An officer approached.
"Step away from the dog!"
I obeyed.
Atlas remained sitting.
Patty screamed.
"He tried to kill me!"
Then a teenage boy stepped forward.
He was holding a phone.
"Officer?"
The officer turned.
"What?"
"I have the video."
Patty stopped screaming.
The boy held out his phone.
"I was recording a TikTok. They were in the background."
The officer watched.
Once.
Twice.
Patty lunged.
She jumped.
She landed.
Atlas yawned.
The officer looked at her.
"Ma'am."
Patty swallowed.
"Yes?"
"Get up."
"My ankle—"
"Your ankle is fine."
She slowly stood.
The officer looked at me.
Then Atlas.
"Nice dog."
Patty's face turned white.
The battle had just changed.
The Emergency Meeting
That evening, Patty called an emergency HOA meeting.
The agenda was simple.
Fine me.
Remove Atlas.
Destroy my fence.
And begin foreclosure proceedings against my house.
I attended.
I didn't argue.
I didn't yell.
I simply sat there with a recorder in my pocket.
Patty wore a neck brace.
For an ankle injury.
I almost laughed.