1 Happy St

About a month ago, I got home from work and I noticed that Jill was sitting outside in Old Guy's front yard with Old Guy and our new neighbors from 2-doors down Zach and Jennifer. At the time, I had not yet met these new neighbors. So as you can imagine, I didn't want to meet them for the first time with Old Guy calling me Mike. But as soon as I got out of my car, Old Guy yelled over.

"Hey Mike, got time for a cold one?"

"Always," I yelled back.

"Son of a bitch," I whispered to myself.

As I walked over, Old Guy ran in his house to grab a few more beers and my new neighbors stood up to introduce themselves.

"It's nice to meet you BRIAN," said my new neighbor Zach.

"Yes BRIAN, it's nice to meet you," added Jennifer.

I shook their hands with a puzzled look on my face.

"Don't worry," said Zach. "Jill already told us. Your secret is safe with us. Oh, and that's hilarious."

Just then, Old Guy came out with a handful of beers. "Here you go Mike," he said, handing me a beer. "Have you met everyone?"

"Yes, just now," I said.

"It's about time you all met each other," he said. "I kept trying to get you guys together but everyone's always so busy. It's just too bad the summer's over now."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was avoiding this moment all summer to prevent any embarrassment. I guess time will tell if Zach and Jennifer will be as good at keeping my secret as I have been.