My neighbor let her dog use my lawn as a toilet every morning for six months and never cleaned up once — Kertati I stayed polite until she made one comment I couldn’t forget, and by the next morning I’d taught her a lesson without raising my voice once.

I could defend myself.

Instead, I did none of those things.

I simply looked at her.

And smiled.

Not a friendly smile.

Not an angry one either.

The smile of someone who had just made a decision.

Then I went home.

Tom was in the kitchen.

He took one look at me.

“What happened?”

I told him.

He became quiet.
Tom always gets quiet before he gets angry.

I could practically watch him consider walking next door.

Then he stopped himself.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I already know.”

I explained.

He stared at me for a second.

Then he smiled.

“Set the alarm for 7:15.”

“Already done.”

“Need me?”

“No. Stay in bed.”

He gave me that familiar look he sometimes gives when I do something that reminds him exactly why he married me.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll make breakfast afterward.”

That night, lying in bed, I felt strangely calm.

I wasn’t excited about causing a scene.

I wasn’t planning to hurt anyone.

I was simply thinking about Marguerite’s own words.

You are responsible for what you tame.

She was right.

Completely right.

She simply had no idea how soon those words were going to come back to her.