Mr. Ballin

So Diane picked it up and she said hello.

And immediately, Debbie asked her for a favor.

She said that she needed someone to drive her to a doctor's appointment the next day.

And she was wondering if Diane could do that.

And Diane did not have to consult her calendar to know that her schedule tomorrow was wide open.

Just a few months ago, she'd retired from her 17-year career as a legal secretary and then had moved to this particular neighborhood to be closer to her aging parents and her brother.

And so her only job at the moment was helping out her family, which didn't take up all their time.

And tomorrow she was free.

So Diane told Debbie, you know, that she'd see her tomorrow.

And then the pair hung up.

After that, Diane gathered up her things and got out of her car.

And then as she was about to walk inside of her home, she stopped and just turned around and looked out at her new neighborhood.

And it was really nice here.

I mean, the block was full of all these beautiful homes and well-kept lawns.

I mean, this was just a really nice place to live.

And so as she was just, you know, staring out at the scene, she saw the woman who lived across the street, her name was Mrs. Yearwood, dragging her garbage cans down to the curb.

And so Diane, you know, she waved to Mrs. Yearwood and smiled and...

also made a mental note to ask Mrs. Yearwood if her son, whose name was Arnel, was free to shovel her, Diane's, walkway tomorrow, because that night it was supposed to snow.

Later that same night, sometime after 10 p.m., Diane was in bed with her laptop open, scrolling through messages on her online dating profile.

Now, dating was sort of a normal part of Diane's life.