The women in the community were already showing their distain for her. However, it did not matter, because she was without a doubt in harmony with the male species, so much so, that one of them would end up losing the shirt off his back.
The talk started to travel about the new woman on the block. Many would pass the house and see her behind the red curtains. Neighbors started to wonder what her game was. She had lived in the house for almost three months, and no one saw her leave the premises.
At night, prying eyes would see her nude silhouette behind the shear curtains. The men found her to be a gulp of fresh air, but the women saw her as a conniving harlot on the prowl. Many wondered if she was single or married.
Because she appeared to be in her early twenties, some started to question where she got the money to afford such an expensive home. People never saw her go to work. A few guessed she operated a home-based business, but others thought she was a kept woman.
Since many never really got a good look at her face, they all wanted to know, "What did she really look like? Who was this woman? Where did she come from, and what was her name?"
The answers to those questions would come sooner than later.
While neighbors were whispering about the strange woman behind the red curtains, one of the male members of the block association decided to reach out and welcome her to the neighborhood. His name was Enoff. He was forty years old, never married and moved into the area two years ago.
His house was around the corner from hers. He owned a company that renovated and restored historic homes. The business was grossing over one million dollars a year.
Five years ago, he met a woman on an Internet dating site. Two months later, he asked her to marry him, but on the day of the wedding, she was a no-show. It turned out that she was never legally divorced and decided to reconcile with her then unemployed husband, who won the two million dollar jackpot at a casino in Atlantic City.
For Enoff, it was the ultimate humiliation. He made a promise to get to know a woman first, before jumping the gun and becoming romantically involved.
His father once said, "When you become rich, there will be sharks coming out of the water to get their teeth into your money."
Enoff was lucky, because on the day of the wedding, his business was losing money. Two years later, the company became profitable, because there was a growing trend in buying and restoring old homes.