I told her my electricity bill had nearly doubled.
She laughed.
“It’s probably only a few dollars.”
That response stunned me even more than discovering the cable.
It wasn’t an accident.
It wasn’t a misunderstanding.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
“You Live Alone”
I reminded her that the electricity belonged to me and that she couldn’t simply use my outdoor outlet whenever she wanted.
Instead of apologizing, Monica became defensive.
“You live alone,” she said. “How much electricity could you possibly need?”
I stared at her.
She continued.
“I have three kids. I have errands to run. I need my car.”
Then came the part that really irritated me.
“You’re retired. You just sit at home.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Apparently, because I lived alone and was retired, my property—and the electricity I paid for—was somehow available for her convenience.
Monica had a beautiful home.
Her yard was professionally landscaped.
She had three children.
And she had recently purchased a brand-new electric vehicle.
There was nothing about her situation that suggested she couldn’t pay for her own charging.
This wasn’t someone desperately trying to keep the lights on.
She simply didn’t want to pay for something when she thought she could get it for free.
This Wasn’t the First Time
As I stood there looking at her charging cable, I suddenly remembered several other incidents.
They had seemed insignificant at the time.
But now they looked very different.
Once, Monica had walked into my garage without asking and borrowed my lawn mower.
She never actually asked whether she could use it.
She simply took it.
When I confronted her afterward, she said she thought I “wouldn’t mind.”
Another time, one of my garden decorations disappeared.
It was a small ceramic gnome that had been sitting beside my flower bed for years.
I eventually discovered it in Monica’s yard.
When I asked her about it, she laughed and said:
“It looked better over here.”
I had been irritated, but I didn’t want a neighborhood feud.
So I let those incidents go.
Maybe that had been my mistake.
Because people sometimes interpret kindness as permission.
I Tried One More Time
Standing beside my garage that night, I decided to give Monica one final opportunity to do the right thing.
I told her clearly that she could not use my electrical outlet without my permission.
I told her I was paying for the electricity.
