Crafts with a Side of Drama

Not wanting to be fooled twice, unlike last week when I made it down to the Community Room at 9:30 for an event and found the place locked up tight because the office doesn’t open until 10:00, I went down for yesterday’s 9:30 Craft Class at 10:00.

Dang if I didn’t get fooled again, because the class was in full swing.

Evidently Activity Director did arrive and open up at 9:30.

There were three spots still left at the table, so I sat down and learned how to make a Painted Mason Jar.

I started thinking a red jar, changed my mind, washed the red off and ended up doing a cow theme.

Next time I'm at the craft store, I'll pick up raffia for the neck of the jar to complete the country look.

The other ladies turned out some quite nice jars. These are just a few.

While we were crafting, Handsome Man made an appearance.

That was unusual because, though I see him around, he rarely comes to the Community Room, and never so early in the morning.

He motioned for me to come talk to him and said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go over there again. There’s something not right about the guy”.

“Over there” meant to the unit of a new neighbor in his quad, upstairs and directly across from Handsome Man.

A few weeks ago, Handsome Man saw me as I dropped off groceries to that unit.

What led up to my doing so was a series of incidents where it appeared to me the new resident was going out of his way to make his presence known to me in odd but not-threatening ways. Ways that made me doubt myself.

I can’t tell you how many blog posts I composed about what I was seeing, but didn’t publish because a part of me said I was being ridiculous, overreacting, reading more into the new resident’s actions than were intended because, though not all that old, the guy uses a walker to get around and clearly, even if he'd not been on a walker, he and I are in different lanes.

I responded to Handsome Man that I had no intention of going over there again and had only done so because his new neighbor had one day caught me heading to the car and asked, “Are you going to the market?”

“Yes” replied I.

“Can I go with you?” asked he.

Now in my head I heard myself scream, “OH HELL NO!”, but I was kind and said, “I’m not comfortable with that. But if you need me to bring something back for you, I can do that”.

He accepted, gave me a list, money to pay for it, then wrote down his name, unit and telephone numbers.

Suspicious, as to why he would ask me -- a woman he didn't know who lived nowhere near his quad instead of a male and, at the very least, one of his neighbors, I knew not to call him when I got back, because he’d have my telephone number. Instead, I delivered to his door but did not go in.

That’s when Handsome Man spotted me, poked his head out his own door and chatted with me a little bit ─ I guess to let the new resident know he was being observed had he any funny business in mind.

So, anyway, Handsome Man must have wondered about why I was interacting with the new resident, whom he felt something was wrong with, and decided to warn me not to go over there again (which I had no intention).

Once I filled handsome man in on the back story ─ the odd seemingly random incidents which cumulated in asking to ride with me to the market, Handsome Man agreed I’d read the guy correctly and was not overreacting.

So that was that.

I felt relieved to have finally gotten my thoughts off my chest.

After class I went to the bank, where I ran into our former Assistant Maintenance Guy.

Long-time readers will remember him as the older more experienced worker who’d gotten sick and tired of doing all the work, while the younger less-experienced lazy Head Maintenance Guy got all the credit, threw several hissy fits, then quit rather than wait to be fired.

Update is he landed on his feet and is now doing the same kind of work, but for a well-known hotel chain at a slightly better salary, according to him.

Returning to the complex, I was met by Handsome Man who said he’d gone over and had a talk with his new neighbor, who pretty much denied the incidents I took as making his presence known, but did admit to asking to ride with me and being told I wasn’t comfortable with it.

Handsome Man says he nevertheless schooled his new neighbor with “You can’t be doing that here. You can’t come onto the women around here like that”.

I think the new resident had already gotten the message from my having said I wasn’t comfortable with him because, whereas he'd previously been lurking about my quad, he's been invisible ever since. But now that Handsome Man has put the new resident on notice, I’m feeling its become somewhat of a big deal and I’m embarrassed.

I do love me some drama, but only from the outside looking in, not from inside looking out.

Me thinks I should have kept the backstory to myself.