“I don't want this affecting her.”
Tanya followed his gaze.
“Then don't let it.”
He sighed.
“That's easy to say.”
She looked toward him.
“It's not easy. But she's happy here, Andre.”
He nodded.
“She finally loves being around the water.”
Tanya placed one hand against his shoulder.
“Then don't let somebody's need to control everything take that away.”
He looked up.
She smiled.
“And document everything.”
He laughed.
“That's my favorite part.”
Over the following weeks, the notices multiplied.
A letter about allegedly excessive pool lighting.
Another about the placement of outdoor chairs.
A warning concerning the color of a storage cabinet near the patio.
Then a notice suggesting that Andre's landscaping interfered with neighborhood drainage.
That last allegation caught his attention.
Andre had reviewed the property's survey, grading plan, and drainage easements before closing.
The house was situated on slightly elevated ground.
Rainwater moved through landscaped swales toward a common drainage corridor behind the eastern boundary.
The pool itself was served by a separate, properly installed circulation system.
Its filtration equipment was housed in a small enclosure beside the garage.
And the property's sanitary plumbing connected to the municipal wastewater network through the established service lateral.
None of those systems should have been confused with another.
Andre wrote to the HOA asking what drainage problem had been observed.
Cynthia replied that the association had received reports of unexplained moisture near the shared boundary.
He went outside to investigate.
The grass along his eastern fence was damp.
Not saturated.
But noticeably wetter than the surrounding lawn.
He checked the irrigation schedule.
There had been no recent watering.
He looked toward Cynthia's property.
Her mansion stood behind a row of tall hedges.
It was an elegant white stucco house with arched windows, a wide driveway, and a landscaped courtyard.
The rear property contained a guesthouse she'd recently renovated.
Andre remembered hearing construction work during the first month after moving in.
Heavy equipment.
Concrete cutting.
Several deliveries of plumbing supplies.
At the time, he assumed Cynthia was remodeling the guesthouse.
Now he noticed a narrow strip of grass near her side fence that remained unusually green despite several weeks of dry weather.
He didn't trespass.
Didn't attempt to excavate.
And didn't touch anything beyond his property.
He photographed the conditions from his own yard and reviewed the drainage plans.
The next morning, he contacted the HOA management company.
He explained that persistent moisture appeared near the shared boundary and requested information about recent work affecting the common drainage corridor.
The response was strange.
All relevant drainage modifications have been reviewed by the association president.
Andre frowned.