Dana muttered a quiet “Morning” as she trudged into the office, slumping into her chair and switching on her computer.
“Good morning,” replied Emily and Sophie, exchanging puzzled glances before shrugging.
Dana was usually chatty and easygoing, but today she sat in gloomy silence, her mood as dark as the dreary sky outside—grey clouds hanging low, a steady drizzle tapping against the window. The office stayed quiet until Emily, who could never keep silent for long, broke the tension.
“Fancy a cuppa, girls? I’ll put the kettle on,” she said, rising from her seat and heading toward the small kitchenette behind the partition, where the office kept a coffee maker, mugs, and a jar of biscuits.
“I’m in,” Sophie chimed in. Dana said nothing.
There were three of them in the office. Dana, thirty, was married with a son. Emily, thirty-six, was also married with two children. Sophie, twenty-seven, was unmarried but lived with her boyfriend.
Emily was the most proactive—perhaps because she was the eldest, or simply by nature—always the one making suggestions while the others followed along.
She returned with a tray of three steaming mugs, handing one to Dana, who accepted it quietly with a nod. Sophie grinned.
“Cheers, Em, you’re our domestic goddess.”
Emily and Sophie laughed. Dana managed a faint smile.
Finally, Emily couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“Dana, what’s wrong? You’re making me nervous. Have we done something?”
“Don’t be silly, Em,” Dana sighed. “Just… family drama.”
“Falling out with James, then?” Sophie asked, surprised. The colleagues knew Dana’s marriage was solid—she never complained about her husband.
“Not James. It’s his family.”
“Ohhh, is Michelle at it again?” Emily rolled her eyes. “Ignore her. She’s not worth the stress.”
“How can I ignore her when we live next door? I’m not moving just because of her!” Dana sighed. “James barely notices, and his brother Mark’s fine, but Michelle… she’s something else. I finally snapped at her yesterday. Now I don’t know how we’re supposed to live like this.”
When Dana married James, his father had finished building a house for them in the same yard as his own. They moved in straight after the wedding, while Mark and his wife Michelle stayed in the main house with their young son. Both houses were solid, well-built—James’ father had been a foreman in construction, so materials had been easier to come by.
But barely a week after the wedding, tragedy struck. James and Mark’s parents died in a car crash. Since then, the brothers had lived side by side, their families sharing the same yard.
At first, it was fine. Dana and Michelle even had children around the same time—Dana her first son, Michelle her second child, a daughter. Life unfolded in quiet parallel.
“James, isn’t it lovely living next to your brother?” Dana had once said cheerfully.
“It’s alright,” James had replied, reserved as ever.
But as the children grew older, tensions surfaced. Dana never fought with James, but through open windows, she often heard Michelle shouting at Mark—always dissatisfied, always loud.
“Michelle’s on the warpath again,” James would mutter. “Poor Mark.”
Dana was calm, peace-loving. Michelle was her opposite.
“I’m quiet by nature,” Dana often said. “I don’t like rowdy crowds. My family is my world—just James and our son. I love a peaceful home, and luckily, James does too.”
She’d grown up in a loving, stable household where her parents never argued. She’d married expecting the same harmony.
But Michelle thrived on noise. “We should stick together!” she’d insist. “We’re one big family!”
James agreed with Dana—they were relatives, but their family was separate. Still, Michelle never got the hint. She acted as if she owned the whole yard, barging into their house unannounced, disrupting their routine.
Dana would never dream of walking into Michelle’s home without knocking. But Michelle had no such boundaries. She’d burst in at dawn, shouting, “Ooh, you’re up! Pour me a coffee!”—never mind that James and their son were still asleep.
Worst of all were the weekends. Dana loved quiet mornings—sipping coffee by the window, watching the sunrise while James and their son slept. She’d make scrambled eggs, oatmeal, enjoying the slow start.
Then Michelle’s face would appear at the window.
“You’re already cooking? Brilliant, I’ll join you!”
Dana hated it. But she could never bring herself to kick Michelle out.
“It’s just a few bites of eggs,” Michelle would scoff if Dana tried to refuse. “What’s the big deal?”
Michelle was unpredictable. “If I wake up happy, I’m a ray of sunshine,” she’d boast. “But if I’m in a mood? Watch out.”
Once, Dana overheard Mark scolding her. “Michelle, stay out of James’ business. How’d you like it if they barged in on us all the time?”
Dana didn’t stick around to hear Michelle’s retort.
Things came to a head last night. Dana and James had ordered takeaway sushi to celebrate their son’s straight-A report card. Just as the delivery arrived, Michelle stormed out, shrieking—
“You ordered sushi and didn’t tell us? What, are we not good enough?”
A full-blown row erupted. Mark dragged Michelle inside, but the damage was done. Dana cried from sheer frustration.
“Why must I justify every decision to her?” she asked James. “Can’t we have one meal without her?”
That morning, she’d confided in Emily and Sophie.
“So that’s the story,” Dana sighed. “Michelle ruined our night, swore at me, and threatened to make our lives hell. All I want is peace.”
“Bloody hell, Dana,” Emily huffed. “I’d have kicked her out years ago. You’re too soft.”
Sophie nodded. “You’ve got your own family. Forget her.”
“Easier said than done,” Emily muttered. “People like her *need* to be in everyone’s business. Just shut her out.”
Dana knew they meant well. But they’d never dealt with Michelle. Still, she’d made up her mind—next time, she wouldn’t hold back. Manners or not, Michelle needed to learn her place.
