new neighbors.

I have new neighbors. Apartment 3 has been vacant for months, ever since that nice family with the three little boys and the cop dad left. I've seen the manager show the place a couple of times, but either the people pick a different apartment, or they pick a different apartment complex, which I suppose means they really pick a different apartment. I do not blame any of these people. I was shown that apartment when I first came here - it has the most hideous wallpaper with pink flowers in the downstairs bathroom. I'd go somewhere else, too. In fact, I did.

But finally, the apartment manager was able to find someone with an affinity for hideous pink flowered wallpaper, or at least someone with no more attractive options, and so apartment 3 is vacant no more. I liked having no neighbors. I didn't have to worry about my music being too loud or someone else's music being too loud. I didn't have to deal with someone not understanding that slamming the front door means slamming my front wall. I didn't have to worry about someone taking my parking space. While having an apartment with hideous pink flowered wallpaper is no good, living next to one is quite desireable.

But I drove into my parking lot this evening and noticed that someone was in my space. Then I noticed that someone was standing next to a lot of furniture in apartment 3. I had new neighbors. I assume they moved in this weekend while I was out of town. Hrmph, oh well, now I would have to deal with people. But as I got out of my car and unlocked my front door, I noticed something else about my new neighbors.

They had stolen my doormat.

I...uh, wait, they stole...my door-wait, what? I am so confused. I did not have a nice doormat. It was ugly and mildewy and green. It is still all those things, but now it is those things about three feet to the left of where it should be. In fact, as I went into my apartment with dirty feet this evening, there was even still a wet spot where my doormat had been, right in front of my door.

I am trying to give these new people the benefit of the doubt. I am trying to assume that they figured that my apartment, apartment 4, was uninhabited. They, seeing that they had no doormat and this supposedly empty one did, took the doormat. Sounds perfectly reasonable. So I shouldn't, say, worry about my car suddenly moving over to the next space.

But now I don't know how to handle the situation. I am secretly hoping that they, seeing their error, will put my doormat back. Maybe they will leave me a nice, apologetic note. But if not, I feel like I should say something. I don't care two cents about the doormat - it actually came with the apartment. But it came with apartment 4, not apartment 3. They got ugly wallpaper instead. And I don't want to encourage this sort of thieving behavior, in case they get the idea that stealing is okay in Lewisville. So do I casually wave in passing, then as an afterthought say, "Oh hey, did you steal my doormat?" I'm all worried about what they might say in return, like they might actually try to deny it whilst picking the lock on my car as I stand in front of them.

It's just a very weird situation. I guess I could knock on their door and welcome to the neighborhood, maybe sympathize with them about their wallpaper, and then ask about the doormat. I mean, it is their own fault if I come knocking at their door. After all, their, I mean, my doormat does say "WELCOME."