They say that neighbours can become either friends or enemies, but I never imagined that mine would turn into both overnight. What started out as a simple favour turned into a bitter feud and a twist that left us both dumbfounded.
When my husband, Silas, walked out of our lives six years ago, I never imagined I would be standing in my kitchen scrubbing the same countertop for the third time and wondering how I got to be this way.
I’m Prudence, 48 years old, mother of two, trying to make ends meet by working remotely in a call centre. Life hasn’t turned out quite the way I’d hoped.
Silas and I used to talk a lot about our dreams, you know? About what kind of life we wanted to build together. But somewhere along the way, those dreams got shattered, leaving me to pick up the pieces alone.
He left one night, saying he needed ‘space to find himself,’ leaving me with our then eight-year-old son Damien and only a few months old daughter Connie. I guess he found more than space because he never came back.
‘Mum, can I have some cereal?’ Connie’s thin voice brought me out of my reverie. Her wide open brown eyes, full of innocence, looked up at me from the kitchen table.
‘Of course, sweetheart. Just give me a second.’ I forced myself to smile and grabbed a box of cereal from the top shelf.
Damien, now fourteen, walked into the kitchen as usual with his headphones plugged in. He barely looked up from his phone. ‘I’m going to meet Jake, okay?’ – He muttered.
‘Don’t stay out too late. And remember, when you get back, do your homework first,’ I tossed after him as he slipped out the door without waiting for my reply.
It was just another day in the life I’d been trying to manage since Silas left. Balancing the responsibilities of raising two children alone with trying to keep a roof over my head wasn’t easy.
My job at the call centre helped, but it wasn’t exactly my dream job. But it was a job, and in times like these, that’s all that mattered.
At that moment Emery, a new neighbour in her thirties, knocked on my door. I opened the door and saw her with red eyes, looking like she hadn’t slept in days.
‘Hi Prudence, can I ask you a huge favour?’ – She said, her voice trembling slightly.
I nodded, stepping aside to let her pass. ‘Of course, Emery. What’s going on?’
She sighed, sinking down onto the couch like she was about to collapse. ‘I had a crazy party last night, and then I got called out of town for work. The house is a disaster and I don’t have time to clean it. Would you mind helping me out? I’ll pay you, of course.’
I hesitated, glancing at my watch. My shift was due to start in a couple of hours, but the idea of making a little extra money was tempting. Lord knows we could use it.
‘How much money are we talking about?’ I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
‘Two hundred and fifty dollars,’ she answered quickly. ‘I just really need help, Prudence. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t urgent.’
‘Okay,’ I agreed after a moment. ‘I’ll do it.’
‘Thank you so much! You’re a lifesaver!’ Emery gave me a quick hug and then hurried away, leaving me wondering what I had just signed up for.
Emery’s house was simply trashed, and that’s putting it mildly. Empty bottles, plates of uneaten food, and trash everywhere, it looked like a tornado had ripped through it.
I stood in the middle of her living room with my hands on my hips, trying to figure out where to start.
Two days. It took me two days to clean, sweep, and trash this house. By the time I was done, my back was aching and my hands were raw. But I kept reminding myself of the $250 promised to Emery. We could really use that money.
When Emery finally returned, I went to her, ready to collect the money.
‘Emery, everything is ready. Your house is spotless,’ I said, trying not to betray the tiredness in my voice. ‘So, about the payment…’
She stared at me like I was speaking another language. ‘Payment? What payment?’
I frowned, my heart sinking a little. ‘The $250 you promised for cleaning the house. Remember?’
The look on Emery’s face changed to confusion and then to annoyance. ‘Prudence, I never agreed to pay you anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
For a moment I just froze, stunned. ‘You… what? You said you’d pay me! We had an agreement.’
‘No, we didn’t,’ she snarled. ‘Look, I’m late for work, and I really don’t have time for this.’ She squeezed past me, heading for her car.
‘Emery, this isn’t right!’ I called out to her, but she was already pulling out of her driveway without even dignifying me with a glance.
I watched Emery’s car disappear down the street and stood there furious. How could she just leave like that?
Two days of gruelling work and she had the nerve to pretend like we’d never made a deal. I could feel the anger bubbling up inside me, but I knew better than to act impulsively.
I walked back to my apartment, slammed the door behind me, and paced around the living room, trying to think. Connie was playing with her dolls on the floor and Damien was still out with his friends. I didn’t want to get my kids involved in this mess, but I wasn’t about to let Emery get away with it either.
‘Okay Prudence, you have to be smarter than that,’ I muttered to myself. I looked out the window at Emery’s house and an idea started to form in my head. It was risky, but at that moment I didn’t care anymore. If she wanted to play dirty, I could get dirty too.
Twenty minutes later I was at the local junkyard, pulling on a pair of old gloves I had stored in the car. I wasn’t proud of what I was about to do, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
I loaded as many bags of rubbish into the boot as I could fit, and the stench almost made me vomit. But I gritted my teeth and continued on my way.
On the way, I kept replaying our conversation in my head, her dismissive tone, her refusal to acknowledge what she’d promised. The more I thought about it, the more justified I felt.
She didn’t even have the decency to respect the labour I’d put into cleaning her filthy house. Well, she was about to see how dirty things could be.
It was quiet. No one was around to see me open the boot and start lugging bags of rubbish to her front door. My heart was pounding in my chest, adrenaline surging through me as I worked fast.
And then it hit me: Emery had forgotten to take the house key from me. She’d been in such a hurry to leave, she hadn’t even thought of it.
I hesitated for a moment. But then I remembered the look on her face when she’d told me there was no contract, how she’d brushed me off like I was nothing. I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The house was still spotless, just as I’d left it, but things were about to change. One by one I ripped open the rubbish bags, dumping their contents on the floor, the counters and even the bed. Rotten food, old newspapers, dirty nappies all mixed together in a disgusting pile.
‘This is what you get, Emery,’ I muttered to myself as I emptied the last bag. ‘You wanted to play games, well, play games.’
I closed the door behind me, remembering to lock it, and slipped the key under her mat. As I walked back to the car, I felt a strange rush of satisfaction and guilt. But I brushed it away. Emery had brought this on herself.
In the evening, as I was putting Connie to bed, I heard a furious pounding on my front door. I realised who it was before I even opened the door.
‘Prudence! What the hell have you done to my house!’ screamed Emery, her face red with anger.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorjamb, feigning calm. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Emery. How could I have gotten into your house? It’s not like we had any kind of agreement, remember? So I never had a key to your house.’
She stared at me, speechless for a moment, and then her face contorted with rage. ‘You… you’re lying! I’m calling the police! You’re going to pay for this!’
I shrugged, not breaking eye contact. ‘Go ahead, make the call. But how are you going to explain how I got in? You can’t, because according to you, I never had a key.’
Emery opened her mouth to object, but no words came out. She looked like she was about to explode, but all she could do was turn on her heel and walk away, muttering something to herself.
I watched her go, and my heart was still pounding, but this time it wasn’t just from anger. It felt like justice, a restored balance.
I didn’t know if she would call the police, but I didn’t care. Emery had learnt a valuable lesson that day: don’t mess with Prudence.
As I closed the door, I let out a long sigh, feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders. I knew I’d crossed a line, but in that moment, it felt like the only way to make things right.
Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, even if it means getting your hands dirty. And what about Emery? Well, I had a feeling she wouldn’t be asking me for any more favours anytime soon.
