"Hey there, neighbor!" a voice called out from the yard next door.
Frank didn't quite catch it at first and glanced back. His new neighbor, Mary, was beaming at him, dressed in a polka-dot sunshift. Frank wasn't one for gossip, but he'd already heard the whispers about why Mary had moved to the suburbs. The local women had spun all sorts of stories—that she'd left her husband, or he'd kicked her out—but the general consensus was that she'd simply become an afterthought to her grown children.
"Well, don't just stand there like a statue! Come over here. I'm not going to shout so the whole block can hear us," she continued.
Frank walked over to the fence.
"I saw you out here, Frank, and it just warmed my heart," Mary said. "I've got a good neighbor in you. I've been watching you for a while; you're handy, always working on something in the garden. And here I am, living all by myself, and it gets so lonely. I've got no one to talk to over a cup of tea, and I'm not about to go sit on a park bench just to trade rumors with the old biddies. Listen, Frank, a thought crossed my mind—now don't go thinking anything bad—but you're all alone and so am I. Why don't you just marry me? I'll keep you well-fed," she added, letting out a loud, hearty laugh.
Frank felt flustered, the heat rising in his face.
"What are you talking about, Mary? How is that even possible? I've only seen you twice; I don't know a thing about you," he stammered uncertainly.
"Well, we'll get hitched and then we'll get to know each other," Mary teased with a smirk.
"Oh, get out of here. You're just making fun of me," he muttered, turning away quickly toward his house while her bright laughter rang out behind him.
***
Once inside, Frank couldn't stop thinking about that eccentric neighbor who was always laughing. He couldn't figure out if she was joking or being serious.
"She's persistent, that one. Won't let it rest. 'Marry me, Frank,'" he repeated to himself. "What do I need someone like her for? She moved here from the city, all dressed up—what kind of homemaker is she? You can tell just by looking at her yard. It's all overgrown; the cucumbers are shriveled on the vine. She could have planted squash or tomatoes, but no, she planted all those strange flowers and a green lawn. What's the point of that out here? Who's going to look at it? You can't eat flowers and grass."
That night, Frank lay in bed with his eyes wide open. He couldn't sleep a wink. The woman and her jokes wouldn't leave his mind. His wife had passed away years ago, and living alone brought little joy; there was no one to talk to, and he'd never much cared for cooking. Frank often thought of his wife; he had loved her dearly, and she had been a wonderful partner. She'd worked a full-time job but still found the time to tend to the livestock and the chickens. Their garden had always yielded a massive harvest: potatoes, tomatoes, beets, carrots, berries, and fruit trees.
They had done it all for their son, Alex. He was their only child. They'd raised him and put him through school; he'd had a happy childhood. But Alex died at thirty-nine in a tragic accident. A year after his death, his mother fell gravely ill and passed away. Frank sighed deeply, wiped a tear from his face, and got out of bed in the middle of the night to step outside. He noticed a light in Mary's window; apparently, she couldn't sleep either.
***
Mary was also struggling with insomnia. She still couldn't get used to the silence. Since moving to the outskirts, she had worked in her yard from dawn till dusk. Reflecting on her past life, she weighed her mistakes. For a long time, she'd been involved with a married man whom she loved deeply. He had no intention of leaving his family—he'd told her as much—but she had been head over heels for him.
He had led her on, and she realized it too late, after she'd given him her youth and ended up with neither a family nor children of her own. She had decided to put him behind her and move away for a fresh start.
Mary found it hard to adjust to the change of pace. She had lived in the city for a long time, where things were simpler. Out here, everyone knew everyone else, and the moment she moved in, the gossip mill started turning. Frank had caught her eye immediately. He was handsome—tall, broad-shouldered, with a bit of grey hair that only made him look more distinguished. He was always doing something around the house, fixing things, out in the garden early in the morning, watering and tending to his plants. Mary remembered the way she'd proposed to him and felt a flush of embarrassment.
***
After 그날, Frank wasn't himself. He would go out to the garden and find himself glancing over the fence, hoping to catch a glimpse of his neighbor. Whenever he did see her, he'd pretend he hadn't noticed and act intensely busy. He thought about her constantly, and one night, he even dreamed of her.
Mary was a beautiful woman. When she stepped out into the yard in a blue robe or a light summer outfit, it took his breath away. Frank never imagined that at his age, he'd be looking at a woman this way. For a whole month, he lied to himself, unable to work up the nerve to speak to her. Then, one morning, a sudden impulse took hold of him. He put on a crisp white shirt and black slacks, picked a bouquet of daisies from his garden, and headed over to Mary's.
***
Mary had just woken up and stepped out into her gazebo in a silk robe to enjoy her morning tea. Suddenly, she heard the gate creak and saw her neighbor walking in with a bouquet of flowers. She hadn't expected to see him, especially since she was still in her robe and hadn't put on any makeup. She abandoned her tea and dashed into the house to the mirror to get ready. She did her face, changed her clothes, and sat waiting for him to knock—but he never came in. When she finally stepped back outside, he was gone.
Frank had gone home, feeling defeated. He'd lost his nerve at the last second, terrified she would laugh at him. He was just starting to take off his shirt when he heard a knock at the door. No one ever visited him; even the mail carrier usually just left things in the box.
"Come in," he called out.
Mary walked into the house.
"Frank, please forgive me for that joke," she said shyly. "I've wanted to apologize to you for a long time."
Frank let out a loud laugh. "Oh, that's nothing. I forgot about it ages ago."
She suggested they be friends as neighbors, and Frank agreed. They stood there for a moment, looking into each other's eyes in silence.
"I should get going," Mary said softly, turning toward the door.
"Wait, stay a while," Frank called after her.
By the next day, the news had traveled through the entire neighborhood. Everyone was talking about it, genuinely happy for Frank and the new life he was starting with the woman from next door.
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