My Neighbor Requested My 12-Year-Old Son to Mow Her Lawn, Then Declined to Pay – She Wasn’t Prepared for My Retaliation

Then one day, Ethan came home, sweat dripping from his forehead. His shirt was soaked, and he looked like he’d been running for hours.

“Ethan, what happened?” I asked, walking over to him as he plopped down on the couch.

“Mrs. Johnson asked me to mow her lawn,” he panted. “She said she’d pay me twenty bucks.”

I glanced out the window at Mrs. Johnson’s yard. It was huge, easily the biggest in the neighborhood. Ethan had mowed the entire thing. It looked perfect, lines neat and clean.

“Two days,” Ethan said, wiping his face with his shirt. “It took me two whole days. But she said she’d pay me when I was done.”

I smiled at him, proud. Ethan was a good kid, always looking to help out. He’d been saving up for weeks to buy a food processor for his grandma’s birthday. The twenty dollars would help him get a little closer.

“Did she pay you yet?” I asked, still looking out the window.

“No, but I’m sure she will,” Ethan said, his voice hopeful.

I nodded. Mrs. Johnson might be distant, but stiffing a kid out of twenty bucks? Even she wouldn’t do that. Or so I thought.

A few days passed, and I noticed Ethan was quieter than usual. He wasn’t his usual cheerful self, and it worried me.

“What’s wrong, honey?” I asked one evening as he sat by the window, staring at Mrs. Johnson’s house.

“She hasn’t paid me yet,” he said softly.

I frowned. “Well, have you asked her?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, I went over yesterday, but she told me she was busy and to come back later. So I went again today, and she told me… she told me to get lost.”

“What?” I gasped, shocked. “What do you mean ‘get lost’?”

Ethan looked down at his hands, his voice shaking just a little. “She said I should be grateful for the lesson I learned from mowing her lawn. That learning to work hard was the real payment. She said I didn’t need the money.”

My heart dropped, and my anger rose. This woman had tricked my son into doing two days of hard work and then refused to pay him. How dare she?

I clenched my fists, trying to stay calm for his sake, but inside I was boiling. “Don’t worry about it, honey. I’ll take care of it.”

Ethan gave me a small, trusting smile. But inside, I was already planning what I’d do next. Mrs. Johnson might think she was teaching my son a lesson, but she was about to learn one herself.

I sat on the porch the next morning, watching Mrs. Johnson pull out of her driveway, as polished as ever. The decision had been brewing inside me for days, and now, I felt no hesitation.

My son deserved justice, and if Mrs. Johnson wasn’t going to do the right thing, then I’d make sure she learned a lesson of her own. I got to making calls and leaving voice messages.

Around an hour later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Mark, my old friend from high school, who now ran a small landscaping business. I explained the situation in a quick, hushed tone.

“So, you want me to… trim her hedges into weird shapes?” he chuckled on the other end of the line.

Mrs. Johnson took immense pride in her yard, especially her hedges. Every Saturday morning, without fail, she’d be out there, pruning the bushes with meticulous care.

She had them shaped into perfect, symmetrical forms that gave her house a neat, upscale appearance. To her, those hedges weren’t just plants—they were a statement.

“Exactly. Nothing destructive. Just enough to give them a funny look. She’s proud of that yard, and I want her to notice.”

Mark was quiet for a moment, then laughed again. “You’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll swing by later today.”

Step one of the plan was set. Now, for step two. I grabbed my laptop, found a local mulch delivery service, and called them up, doing my best to mimic Mrs. Johnson’s crisp, no-nonsense tone.

“Hi, this is Katherine Johnson. I need three large truckloads of mulch delivered to my address. Yes, the whole driveway. Thank you.”

I hung up, feeling a strange thrill. My heart pounded in my chest. Was I really doing this?

Yes. Yes, I was.

Then, I left a few messages for my neighbors. While asking for small favors, I made sure to casually mention what Mrs. Johnson had done to Ethan.

Later that afternoon, three giant trucks rolled up and began unloading piles of mulch onto Mrs. Johnson’s driveway. I watched from my porch as the workers carefully emptied their loads, blocking her entire driveway with massive mounds of dark brown mulch. There was no way she was getting her car in tonight.

By then, the neighborhood had started to buzz. I saw a few of the neighbors peeking through their windows, whispering to each other. Word had gotten around about what Mrs. Johnson had done to Ethan, and now, they were seeing my revenge unfold right in front of them.

I could feel the tension building. Everyone was waiting for Mrs. Johnson to come home. So was I.

At around 6:30 p.m., her shiny black car turned the corner and pulled onto our street. As soon as she saw the mulch, her car screeched to a halt. She sat there for a moment, probably in shock. Then she slowly rolled forward, coming to a stop in front of the pile blocking her driveway.

I leaned back in my chair, sipping my tea, and waited.

Mrs. Johnson got out of the car, her face a mix of confusion and anger. She marched over to the hedges first, staring at the strange shapes they’d been trimmed into. She ran her hands through her perfectly styled hair and pulled out her phone, probably to call someone to fix it.

A few of the neighbors had gathered across the street, pretending to chat, but really watching her reaction. They exchanged quiet laughs and glances. Mrs. Johnson looked around, realizing she was being watched, and her eyes landed on me.

She stormed across the street, her heels clicking loudly on the pavement.

“Did you do this?” she snapped, her voice tight with rage.

I smiled, taking another sip of my tea. “Me? I don’t know anything about landscaping or mulch deliveries.”

Her face turned bright red. “This is unacceptable! You think this is funny?”

I set down my cup and stood up, meeting her gaze. “Not as funny as stiffing a 12-year-old out of twenty dollars.”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Maybe it’s just the universe teaching you a lesson,” I said, my tone sharp. “Hard work is its own reward, right?”

