I'd just left town on a business trip when Beryl Chavez from unit 701 sent me a message.

She wanted the passcode to my garage lock. Something urgent had come up, she said, and she needed to park there for a couple of days.

I figured good neighbors were worth more than distant relatives, so I gave it to her.

Three days later, the job was done and I headed home.

When I pulled into the underground garage, I stopped cold.

Someone had swapped the lock for a brand-new one.

My garage. The one I'd paid $40,000 for, then spent another $10,000 renovating.

And I couldn't park my own car in it.

——

I messaged Beryl. No response.

Called her. She didn't pick up.

I called twice more. Still nothing.

After a moment's thought, I called property management.

The person on the line said they'd noted it and would send someone down to take a look.

About twenty minutes later, a security guard showed up. Mid-forties, flashlight dangling from one hand.

He circled the garage door once, swept the beam over the new lock, then over the door frame.

Then he turned to me: "Got it down. Head home and wait for us to follow up."

And he left.

I stood there for a long time, the anger building slow and steady.

I'd paid $40,000 for this garage. Another $10,000 on the renovation.

Epoxy-coated floor, wall-mounted shelving, motion-sensor lighting I'd picked out myself.

All I'd done was lend it out for two days.

And now I was the one locked out.

I called Beryl again.

It rang over a dozen times. Still no answer.

I sent a message: "Mrs. Chavez, what happened with the garage lock? Please call me back as soon as you can."

Five minutes. No reply.

I scrolled back through our chat history. Three days ago, her message read:

"Alison Simmons, honey, what's the passcode to your garage lock? Something came up and I need to borrow it for a couple days to park."

I'd thought it was only two days, neighbor to neighbor, no big deal. So I told her.

She'd even replied:

"Thank you so much!"

Two days. That was the deal.

Three had passed.

The lock was changed. The woman was unreachable.

I stood in the garage, staring at that black combination lock, and the longer I looked at it, the angrier I got.

I pulled out my phone and searched for a locksmith nearby.

The guy said he could be there in thirty minutes.

I called property management again.

A different man picked up this time. I explained the whole situation from the top.

His answer: "The security team already reported this to us. Management is handling it."

"Handling it until when, exactly?"

"I can't say for sure. Just wait for us to follow up."

The same runaround, the same empty script.

I told him I wasn't waiting. I'd already called a locksmith, and this lock was coming off today.

He went quiet for two seconds, then said, "You might want to let us know before you open it. Just to avoid any disputes."

Unbelievable.

When the lock got changed, they didn't lift a finger. Now that I was getting it removed, suddenly they were worried about disputes.

The locksmith arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule.

He rolled up on a scooter, a toolbox strapped to the back.

He looked the lock over and said it was a tough brand to pick clean. He'd have to break it. Was I okay with that?

I told him as long as it opened, I didn't care how.

He said alright, and quoted me $260.

He'd just set down his toolbox when hurried footsteps echoed from the elevator bay.

I turned. Beryl was half-jogging toward us, hair in disarray, looking like she'd bolted straight out of her apartment.

She wasn't even close yet, but her voice reached me first:

"What do you think you're doing? What the hell are you doing?"

"Is that your lock? Who said you could open it?"

Beryl barreled up to me, gasping for breath, face flushed beet red.

I shot back, "It's my garage. Why can't I have it opened?"

"But I paid to install that lock!" Beryl's voice climbed several notches. "I spent four thousand dollars on that lock. What gives you the right to break it?"

I stared at her, stunned.

Four thousand dollars?

I'd seen the same model online. Three hundred, tops.

"Mrs. Chavez." I kept my voice even. "This is my garage. You changed the lock without my permission. I haven't even come after you for that, and you think you're the one with a grievance?"

"You're really going to stand there and ask me what right I have?"

"Who says I didn't have your permission?" Beryl craned her neck forward. "You agreed to lend me the garage yourself. Of course I changed the lock. If something went missing, who'd be on the hook for that?"

I frowned. "I said you could borrow it for two days. You changed the lock and then wouldn't answer your phone. How is that reasonable?"

"I didn't see any calls."

Beryl turned her face away.

"I sent you messages and called you. You didn't pick up."

"I can't read, so I don't understand messages. And my phone was charging inside. I didn't hear it."

I wasn't about to waste more breath arguing. "Fine. Well, now you know. I'm having this lock opened."

"No, you're not." Beryl planted herself in front of the garage door, blocking Eddie. "I paid for that lock. Nobody touches it."

"This garage is mine."

"You lent it to me!"

"I lent it to you to park for two days. Not to change the lock."

"Two days? You said two years!"

Beryl's voice got even louder.

I stood there, completely floored.

Two years?

When had I ever said two years?

While we were locked in this standoff, the elevator opened and two more people walked over.

One was Damian Vance, the property management manager. The other was the security guard from earlier.

Damian approached with a practiced smile. "Ladies, ladies, let's all calm down. You're neighbors. Whatever the issue is, I'm sure we can talk it out."

