Meet Maryanne

Meet Maryanne.

One morning she showed up at my gate with her toothbrush in her mouth and a cup in her hand. She was begging for water. I turned her away and felt horrible as I went back to washing my laundry, probably wasting a ton of water, on my front porch.

Finally a month into living here I realized she owned a store two doors down from my house. It was always an open door with people sitting outside and some calling me over to them. I tend to avoid those doors for fear they are a bar or another place I'd really rather not be. Tabita lured me in one time knowing I was having a banana craving. I found it to be a cute little store. The size of a half bath. A counter, behind which she sells about 30 different products - biscuits, soaps, eggs, produce, dry goods. She is known for having perfectly ripe avocados (on the days she actually has avocados aka avoka). She also constantly asks if I want bananas because she knows about my addiction to them.

Maryanne is constantly seen with Tabita's little girl Bellina. Some children in my neighborhood just sort of float around during the day to stay with other adults when they have working parents. Maryanne and Tabita seem to be good friends. Maryanne certainly has Tabita's brazen attitude. She isn't one to apologize or back down from her stance.

I like to give Maryanne a hard time because she is constantly giving Edison free food, but not me! She should technically be more loyal to me because I'm her immediate neighbor and a fellow female. At some point I will win her over to my side.

Maryanne is probably around her early thirties, late twenties, although life hasn't treated her kindly. She is single, with no children.

I had never thought much about where Maryanne lives because she always seemed to be at the store or roaming around the neighborhood. One day the door was closed. Edison and I went up to it and saw it closed. We asked the neighborhood kids where Maryanne was - Maryanne ari hehe? They started pounding on the door and motioning that she was inside. A couple minutes went by and we just thought the children were confused. Clearly she wasn't in there. Then a little voice answered back. Maryanne had been taking a nap inside. Once we walked inside we saw her mattress fitting neatly in the narrow space behind the counter. One simple question left - Maryanne, is this where you live? Yes.