So now you all wanna know the outcome, right?

Before you read this, read this – if you haven’t, yet.

There. All informed now? Good.

Around noon yesterday, both Orange and I were scheduled for a haircut and wanted to get rid of some glass before our monthly appointment. On the way to the recycling containers, we saw the white Volvo coming our way. AHA!

When we came home from our haircut and groceries, O-X saw that the car was still there, so he decided to pay them a visit (they live a few houses away). O-X introduced himself and explained that there was a “little problem” with his car. The gentleman – I’ll call him Mr. AP - immediately followed Orange to the garage because he though WE had damaged HIS car. Once OX showed him the white scratches on my car, Mr. AP immediately went into defence, saying: “But, anyone could have done this!” and got a bit louder.

OX kept his calm and said: “Uhm. I don't think so. That car (meaning mine) has not moved in 3 weeks. My girfriend takes the tram to work. Could you open your rear door please? See, same height as the marks. And your door has been opened on many occasions, so it wasn’t a one time thing. Plus, I don’t see any other white cars here."

Mr. AP tried to get out of it again by saying that he never uses that rear door.

OX: “No, but your kids do. And tell me, why is there red paint on your door? ” (my car’s red, remember?)

Mr. AP: “But, I always let the kids out before I park the car.”

OX: “Funny. I just saw you today coming home and you let your wife and daughter out, but you still had your son in the back seat … right behind you.”

That was pretty much the end of the discussion and AP apologized. He was like a small kid that got caught doing something naughty. Anyway, OX told him that he had just wanted to inform him about this occurrence before taking any "drastic measures" and if we could get the marks out with polishing, it would be OK. If not, we would contact him again to discuss a suitable solution. Guess what? AP even offered to help polish my car, but OX told him that it wasn’t necessary.

I’m just happy that it didn’t end in a bad dispute. These things can become pretty nasty. You don’t have to be best friends with your neighbours – in this case, a direct parking neighbour -, but one should be decent towards each other and respectful, right? Obviously, he had noticed the marks before, but I'm still puzzled. What's so bad about coming over and apologizing before a situation like this breaks out?!