The family had just moved to a new neighborhood, and their neighbors threw them a welcome party. Then, a long feud began between them, and outside adversaries forced them to unite for their own good.
The family of John, Judy, and their ten-year-old son, Tommy, watched curiously from their porch as the new neighbors moved their furniture into the house next door.
“The old Dominguez house is finally sold, huh?” Judy said, casually sipping a cup of tea.
“Yeah… it seems so,” John replied.
“Do you think they’re from the city?” Judy asked.
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“They must be. Look at those luxurious bags. A bit over the top, in my opinion,” John said with a critical sneer.
“Always so grumpy! I like his bags,” Judy said.
“Looks like there’s a boy there too. He looks about my age,” Tommy said excitedly. The boy’s eyes momentarily met those of the other boy, Kevin. They shared a brief nod of recognition.
“Kevin! Stop staring at the clouds and help your mom with the rest of the bags,” said his father, Danny, when he saw him looking at the next-door neighbors.
Kevin helped his mother, Cindy, carry the bags into the house. Danny peered out the kitchen window, looking toward the family’s porch.
“Looks like we have some nosy neighbors,” he mocked.
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“They seem nice. Maybe we should introduce ourselves once we’re settled in,” Cindy suggested.
“Maybe… I think we left the city to get some peace and quiet. Let’s not get too involved in community things,” Danny said.
“Relax… this is our new home. Our new community. We should embrace it. And I know how you get sometimes,” Cindy said, glancing at Danny.
“I know, my love. And I’m all for accepting it. All I’m saying is, they seem a little nosy,” Danny added.
“Nonsense. They’re just being nice. Besides, I think this could be really good for Kevin. He might make friends with the boy next door. You know how hard he was to make friends in the city. This could be good for him,” Cindy said, hugging her husband affectionately.
“Hi! I’m in the room!” Kevin said, raising his hand in warning. His parents laughed.
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“Your mother is right. This is a new beginning for everyone. We should grab it by the horns and embrace it,” Danny said, hugging his son as he looked around his new home.
A few days later, there was a knock on the door of the neighboring family. Cindy went to answer it and found a congregation of her neighbors standing on their porch with various baked goods and other food. Among them were John, Judy, and Tommy.
“Greetings! This is the Machados, the Sanabrias, the Lópezes, and us. We’re your new neighbors and we wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood,” Judy said with a warm smile.
“Oh, wow! How nice of you,” Cindy said as the neighbor handed her a casserole. “Danny! Kevin!” she called. They both arrived moments later, surprised to see the welcoming party at their door.
“Our neighbors have come with gifts, darling,” she told her husband.
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“Oh, thank you! I’m Danny, this is my beautiful wife, Cindy, and our son, Kevin,” he said, taking the rest of the gifts. Again, Tommy and Kevin exchanged a discreet nod of recognition and a friendly smile.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m John, and this is my wife, Judy, and my son, Tommy. Since our houses share a border, we thought it would be a good time to have a barbecue there to welcome you to the neighborhood and get to know each other better. Saturday afternoon. What do you think?” said John.
“I think that’s a great idea. Thanks, John,” Danny said.
“Okay, very well then. We’ll see you there,” John concluded.
“It will be. Thanks again,” Danny concluded.
Later that night, Danny and Cindy were getting ready for bed. She was washing her face in the bathroom while he lay in bed, deep in thought.
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“I told you the new neighbors would be nice,” Cindy said from the bathroom.
“That’s weird, I don’t remember you saying that,” Danny replied.
“Listen, all I’m saying is, they’re not as bad as you feared. I think the word you used was… nosy,” Cindy added, coming into the room and joining Danny on the bed.
“I don’t know, but bombarding us on our doorstep with a league of stews is a little intrusive. Just a little,” Danny said with a mischievous smile.
Cindy chuckled, saying, “Oh, wow! Is this really the man I married? We’re in the suburbs, honey. That’s how things work around here. And I actually thought it was really sweet. The city can be so distant, cold, and reserved. I like that,” she said, with a hopeful smile.
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“Yeah. Jokes aside, I like him too,” Danny said before continuing with a doubtful grimace, “But what about that John guy?”
“Oh. They’re nice,” Cindy simply replied.
“I guess so. I’m just not sure how he said, ‘I’ll see you there.’ He didn’t give us much of a choice, did he?” Danny said.
“It was a friendly invitation!” Cindy said, laughing at her husband’s paranoia. “That’s enough. Let’s get some sleep. Good night, my love,” she concluded, kissing her husband.
“Good night, darling,” he replied.
A few days passed, and finally, the Saturday of the reunion arrived. The families set up a barbecue on the large lawn bordering both their houses.
The two families prepared the barbecue with great care. The entire neighborhood came out to meet and greet their new neighbors.
