The Quiet Ever After

The Association's Notice - 3

The chance to talk to her about Ryan didn't come until farther into the night than Axel anticipated when he was out with Nina on the illegal deck after they'd gotten slammed by two more violations: the mulch, upon further inspection, was incorrect, and they weren't allowed to display signs out in the yard unless they were seasonal flags, warning signs, or signs for their security system. They had one with a joke about how they voted Fae.

Axel wasn't going to change the mulch. Geoff swore by it and it'd always proved out to Axel. And the sign, though a joke, was in the proper place on the house for them to be able to have it according to the rules.

While speaking about Ryan they got another notice about their indoor Christmas decorations, that they weren't allowed to have those up until at least December 1st, still a few days away.

"Son of a bitch," Axel said.

"Think Malian is going to come by and complain about that?" she asked, digging her hands into her coat. "Probably got a double-whammy of that in the first place."

"Can't believe this is happening," Axel said, locking his phone and sliding it back into his pocket.

He'd already, mentally, drafted so many different messages in defense of the deck. He did send a message about the mulch, since he believed that he was in the right on that one, even suggesting for this type of mulch to be added to the list of approved kinds.

"Maybe it was only a matter of time," Nina said. "Given who is in charge and who has been snooping around looking for trouble."

"What'd we do to deserve it, though?" Axel asked. "Be nice people?"

"Probably," Nina said. "Nice ones are the easy ones to pick on. Or, perceived nice ones." She turned her attention in the direction of Ryan's house. "I'm honestly surprised he came to you about it. Like minds, maybe, is what it sounds like."

"I'd have gone to Phil or Hideki," Axel said. "Or Geoff, in the past."

"Oh, Geoff would've hated this."

Axel laughed. "Probably would've written a legit letter in response. Think they would've gone after him?"

"If nice people are easy targets, nice old people are even easier."

Nina hopped onto the railing. It was late in the night. The moon had risen quite high already. Axel didn't find any urgency to go to sleep but also didn't have the energy to go respond to the HOA. It still felt too soon to do so, like they'd be getting exactly what they wanted.

They were prodding him, poking a bear that needed to lash out for them to get the results they truly desired. Simply put, they were being trolls, and annoying ones at that.

"Almost feels hopeless, doesn't it?" Nina asked.

"Yeah."

"I hate to say it, but, it also feels familiar. Doesn't it?"

Axel leaned against the railing next to his wife and admitted what he'd tried to ignore since he got the first violation notice: "Sure does. In a weirdly good way."

"Like we know what to do?"

"Maybe not that. But we know that we can win."

Nina clapped Axel on the shoulder. "All it takes is a little more brain power than magic power this time. It may help to mess with Melinda a bit with magic but, hey, we don't need any more suspicion heading our way."

Some bats flitted about in the canopy of the forest, visible only thanks to Axel's keen eyesight and sense of movement. The quiet that he and Ryan spoke about nestled in around the house again, as if the world gave them a reassuring reminder that this was where they were meant to be to seek out their peaceful lives.