I looked again at the email.
“This is different.”
That evening, Brenda knocked on my door.
I expected it.
I opened it but remained inside.
She held her leather folder.
“Arthur.”
“Brenda.”
“I wanted to make sure you received the new security notice.”
“I did.”
“Wonderful.”
“I won’t be participating.”
The smile vanished.
“Excuse me?”
“I will not provide a key.”
“The policy is mandatory.”
“Show me the authority.”
“It was approved by security committee.”
“That was not my question.”
“The board has broad authority to protect community assets and residents.”
“My house is not a community asset.”
“This is for emergencies.”
“Call the fire department.”
“That wastes valuable time.”
“Emergency services know how to enter buildings.”
She stared at me.
“You’re making this unnecessarily adversarial.”
“No.”
I kept my voice calm.
“I’m saying nobody at the HOA gets a key to my house.”
“We cannot create individual exceptions.”