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Everything was going perfectly. Tommy and Kevin even found themselves interacting beyond simple nods of recognition as they talked about their favorite video games.
The children played on the lawn while the adults continued to mingle closer to the house. Suddenly, a Dalmatian ran up to them and began digging several holes in the yard.
Kevin immediately became alarmed and ran to his father, who was standing by the grill.
“Dad! Dad!” he cried.
“What’s the problem, champ?” Danny asked, concerned.
“Over there! There’s a dog in the yard!” Kevin said, pointing at the dog. Danny and Kevin ran over to the dog, who was playing with Tommy.
“This is my yard!” Danny said, seething with rage. “Whose dog is this?” he shouted.
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“She’s our dog, sir,” Tommy said quietly, a little surprised by Danny’s anger. Suddenly, John appeared from behind.
“Everything okay here?” John asked.
“No, not everything is okay. Your dog is making a mess of my yard,” Danny said, pointing at the random hole in the yard.
“Sorry about that. I guess Susi just has to get used to sharing the space, that’s all. This used to be her playground,” John explained.
“Well, that’s all very well, but it’s our yard now. I’d appreciate it if Susi would understand,” Danny retorted. “Come on, Kevin,” he said, and stormed off.
His son followed hesitantly. Kevin and Tommy shared a sad look at their playtime being interrupted.
John shook his pillows angrily as he and his wife prepared to sleep later that day. Judy looked at him, trying to understand why he seemed to be in such a bad mood.
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“So, are you finally going to tell me what’s got you in such a bad mood?” Judy finally asked.
“That Danny… he’s a real gem, isn’t he? Telling us that Susi should find another place like he owns it,” John said.
“Well, technically, it is. It’s partially his property, too,” Judy said, jumping onto the bed.
“Yeah, but he didn’t have to be a jerk about it. It’s our property too,” John retorted.
“Please, John. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Aside from the little incident with Susi, it was an amazing barbecue. I like Cindy and her whole family. Who knows, you might even find a friend in John. Look at Tommy and Kevin. They seemed to get along really well,” Judy said.
“Friends?!” John said sarcastically. “I highly doubt it. We’ll be fine as long as he knows his place.”
“Don’t overthink it, darling,” Judy said, kissing her husband. “Good night.”
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A few days later, John noticed the Jimenez family had parked their cars on the lawn, and one was taking up space in the Suarez lot. He saw Danny getting out of one of the cars and immediately approached him to confront him.
“Hey, Danny. Listen, you’re kind of hogging the space there. It’s a shared space, remember?” John said.
“Yeah, I remember. Have you explained that to your dog?” Danny replied.
“Is that what this is about? Are you still upset about Susi?” John asked, confused.
“It’s about respect, John. Have a nice day,” Danny said, walking away without another word.
John stormed home in a rage. “Who does he think he is? He clearly doesn’t know who he’s messing with,” John thought.
The next day, John decided to take matters into his own hands and began building a wall between his properties to establish a boundary. Danny was furious and brazenly threatened to sue John, but he ignored him and continued building.
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Days turned into weeks, and the wall grew taller and taller, as did the tense dispute between John and Danny. But neither of them was willing to give in.
They began avoiding each other and even forbade their children from being friends. They were classmates and were becoming good friends.
Early one morning, John woke up to a loud bang outside. Looking out the window, he saw an excavator knocking down his wall. He ran out of the house and saw Danny near the wall.
“Danny! Are you crazy?! Stop this immediately!” John shouted, furious.
“Listen, I’ve honestly dreamed of doing this. But this isn’t my doing,” Danny said, staring in amazement as the bulldozer continued to tear down the wall.
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“Liar! I know this is your doing. Stop it!” John shouted.
“I swear, John. It wasn’t me,” Danny said.
“You’re lying!” John insisted.
Tired of John’s accusations and ramblings, Danny threw himself at the bulldozer. “What’s going on here?”
The excavator stopped, and a car pulled up beside it. A man in a flashy suit jumped out, shouting at the excavator driver in frustration. “Who told you to stop? I’m not paying you to slack off. Get to work.”
“Excuse me! What do you think you’re doing?” Danny snapped at the man.
“Mr. Campos?” John said, surprised.
“What? You know this guy?” Danny asked, confused.
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“Yes, he owns a chain of local stores,” he explained. “What’s going on here?” John asked Mr. Campos.
“Hello, John. Gentlemen, you’re holding up progress. But if it’ll get you out of my way, I’ll tell you. This will be the location of my brand-new shop,” Mr. Campos explained with a smug smile.
“Are you crazy? He can’t do that! This is my…” John stopped and looked at Danny, reconsidering his words.
Then he continued with complete conviction, “This is our property!” Danny nodded, acknowledging John’s sudden change of heart and his sympathy.
“Not according to this,” Mr. Campos said, handing John a document. Danny leaned closer to read what it said.
