Mr. Ballin

As the squad car drove away, Bonnie saw movement in a window of the house across the street.

She squinted and saw that one of her neighbors was peering out the curtains to get a look at all the commotion.

And then further down the street, a couple out for a morning jog had slowed down and was just staring at the

squad car as they passed by.

And now for Bonnie, I mean, she wasn't that surprised.

I mean, she'd be looking out the window too if police showed up on her street.

But at the same time, it still made her very embarrassed.

I mean, she knew people in this neighborhood were already very aware of her family's problems.

And it just, it was a lot to bear.

And frankly, making it even worse was the fact that generally speaking, Bonnie's neighbors were nice to her in person when they were face to face with her.

People even like went out of their way to help her, you know, but she knew behind her back, people in this neighborhood gossiped constantly about her family.

Now for Bonnie, this was obviously humiliating and also very frustrating because how could she possibly stop gossip?

I mean, she couldn't, but more than just disliking the fact that there were all these people talking about her,

She also just felt very isolated right now.

She was married, but her husband Robert had gotten a job in Maryland, and he only came home every other weekend.

Bonnie had actually tried to sell the house in Tucson and move the whole family to Maryland, but she'd eventually decided it just wasn't really worth the trouble.

Plus, Robert had already talked to his supervisor about potentially transferring back to Tucson, and he was supposed to be coming back for good just next week.

And so at this point, Bonnie was just trying to survive here.

You know, she still felt very isolated, but she knew, you know, Robert, he'd be back soon and she wouldn't be alone anymore.

And she would get to deal with the kids, with the nosy neighbors, with the police, with her partner.