T-26: Neighbors

There are disadvantages to being a girl living by yourself, besides the obvious I mean. There is no one to fasten that bracelet for you, zip up your dress, or give you their opinion of your outfit (when requested).

It was the night of my first company holiday party. Everything was taking longer than I expected and I still had to drive almost an hour to get to the resort where the party was located. I hopped into my dress, hair and makeup done, and wiggled as I inched the zipper up my back. I had forgotten that this particular dress had about ten little pearl buttons that closed the top six inches of the dress. After trying for a few minutes while working hard not to panic, I realized my only option was to approach my unknown neighbors.

Venturing out into the cold night, I knocked on the door across from mine in the breezeway. I crossed my fingers--hoping it would be the woman who lived here who would open the door. I'd seen her sometimes, bringing in groceries or calling her kids in from skateboarding. I stood there shivering and waited until I decided no one was coming to the door.

Looking at the other two unfamiliar doors in my breezeway, I decided to try the door next to mine. Thankfully this time the door opened and it was the lady of the house who answered. She introduced herself and happily zipped up my dress. I have never seen her again but I always mentally thank her for being kind to a stranger.

Now that I will have a roommate, this isn't something I'll need to worry about happening again. But should I ever need anything in my new home, I've already met the neighbors. One is a kindly grandmother who lavishes her overweight dachshunds with attention and the other is an older couple, the man happy to help any neighbor out. Nice to know I'll have some familiar faces to approach the next time I need to rely on the kindness of neighbors.