"Mrs. Chavez, take a breath. We'll sort this out nice and easy."

"And Ms. Simmons, you're one of our residents too. You see each other every day. No need to let things get this heated."

Beryl curled her lip. "Perfect timing, Manager Vance. You tell me who's in the right here."

"This little girl lent me her garage, and I just spent four thousand dollars putting in a new lock."

"Now she wants to hire someone to break it open. Does that sound fair to you?"

Damian turned to me.

I walked him through the whole thing:

Beryl had asked to borrow the garage for two days. I agreed and gave her the passcode.

Three days later, I came back to find the lock replaced, couldn't reach her, and property management wouldn't do anything about it.

So I called a locksmith.

After hearing me out, Damian turned to Beryl. "Mrs. Chavez, the garage does belong to her. You probably should have given her a heads-up before changing the lock..."

"A heads-up for what?" Beryl cut him off. "She lent me the garage. It's mine to use. What's wrong with me putting in a lock?"

"I've got all my stuff stored in there. If anything goes missing, who's going to pay for it?"

Damian faltered, caught off guard. He let out a thin laugh.

Then he turned back to me. "Ms. Simmons, how about this: hold off on the locksmith for now, and let me go back and check the records."

"Once I confirm who the garage belongs to, then we can—"

"Confirm who it belongs to?" I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. "The title deed is in my name. I bought the garage. What exactly is there to check?"

I pulled out my phone, brought up the purchase contract and payment records, and held the screen up for all of them to see.

"Right there. I paid fifty thousand dollars for this garage. Cash."

"Plus fifty thousand in renovations. That's three hundred and seventy thousand total."

Beryl didn't even glance at the phone screen. She turned her face away.

Manager Vance looked, but only for a second before shifting his gaze elsewhere. "Ms. Simmons, the garage is yours, sure."

"But you did agree to lend it to Mrs. Chavez. That's also a fact."

I stared at him for two full seconds.

The man kept saying he was here to mediate, but every word out of his mouth was designed to muddy the waters.

I ignored him and turned to the locksmith. "Go ahead. Open it."

Eddie Pratt had barely reached for his tools when Beryl charged forward and threw herself against the garage door, her entire back pressed flat against it.

She spread both arms wide like a hen guarding her chicks. "I dare anyone to touch this!"

"I paid to install this lock! Anyone who lays a finger on it answers to me!"

Vance stepped in again, wearing that same placating smile.

"Ms. Simmons, look at the state Mrs. Chavez is in. If you force the lock open and something happens, it's going to be a headache for everyone."

"Let me talk her down first. You take a breather too, and we'll sort this out tomorrow. How's that sound?"

"Tomorrow?" I wasn't having it. "My car has nowhere to park tonight, and you want me to wait until tomorrow?"

"Just park outside for now. There are temporary spots out front, aren't there?"

"Temporary spots are six dollars an hour," I shot back. "You covering that?"

Vance's smile locked up. He had nothing to say.

That was when Beryl pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a few times, then held it up and played a voice message for both of us.

It was from our conversation that day.

"Alison, sweetie, you're lending me this garage for two years. Don't worry, I won't get it dirty."

Her accent was thick. In her mouth, "years" and "days" sounded almost identical.

It hit me all at once.

When she'd sent that message, she had slurred the words on purpose.

After the recording ended, Vance's whole demeanor shifted.

He turned to face me, and the look in his eyes was no longer that of a neutral mediator sizing up both parties.

"Ms. Simmons, you see? In this recording, you clearly agreed. The garage was lent to Mrs. Chavez, she said two years, and you didn't object."

"She's already installed a new lock and moved her things in. For you to suddenly come in and force the lock open, that's not really appropriate, is it?"

"I never agreed to two years," I said flatly. "I agreed to two days."

"Listen to the recording. Just listen." Vance pointed at the phone. "It's perfectly clear. Whether it's two years or one year, she asked, you gave her the passcode, and usage has already been established. That's just reality."

I almost laughed from the sheer absurdity. I held my temper by a thread. "Manager Vance, let me ask you one question."

"I paid three hundred and seventy thousand dollars for this garage. You think I'd just hand it over to someone else for two years? Does that make any sense to you?"

"She's not family. She's not a friend. She's just the neighbor one floor below me. Not a single dollar in rent. You honestly think a rational person would do something like that?"

Vance's mouth opened, then closed. He had no answer.

I kept going. "You're the property manager. You know better than anyone whose name is on this garage."

"She says she changed the lock, so it's her lock. She says two years, so it's two years. And you, the property manager, don't bother to verify a single thing. You hear one recording and you pick a side. You're really something, you know that?"

The color drained from Vance's face. The corner of his mouth twitched.

But just as quickly, he forced that smile back into place. "Ms. Simmons, let's not get emotional. I'm not picking sides. I'm simply going by the information available..."

"What information? You didn't look at the title deed. You didn't look at the contract."

"My property gets taken over, I come to property management, and property management does nothing."