My new neighbor, Cal, was the definition of annoying: never returned a wave, lurked in his yard, and even implied I’d stuffed my trash in his bin. The last straw came when a new security camera appeared on his garage—aimed straight at the spot on my deck where I did morning yoga. Furious, I marched over to confront him.

When he opened the door, Cal didn’t act smug—he looked exhausted. Out on my deck, he saw the angle and flushed, explaining the camera wasn’t even connected; he’d put it up because living alone after a divorce felt scary and exposed. The house had been his aunt’s, the fence overwhelmed him, and he’d worried I’d think he was a creep whenever he looked over to plan repairs.

The anger drained out of me. I build beautiful, odd things for a living, so we decided to redesign the fence together. Within a week, the old barrier was gone, replaced by curved cedar, wrought iron accents, and ivy pockets. The camera disappeared too, and Cal turned out to be a good listener with steady hands once he stopped overthinking.

One evening he brought pizza and beer, calling it a peace offering “for being a disaster of a neighbor.” We ate on my porch, admiring our fence. He admitted the trash-bin drama was a clumsy way to start a conversation. I laughed—because I’d had him pegged as unhinged. Turns out, it was just two awkward neighbors who needed one honest talk to become a solid team.