Things ain’t always what they seem

I’d hated her copying me. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but this was just getting too much.
I’d thought about doing something really cheesy to see if she’d follow suit, but then I thought that was a bit cruel.
Instead, I decided to confront her. We were neighbours afterall.
I knocked on her door, and heard a safety chain and locks being adjusted.
She peeped out from behind the chain and smiled shyly.
‘Oh, hello. Anything wrong?’
Taken by surprise at her soft and concerned voice, I said there wasn’t and tried to make a joke of our houses looking like mirror images again.
‘I know it’s silly of me, but I so love your creativity. You don’t mind do you?’
I didn’t know what to say.
‘Would you like a cuppa?’
I nodded and she pushed the door partially closed so as to release the chain.
‘I don’t get any visitors,’ she said. ‘Since my husband died, I tend to keep myself. I don’t even have a cat!’
She laughed, but there was little humour in it.

Her house was as neat as a pin, but homely, without being a show house.
Tea was in china cups with biscuits on a matching plate covered by a paper doily.
‘Please, sit and make yourself comfortable.’
I was glad that the inside of her home was not a reflection of my own. There had been some changes with an extension and the decor was calming and tasteful.
‘How long have you lived here?’ she asked.
I said about three years.
She replied she had been here five but knew little about her neighbours. In fact, I was the only one who had knocked on her door.
I felt dreadful as I sipped my very good tea and refrained from dunking my biscuit.
She grinned, and it altered her entire face.
‘Go on. I can tell you want to! My name’s Anna by the way.’
‘Christine,’ I replied.

What followed was a most enjoyable hour in her company. We had quite a bit in common as we both lived alone now, were retired but whilst my kids had grown up and flown the parental nest, she and her husband had been childless.
Before I knew it, I was inviting her to Christmas lunch and also suggested we go shopping together for our next outdoor decorations.
‘I’d like that,’ she said. ‘It’s gets awfully lonely sometimes.’

Written for KL Caley’s Write Photo challenge

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