Another neighbor moved away without saying goodbye. Usually I am not surprised when someone I see regularly is leaving because I’ll see a “For Sale” sign on their property at least a few weeks before they are gone. This time was different.
This neighbor was a 30-something married couple who lived a block away. During the 3 pandemic years, I’d run into them every day around lunchtime as our paths crossed during our daily walks. They were as consistent as me with their walks – in rain or shine, scorching heat or frigid winter afternoons, they were there trudging past me.
I admired their consistency. After all, it takes one to know one.
The husband seemed shy. He would return my greetings with a nod but rarely said anything. His wife, on the other hand, was a bright spot during my walks. Whenever we passed each other, her face would light up with a big smile as she said hello. Although I was the beneficiary of her warm greeting, I wasn’t the cause of it. She was just that type of person.
This past year, I shifted my schedule to earlier morning walks and no longer ran into the couple. One afternoon, during a walk with Wiggles, I noticed a Rat Pack Pod in their driveway. I’ve seen these occasionally used when someone is having home renovations done that require temporary emptying out rooms. I suspected they were getting new floors or repainting the house.
I was wrong.
A few weeks later, I saw a “For Sale” sign in their front yard. The house was empty.
It’s funny. I never even knew their names and yet they brightened my walks for 3 years and made getting through the isolation of the pandemic a little bit easier.
In another time and place, I think we could have been friends.