She Who Hesitates

The landscapers are here today.

It's a good thing they were not here yesterday or they, along with anyone walking down the walkway and any of the neighbors across the way, who happened to be looking out their windows around 11:30, would have caught me nearly naked on the front porch.

I’d slept in late that morning and, after breakfast, a bubble bath and painting my face, thought I’d heard someone calling my name.

I’d assumed it was Apache and not being fully clothed, I hid my body behind the door as I opened it and stuck my head out.

It was Red Light District (RLD) — across the quad downstairs, corner unit neighbor.

She appeared to be in difficulty.

Evidently, she had tried to make it up the stairs to attach something to my door, couldn’t quite make it past the third step, was knees down on the step, holding onto the rail.

As I was not yet fully dressed, I say, "Wait a sec" and quick looked around for something to throw on so I could step outside help her up and back down.

Seeing a swatch of torn fabric on the couch, that I’d used as a laptop cushion, I grabbed it to cover my front and, using one hand to hold fabric as front cover, not worrying about side and rear coverage, used the other hand to help her back down the stairs, take what she had for me out of her hands.

Once back down on solid ground, seeing me in bra and panties, trying to cover myself with a swatch of fabric, she began giggling like crazy at my outfit. "I’m giving our neighbors a show today", said I.

Between giggles, she indicated one of what she’d given me was for Next Door Neighbor (NDN), asked that I attach to her door.

I needed both hands to do the attaching but, since one hand was holding onto that swatch of fabric, I used the other hand to knock on NDN’s door.

It took a bit of time for NDN to respond to my knocking, whereupon I tell RLD, "She’s probably naked too", which sent RLD into another spurt of giggles.

When NDN finally opened the door, she was fully dressed but didn’t have her teeth in.

So that was what yesterday looked like — me half naked on the front porch, NDN with no teeth, and RLD cracking up at the sight.

This is what RLD had for the two of us.

Greeting Card and Candy Bar

I have such nice neighbors in my quad, that is except for the crazy unfriendly girl who lives beneath my unit but, insofar as I know, she's no longer a problem. She keeps to herself, and we all let her. 

RLD appears to be deteriorating rapidly. She was able to make it up the stairs to surprise NDN and I with Christmas Cards and Candy attached to our doors, but two months later can no longer do stairs.

Big Friendly Guy is on a walker now and even NDN said that she feels as though she’s deteriorated since moving here — "gone down" is how she describes it.

I haven't seen the resident living downstairs across the quad, next door to RLD since February of 2020 — the resident who was first hit by a car requiring hip surgery, recovering, then breaking an arm due to a fall in her unit.

She gets her groceries delivered now and, sofar as I've been told, is doing okay with just her and a cat, but I'm not so sure as I keep thinking about her. Ordinarly, thinking about someone is a good sign, but my constant thinking about a particular individual tends to be a harbinger of doom — they are soon to pass or I learn they just did, so ......

At any rate, yesterday's fiasco reminded me of a situation when I was nearly nude on a public street.

After divorcing my ex, my babies and I were living in an apartment along side a busy highway.

Late one night I heard a loud commotion and someone yelling "FIRE!"

Turned out a neighbor had a dispute with someone who’d revenged themselves by setting fire to that neighbor’s car in the wooden carport.

The fire was spreading, placing all our cars in danger.

Bedtime. I was nude, but no time to waste.

I grabbed a sheet from the bed, wrapped it around my body like a toga and out I went. Jumped in the car, drove it away from the carport, parked it across the street, and crossed a busy Artesia Blvd to get back, barefoot, wrapped in a sheet.

By the time the fire department arrived, the carport was ablaze, as were other cars parked nearby.

She who hesitates is lost.

My car was unscathed.

I guess others took the time to make themselves presentable — throw on clothes/shoes.