“Could I ask you about the irrigation problems you mentioned a few weeks ago?”
Her expression changed.
Then she stepped aside.
“Come in.”
We sat in her kitchen.
The room smelled of cinnamon.
A small radio played quietly near the window.
Evelyn poured coffee.
Then sat opposite me.
“What do you want to know?”
I took a breath.
“You told me your sprinkler heads were damaged after you declined CanyonMark's replacement proposal.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Could you explain what happened?”
She looked toward the backyard.
For a moment, she seemed embarrassed.
“I thought it was my fault.”
I waited.
She continued.
“Patricia sent me a letter saying my irrigation system was inefficient and had to be replaced. I couldn't afford the company she recommended.”
I nodded.
“Did you ask for alternatives?”
“Of course.”
She gave a humorless laugh.
“I've lived in this house longer than Patricia's been HOA president. I know how to take care of a yard.”
I smiled faintly.
She continued.
“I hired a licensed technician. He said the system needed maintenance, not a complete replacement.”
“What happened next?”
Evelyn looked down.
“Two weeks later, somebody broke several sprinkler heads.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did you see who?”
“No.”
She sighed.
“The damage happened overnight.”
I asked whether she kept the repair invoices.
She nodded.
Then stood.
She returned with a thick folder.
Inside were photographs of broken sprinkler components, correspondence with the HOA, and a bill from CanyonMark.
I stared at it.
The company had contacted Evelyn after the damage, offering what it described as an urgent replacement package.
The proposed cost was more than seven thousand dollars.
Evelyn hadn't accepted immediately.
Then another HOA notice arrived, warning that her property could face escalating fines because the irrigation system was no longer functioning properly.
She became frightened.
Her husband had died several years earlier.
Her fixed income covered the mortgage, medical expenses, and ordinary household costs, but she didn't have thousands of dollars available for unexpected landscaping work.
Finally, she borrowed money from her daughter.