Rather than waking to the alarm clock Lee set, he was startled by the sudden car alarm blaring outside his bedroom window. "What the–" he grunted, getting up to investigate.
"Oh, jesus christ! What did you do this time?" The voice belonged to Kenny. Lee blinked, starting to realize that he now lived between two people who were waging a war– and by the sound of it, the time for compromising was no longer relevant. Lee trudged downstairs to the kitchen, where he found Carley, fully dressed and caffeinated.
"Morning, honey. Running late." she hurriedly stacked several papers into a folder. "Freshly brewed coffee is on the counter there. Have a good day. See you this evening." she stopped at the kitchen doorway to kiss her husband.
"I'll have dinner ready." Lee reminded, opening the front door for her. Carley seemed oblivious to the dispute augmenting in the driveway next-door and drove by without even a glance towards those spewing curses and insults relentlessly, all whilst the car alarm continued to ring in Lee's ears. Grabbing a decent pair of clothes, Lee made his way to the front lawn, crossing over to Kenny's property.
"Hey! What's everybody yelling about? …and will someone please turn that damned alarm off?"
"Tell that to Little Miss Sunshine, here!" Kenny spat. "Go ahead! Tell our new neighbor about your accusations of today. In fact, why don't you tell him about what you plan to blame me for over the course of this week?!"
"That's enough!" Lee's deep voice boomed over both of theirs and they both fell silent, feeling almost intimidated by the abrupt command from a man whose demeanor appeared calm and friendly.
At that moment, a police cruiser unprofessionally revved into an open parking space across the street. A woman who appeared to be in her late 20's stepped out of the vehicle. She approached the car which was responsible for its continuous blaring alarm, opened the driver's door, and flipped a switch located near the dashboard. Slamming it shut, she turned towards the three people that idly stood there.
"You must be Everett." she presented Lee with a flash of her badge, "Officer Molly Grant of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department." she extended a hand to shake his. "I get complaints from this neighborhood more than twice a day. I heard about someone buying this property– shame it's between these two. Doubt your realtor mentioned what you'll be up against from now on."
"Look, Molly–" Kenny started.
"Officer Molly." Molly corrected, adjusting a small hair clip that kept her bangs out of her eyes. "Don't start with the excuses and don't you dare say it won't happen again."
"I suppose you're here to notify a fee deadline." Lilly said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Hey, I can be reasonable. Since the car alarm failed to injure anyone in the perimeter, I see no reason to waver a fee. Yet. Although, both of you are one complaint away from being fined."
"Thanks, Molly. We appreciate it." Lilly murmured.
"I'd prefer peace than appreciation." Molly deadpanned. "But we can't all get what we want. Now then– why don't you both return to your residence. Mr. Everett…keep the peace." Molly turned swiftly, heading back to her cruiser with a confident stride and composed expression.
"Hey, hold up!" Lee called, catching up to her.
Molly glanced behind her shoulder before getting into the cruiser. "Sorry, I can't make any arrests unless a citizen is in critical condition or assaulted."
"That's not what I– Look, is this going to be a common occurrence?"
"Pretty much." Molly leaned against her cruiser casually, looking from Kenny's to Lilly's houses. "I don't know whether to blame them, or the idiots who thought it was a good idea for neighbors to share a driveway."
"You know…you're pretty laid back for a cop…" Lee remarked.
Molly laughed. "I'm not really the average cop. The K9 unit is my area of specialty."
"Search and rescue?"
"Nah. Just training and basic investigation stuff. Pretty pointless job to have, given the lack of crime here. To be honest…their arguments might be the most excitement you see today."
"Aren't you a bit…young?"
Molly shrugged. "Dad runs the state patrol. Didn't have much of a choice."
"I see."
She let out a sigh before sitting back behind the wheel. "You seem like a decent-enough guy. Maybe you can find a way to restore peace and order between those two. Well…at least some form of peace."
"Thanks, I'll try."
"Good luck, Mr. Everett." Molly pulled down her window. "You'll need it."