. “Liam! Chris! Come look outside!”
They raced to the window, their eyes widening as they saw the fence coming down.
“Mom, we can see the trees again!” Chris exclaimed.
Liam hugged me tight. “You’re the best, Mom!”
And with that, our view was restored, and Jeffrey had learned his lesson. However, the story doesn’t end there.
Later that day, Jeffrey approached me while I was gardening in the front yard.
“Catherine,” he started, clearing his throat, “I, uh… I want to apologize.”
“Oh?” I pretended to act surprised.
He nodded. “I shouldn’t have put up that fence without your permission. It was wrong of me.”
“Yes, it was,” I agreed, crossing my arms.
“I’ve learned my lesson,” he continued. “From now on, I’ll respect your property and your rights as a neighbor.”
“Apology accepted, Jeffrey,” I smiled. “Let’s start over, shall we?”
“I’d like that.”
As Jeffrey walked away, I couldn’t help but feel proud. I had stood up for myself and my boys, and in the end, everything worked out.
That incident taught me that life sometimes puts you in situations where you have to get creative to find a solution, just like I had to come up with a plan to teach Jeffrey a lesson he’ll never forget.
Do you think I did the right thing?
Restaurant Manager Kicks Out Old Lady Asking for Shelter, Next Day Sees Her Sitting with Owner – Story of the Day
One day, an old lady got drenched in heavy rain after a sudden outpour. She decided to seek shelter at a famous cafe, only to be kicked out by the restaurant manager. What happens next stuns the arrogant employee.
Linda Meyers was on her way to dinner when heavy rain suddenly started pouring. She didn’t have an umbrella with her, so her well-kept hair was suddenly damp and all over her face. Her blouse and jacket looked worn out after they got soaked as well.
The closest establishment to her at the time was a famous cafe that rich and famous people would frequent. As she got to the entrance, she was suddenly stopped by the porter.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“Ma’am, this is an exclusive cafe. You need a reservation to enter,” he started, before looking at her from head to toe. “It seems you can hardly afford to dine in here, too,” he muttered.
Offended by the rude remark, she asked the porter to call the restaurant manager. But instead of letting her in, the manager echoed the porter’s sentiments and asked her to leave.
“Ma’am, I’m currently hosting over a hundred people inside. Let’s not waste our time here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the manager, whose nameplate said “Simon,” told Linda.
“I just need a place to stay until the rain dies down. I’ll even order,” she insisted.
“I can’t let you go in looking like that. You’re going to scare away all of our guests,” Simon shook his head. At that, the woman left, trying to find another place to wait.
The next day, when Simon got to work, the cafe owner was already there. He immediately called Simon over. “Today is a very special day. We have an important guest coming, my friend and his wife. They’re potential buyers of this cafe. That said, everything must be in top shape.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Simon oriented the waiters on what to do that day, making sure everything was well-prepared for their VIP guests’ arrival. That evening, the owner called Simon to their table.
“Let me introduce you to our manager. He is an excellent part of our team. He knows his job and is very kind, sensitive, sympathetic, and helpful,” the owner said. At that, the woman turned to him with a smile on her face.
“Very nice indeed. I can see that he is exactly the way you described him to be,” the woman, who turned out to be Linda, said.
The manager couldn’t hide the horrified look on his face after realizing the woman was the person he rudely shut out the night before. After seeing the look on his face, Linda turned back to the cafe owner.
“You have a great restaurant and such endearing staff. My husband and I are happy to buy the cafe,” she said.
The next day, Linda and her husband went straight to work. They wanted to observe how the cafe operated on a daily basis and get to know their new staff members.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
When Linda saw Simon, she bore him some bad news. “Simon, my husband and I have made the decision to demote you as a waiter. We don’t think the way you treated me the other night is any way to treat a customer,” she explained.
Immediately, Simon was given an apron and a tray, and he started working as a waiter. He was humiliated, but he didn’t want to lose his job entirely.
A couple of days later, a poor woman entered the cafe. She sat at a table and ordered a sandwich and hot tea. After she finished her meal, Simon handed her the bill.
“Oh dear,” the old woman said as she looked through her purse. “I must have forgotten my wallet at home. I am so sorry. I can wash the dishes, or clean the restaurant, anything so that I could repay you,” she said.
Simon shook his head. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I will pay for your tab this time around,” he said with a smile.
The woman proceeded to thank Simon, to which he replied: “It’s no problem. People should help each other out. A couple of days ago, the new owner of this restaurant gave me a second chance because she is a kind person. I want to be like her. After all, I believe in karma.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“I think you will become a manager again,” the woman replied. Simon was confused as to how the woman knew about his demotion. At that moment, Linda approached the table.
“This woman here is my friend. I wanted to test you and see whether or not you’ve learned your lesson. I’m happy to know that you’ve passed the test. You can return to your managerial duties effective immediately,” Linda said, giving him a tap on the back.
Simon was delighted. He had never seen such kindness in anybody, and he was grateful that Linda gave him yet another chance to do well at his job.
Since that day, Simon went to work with a smile on his face. He loved his job, and it was all thanks to the boost of confidence the new cafe owners gave him. He would patiently tend to his staff and the customers, and it led the cafe to become even more successful.
What can we learn from this story?
- We should not judge others by their outward appearance. The porter and Simon were quick to judge Linda for how she looked, not knowing she’d end up owning the business they worked in.
- People deserve a second chance. Linda was nice enough to give Simon a second chance, knowing he enjoyed his work.
Share this story with your loved ones. It might inspire them and make their day.
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