“This says you are the rightful owner of the property. This can’t be!” said a shocked John.
“He also says the next thing he’ll do is tear down our houses. This is ridiculous,” Danny added.
“You better believe it,” said Mr. Campos, grabbing the document and getting into his car. “And you! Tear that down,” he said to the bulldozer driver.
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“Get your affairs in order, boys! Because your houses are next! Ready or not… Change is coming!” he concluded before leaving.
“I know you’re a big businessman around here, but can you really do that?” Danny asked, deeply concerned.
“I don’t know, Danny. Those papers looked legitimate,” a disheartened John said quietly.
“We can’t let him do that! Think about our families. What will I tell Kevin and Cindy? What will you tell Tommy and Judy?” Danny cried desperately.
“I don’t know! People like Mr. Campos make things happen! We don’t stand a chance,” John said, defeated.
“No… No… No, I don’t believe that. You make things happen, John. I’ve seen it. Remember how you got everyone together for the barbecue? People respect you. Maybe we can convince them to help us,” Danny said.
“We can save our homes. Come on. What do you say?” Danny concluded, holding out his hand for a handshake. John hesitated.
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“Come on. For our families,” Danny said.
“For our families,” John said, shaking Danny’s hand with determination.
John and Danny immediately gathered the community together and explained their situation to the neighbors. Within an hour, the entire community protested and surrounded the excavator, preventing the work from continuing. With no other option, the excavator driver called Mr. Campos.
“Sorry, boss. There are a lot of people here. They’ve got me surrounded and there’s nothing I can do. We’ll have to try again tomorrow,” the driver said.
The community gave a triumphant cheer as the driver climbed off the excavator and drove off. Danny and John high-fived each other in victory.
That same day, John called the community president, and Danny took the matter to the police. The community president agreed to investigate, and so did the police.
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The next day, Mr. Campos returned with the excavator to try to finish the job. However, shortly after his arrival, the police arrived and arrested him. It turned out they had been investigating him for some time.
The Suárez and Jiménez properties were just a few of a long list of properties that Mr. Campos had seized using fraudulent documents.
“This is great!” Danny said as the police left with Mr. Campos. “We saved our homes!” he exclaimed, elated.
“Yes, we did it!” John said happily.
“Listen, I know we’re off to a bad start, but I think there’s a way to resolve this without any more unnecessary drama. How about we work together to resolve this matter?” Danny suggested.
“How?” John asked.
“Well, we can hire a surveyor to determine the exact location of the boundary line and then share the cost of relocating the wall, if necessary,” Danny suggested.
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John looked at the ruined wall he had recently built. He remembered how well the barbecue had started and how all his neighbors had banded together again to protect their homes.
He recalled how excited his wife and son were to find friends in the Jiménez family. And then, he finally had an epiphany.
“I have a better idea. Please be patient and give me a little time, okay?” John said calmly.
“Okay,” Danny replied, and they shook hands.
The next day, Danny woke up to the sounds of construction in the yard. He immediately ran outside to see John working on something.
“What are you doing? I offered to resolve everything peacefully and fairly!” Danny burst out.
“I know, Danny. Please be patient,” John said calmly.
“Patience?! No one understands you! I don’t have time for this right now, but you’ll hear from me after work!” Danny snapped, running back home.
John sighed deeply, and continued working, an imperturbable smile on his face.
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At the end of the day, Danny came home from work and saw a playground on the lawn on John’s side, where Tommy and Kevin were swinging playfully. Danny’s side of the lawn looked uncomfortably empty next to the laughter-filled playground on the other side.
“Looks like you really had a better idea,” said a surprised Danny, approaching John.
“I told you. Be patient,” John said with a warm smile.
“Daddy! Look! Tommy’s dad built a playground,” Kevin said, elated.
“I see, my son. Are you having a good time?” Danny asked.
“Yes!” Tommy and Kevin exclaimed.
“All right!” Danny said to the boys before turning to John. “Truce?” he said, holding out his hand.
“Truce,” John replied. They held hands and watched their children play.
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From that day on, the two families agreed to share the lawn. Danny and John became good friends and built a huge gazebo on the other side of the lawn, where they hosted barbecues and parties for the entire community.
Judy and Cindy are making a small flower garden with the remaining space.
What can we learn from this story?
- We must find a way to maintain a harmonious relationship with the neighbors. If John and Danny had continued to fight, they wouldn’t have been able to deal with Mr. Campos’s threat.
- Learn to prioritize what truly matters and put your ego aside. John and Danny had to learn to put their egos aside and think about their families and homes in order to fight a common enemy.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
This story is inspired by the daily lives of our readers and was written by a professional copywriter. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images shown are for illustrative purposes only. Share your story with us; it could change someone’s life. If you’d like to share yours, please send it to [email protected] .
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