Our new neighbor had been upset about parking since the day we moved in. It was the first thing she’d mentioned when she saw us unloading boxes from our moving truck, and honestly, we thought it was a little odd. We had parked our cars legally in front of our house, just like everyone else on the block. But she wasn’t having any of it. She insisted that there should only be one car per house on our street, even though, as far as we knew, there were no such rules or restrictions. She made it clear she wasn’t fond of the idea of two vehicles at any one address, which seemed like a personal preference more than an actual guideline. Still, we figured it was a minor quirk, and we’d just ignore her.
A few days later, we were getting ready to head out for a Saturday morning errand when we noticed a handwritten note on our windshield. It was scrawled in big, angry letters: “One car per house! Move the extra one or else!” I glanced at my partner, and we both rolled our eyes. The nerve! But we laughed it off, thinking it was nothing more than an idle threat. After all, both of our cars were parked legally—right in front of our house—and we weren’t breaking any laws.
We thought that would be the end of it, but, as it turns out, our new neighbor had other plans. Three days later, we woke up to the sound of engines revving and the unmistakable clang of chains. When we rushed outside, we were stunned to see that both of our cars were hooked up to tow trucks. I couldn’t believe it. Standing there with a smug grin on her face was our neighbor, practically gloating.
“Well,” she said, folding her arms and looking far too pleased with herself, “maybe now you’ll listen when someone tells you the rules!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I walked toward her. “Wow,” I said slowly, trying to keep my composure. “You really went through with it, huh?”
Her smile faltered a little, but she quickly recovered. “What’s so funny?” she demanded, clearly annoyed that I wasn’t taking her “victory” as seriously as she thought I should.
I shrugged, suppressing a grin. “Oh, nothing,” I replied casually. “Just the fact that you now owe us $25,000.”
Her eyes went wide, and for a moment, she looked completely confused. “What? What do you mean?”
I nodded toward the special permit tag on our second car. It was clearly visible, hanging from the rearview mirror. “That tag,” I said with a grin, “means our cars are part of a government program for classic and specialty vehicles. They get certain privileges and protections—like no towing without very specific protocols. Illegally towing them comes with massive fines, not to mention automatic penalties. The towing company knows they’re in the wrong, which means they’ll pass the cost straight to you—the one who called them in.”
The blood drained from her face. She stammered, “I-I didn’t know…”
I leaned in a little closer, savoring the moment. “Well,” I said, “maybe next time you’ll think twice before trying to make up your own rules. You’ve just cost yourself a pretty penny, lady.”
By then, the tow trucks had unhooked our cars and were driving off. Our cars were safe, and as for our neighbor—well, she looked like she might have just witnessed a crime scene. She didn’t say another word. In fact, after that day, she didn’t bring up parking again. Ever. In fact, she started avoiding us completely. Whenever she saw us, she wouldn’t make eye contact, and we could tell she was doing her best to pretend we weren’t even there.
But here’s the thing. Sometimes, patience is the best revenge. We could have gone over and made a scene, but instead, we just waited. And sometimes, fate steps in and teaches a lesson for you. It’s a beautiful thing when the universe handles the details for you. The moment she made the decision to take the law into her own hands, she was the one who ended up paying the price—literally.
To this day, she doesn’t mess with us. No more complaints about our cars, no more notes on the windshield. And we haven’t had to say a single word since. I guess some people need a little extra push to understand that you can’t just make up your own rules when it comes to things like parking.