Talk about lousy timing. Responding to a phone call from my daughter-in-law and brand new mother, I hopped into my car and rushed over to her house so she could run out to take care of a few things. I should tell you they just moved into a new neighborhood, a lovely development with nicely updated homes and beautifully manicured lawns. As is common in our cooler market, you can't miss the "For Sale" signs that dot the landscape along the path to their home.
I was just around the bend from their place when I noticed a real estate agent ushering a couple with a baby into one of the houses on the market. I thought nothing more of it and continued to my destination when my phone rang. It was my son. He said, if you have trouble parking just pull into the driveway. I couldn't imagine why I'd have to do that since there's never been much street parking any time I've been there. As I pulled up there was no parking available. I was shocked and did pull right into the driveway.
It was then I saw the news van and police vehicles lining the street. A crowd had gathered on the corner to witness whatever had gone awry. My son was in the middle of the group and I walked over to him. It seems a man was holding his wife hostage in their home at gun point and a swat team was pulling up as we spoke. I turned and left to join my daughter-in-law in the house as I saw the agent descending the stairs of the house she'd been showing. Trying to look nonchalant as the police were putting up crime scene tape within feet of the buyer's car was a little like trying to ignore a huge pink elephant in the middle of a room.
The story ended as well as could be expected. The wife was finally released and the husband, after threatening to kill himself and barricading himself in the house for hours, was finally talked into giving himself up. I was trapped in the driveway and my daughter-in-law couldn't go anywhere. As a matter of fact they used her car door handle to secure the yellow tape when they cordoned off the area. The day could have been worse, certainly for the couple involved. In the greater scheme of things the impact on us was minimal. For the agent, she probably went home to have a stiff drink and the buyer -- a safe bet is that won't be their house.
My parting words to my son as he left for work -- "nice neighborhood you moved into."
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