Page 75 of The Boyfriend Swap

Chapter 19

Sidney

I was bored. The life of leisure wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. On the plus side, lack of activity and plenty of sleep provided much opportunity during my waking hours to consider the advice bestowed upon me by Bobby and Doug. Once my buzz faded, I wished I hadn’t confided in them. Their suggestions to let my man take charge in the relationship, or least think he was, bothered the feminist, stubborn, and competitive side of me. But the part that craved the romance, or even someone to nurse me sometimes, wondered if they were right. I was tired of always taking care of myself.

Interrupting my rumination, a woman at the table to my left in the hotel’s outdoor café said, “I hope the next twenty-four hours go by very slowly. I never want to leave.”

Her male companion said, “I know. Even during the hour it rains, stormy Barbados is paradise compared to the brutal winter in Mount Kisco.”

This caught my attention since Mount Kisco wasn’t far from my folks’ estate in Scarsdale. I glanced over at the thirty-something couple just as the woman scrunched her sunburned face in irritation. “It’s not even the weather. It’s those awful Millers. God knows what our lawn will look like when we get back.”

The waitress came by with my lunch, and after ordering another glass of iced tea, I cocked my head at a better angle to eavesdrop on their conversation. I craved drama, and fighting neighbors would do nicely.

“I know. The nerve of them cutting our hedges without our permission. How would they feel if we painted their mailbox in neon green or drew a hopscotch board on their driveway?” the man said.

The woman frowned. “I know we promised to fix things, but did they really expect us to cut hedges in the middle of winter?”

Smirking, the man said, “I guess so, considering they couldn’t wait until the spring before doing it themselves.”

A lawyer on sabbatical was still a lawyer, and it occurred to me what their neighbors did was not only unneighborly and ballsy, but it might be illegal. Perhaps it wasn’t my business, although it never stopped me before, but I believed my fellow beachcombers might want to hear what I had to say. “Excuse me,” I said.

When the couple failed to answer me, I cleared my throat. “Pardon me,” I said in a louder voice until both heads turned my way. “I couldn’t help but overhear your predicament. I’m an attorney.” When both sets of brown eyes opened wide in what I took as horror, I waved my hand. “You have nothing to worry about. In fact, I think you might like what I have to say.”

The two exchanged a glance before looking back at me. With a timid smile, the woman said, “By all means then.”

“You said your neighbors trimmed your hedges without your permission?” I asked.

The man nodded. “They complained our hedges had grown so long, they blocked their light.”

“They asked us to trim them and we were planning to, but the request came on a Thursday night and we were going away for a long weekend. We said we’d handle it when we got back, but Mother Nature had other plans,” the woman added. “I went to take out the garbage on Saturday morning the week before Christmas and there was Mr. Miller bundled up in his winter jacket, hat, and scarf. He was humming Broadway show tunes like it wasn’t at all unusual he was trimming our hedges.”

An image of Perry in a quilted parka and knit hat singing songs fromSweeney Toddflashed before my eyes, and I jutted my head back. Where did that come from? I shook off the hallucination and resumed my lawyer role. “If your hedges fall squarely on your own property, your neighbors aren’t allowed to trim them. It’s against the law.”

My new friends gaped at me in silence until the Mrs. asked, “Really?”

Nodding, I said, “I suggest you hire a surveyor to determine exactly where the property line is. If anything they did damaged the trees, they can be liable.” I motioned for the waitress to bring over my check so I wouldn’t be stuck at the table until dinnertime. Since I’d arrived almost two weeks earlier, I’d learned Barbados time was very different from New York time.

The woman focused on her partner. “What do you think?”

He put down his coffee cup and turned to me. “This is really helpful. Thank you so much…What’s your name?”

“Sidney,” I said, my lips curling up.

“I’m Jack, and this is Diane. And yes, we’ve heard it before.”

Chuckling I said, “Cute.”

Diane beamed at me. “I feel so much better now. Lucky for us you were sitting here.”

I felt myself flush as a bolt of adrenaline rushed through me. Next time someone accused me of being nosy, I’d tell them how my meddling once helped an anxious couple to relax on their vacation. “I’m so happy I could offer my assistance. And it’s free of charge,” I said as the waitress placed my bill in front of me in record time.

Jack smirked at Diane. “Betcha we never hear that phrase again from a lawyer.” He turned to me and shrugged. “No offense.”

I snickered. “None taken. The bottom line is your neighbors were probably not within their rights. Your only obligation is to abide by a reasonable expectation to keep your property safe and not cause injury to your neighbors’ property. If you confirm the hedges are on your side of the property, you’ll have grounds to sue. I wouldn’t suggest being litigious because you still have to live next door to these people. But it’s something you can throw in their face to prevent them from taking liberties in the future. They should have waited for you to cut your own hedges in the spring.” I signed my bill and stood up. “I’m staying in the hotel, so if you have any questions, I’ll be around.”

“Thanks again,” Jack and Diane said in unison.

With a final wave, I left the restaurant and headed over to the lap pool. I threw my bag and towel over an empty beach chair and climbed the steps into the water. I was ultra-awake and figured laps was a productive way to work off my excess energy. As I pushed my arms and legs through the water with the breaststroke, I felt high on life. I had never practiced residential real estate, but evidently some of what I learned in law school and through studying for the Bar stuck. I had skills. When I reached the other side of the pool, I pushed against the edge and turned around.

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