Mrs. Johnson clenched her jaw, her eyes darting from me to the piles of mulch and then back to the small crowd of neighbors now openly watching. She was trapped. She couldn’t argue with me without looking worse in front of the whole street.

“Fine,” she spat, turning on her heel and stomping into her house. A minute later, she reappeared with a crumpled twenty-dollar bill in her hand.

She shoved it at me, but I didn’t take it. “Give it to Ethan,” I said, stepping aside.

She shot me one last glare, then walked over to where Ethan stood at the edge of the yard. “Here,” she muttered, shoving the bill at him.

Ethan took the money, eyes wide with surprise. “Uh, thanks.”

Mrs. Johnson didn’t say another word as she hurried back to her car. She fumbled with her phone, probably trying to call someone to remove the mulch blocking her driveway. But I wasn’t worried about that. My job was done.

Ethan smiled so wide, I thought his face might split in two.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, beaming.

“Don’t thank me,” I said, ruffling his hair. “You earned it.”

Mrs. Johnson never asked Ethan for help again. And every time she passed the neighbors, I could see the embarrassment in her eyes. Her hedges grew back, and the mulch eventually disappeared, but the story of how she learned a lesson about honesty and hard work stayed with the neighborhood.

Sometimes, the people who seem the most put-together are the ones who need a good reminder that you don’t mess with a mother protecting her son.

amie Lee Curtis overwhelmed with grief makes the heart-wrenching announcement

About her close friend and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 76 after a heart attack, Jamie Lee Curtis shared some very heartbreaking remarks.

The comedian and the 65-year-old actress, who portrayed the witch in Halloween, costarred in the sitcom Anything But Love for four seasons between 1989 and 1992.

After learning the tragic news of the actor’s passing on Wednesday, she shared a post on her personal Instagram profile. The first person to break the news was Bette Midler.

Curtis hailed the late singer in a lengthy statement for being “the reason I am sober” after sharing a number of vintage photos of the two of them.

Jamie battled an opiate addiction before celebrating 25 years sober this month.

“I recently found out about the passing of my friend Richard Lewis.” I can still clearly picture myself standing on Sunset Boulevard, staring at a poster advertising a stand-up special featuring him. I urged the casting staff to bring him in to try out for the role of Marty Gold, my best friend and potential boyfriend, during the ABC pilot Anything But Love casting process.

“I felt he had a good look.” It isn’t something a strong woman can really accomplish for herself, but someone made me giggle. He mispronounced the word “bundt cake,” but he still played the part, which made me laugh aloud.

Jamie remarked, “He blew everyone else away.” They added in their response that “the chemistry with Richard was so great,” even if they decided not to pick up the pilot for the love triangle show. Might we rework the initial pilot? We ultimately produced the show for two years in this manner.

He performed stand-up comedy as well, but he detested doing stand-up in front of actual audiences. I, however, thought it was fantastic.

In close-up, he would conceal his markings on door frames, objects, and even my face. He also carried a clipboard with his lines scribbled on it at all times. It turns out that he was a really good part actor. It’s hilarious and profound.

“We grieved together over the deaths of our friend and producer John Ritter as well as our friend and co-star Richard Frank,” she remarked.

“Richard expressed his desire for me to obtain another boxed set of show episodes from ABC/Disney in his most recent text message to me,” the actress said to her followers.

“He is also the reason I am sober,” Jamie continued. He was helpful to me. I shall always be appreciative of his kindness.

“He found love with Joyce, and that, of course, along with being sober, was what mattered most to him,” she stated when they discussed his wife Joyce Lapinsky. Writing this brings tears to my eyes.

It’s an odd way to express gratitude to a kind and humorous man. Richard, I hope you laugh till you die. Hannah exclaimed, “My Marty, I love you!” at the conclusion.

Jamie expressed her sadness over the passing of her longtime friend and former co-star in a second post.

She also included a line or two from the Anything But Love theme tune and another old photo of herself with Lewis.

“The great singer-songwriter JD Souther wrote this beautiful theme song for the third and final season of the TV show ANYTHING BUT LOVE, which aired on ABC for a few years,” Curtis said.

Look it up on YouTube and give it a listen. If not, I’ve recorded it for you right here. I’m presenting these to my buddy Richard Lewis today.

She revealed lyrics that read, “We would still be searching for the next big thing and trying not to fall… If we had never met/And the world got on without us/Just as if we were never that at all.”

“Hearts that beat like thunder and anything but love will do”Everything but love would be sufficient for everyone but you.

Celebrities and users of social media, including Larry David, who co-stars on Curb Your Enthusiasm, paid respect to the late Richard Lewis.

He told HBO, “He’s been like a brother to me for most of my life.” “In the same hospital, Richard and I were born three days apart.”

It doesn’t happen very frequently, but he was the sweetest and funniest guy at the same time. “But today he made me cry, and I’ll never forgive him for that,” the comic said in an interview with Variety.

Working alongside Lewis on the popular show, Cheryl Hines stated, “I had the biggest crush on Richard Lewis when I was young.”

“No one was cuter or more attractive on stage than him.” Then, a dream come true, I got to work with him on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

“I became more knowledgeable about Richard and his gifts as time went on.” He was humorous, which is why I fell in love with him, but he was also one of the kindest individuals I’ve ever met.

Cheryl stated, “He would take the time to tell the people he loved how much they meant to him, especially in the last few years.” In between takes on Curb, he told me how much he loved me and how essential I was to him.

“To have Richard Lewis love you.” An actual present. I adore you, Richard. You will be missed. I adore you, Joyce, and Richard’s entire family. Richard, Lawrence, cherished you.But you already know that.

Stars

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