NYE, the flu, and neighbors

My New Year's Eve was supposed to be incredibly festive. Various groups of friends were doing things and I'd been invited to all of them. But we'd figured out what we were going to do and I got sick. I'd had a sore throat since around Christmas but thought it was just a cold. By Saturday I was running a fever, had the chills, lots of congestion, and felt like I'd run a marathon. So, to everyone I've infected with my germs I apologize but I didn't think I had the flu until this weekend. Needless to say, I spent NYE home, drugged up, and asleep on the couch.

That is until I was awakened by the drunken shouts of my neighbor's girlfriend. She is an interesting young woman, white, thick Southern accent, mid-twenties, chain smoker, with long hair styled like an 80's Metal band video star, and the mother of two small girls she lets run around by themselves often. She is similar to the women found on the Jerry Springer Show. She thought it best to tell the whole neighborhood how her boyfriend, a gentleman originally from Mexico, had hit her this evening. She proceeded to tell all of us this by screaming at the top of her lungs outside our townhouses. Many of us, yours truly included, went out to make sure she was not in any danger. She was mostly just intoxicated and suffering from a case of very loud potty mouth. Mind you she is not the only one in the neighborhood with small children. While she does not seem to care so much when, or if, her children sleep my other neighbors seem to have ideas about bed times and other child rearing practices.

Well, Jerry Springer Neighbor Girl proceeded to protest loudly that she wasn't getting enough attention. At which point one of the other men that lives with her boyfriend came out of their place and suggested someone sober (or mostly sober, I'm guessing) take her home. She agreed after much arguing and they left. I then went back to sleep. An hour and a half later, JSNG returned having convinced one of her friends to drive her back. I personally would not have called this other woman a friend. What kind of friend drives you back to the guy that hit you? Anyway, I know that JSNG would call this woman a friend because she did so loudly so all of us could hear. The friend then made the boyfriend promise he wouldn't hit JSNG anymore. Which he did. I think he really just wanted to go inside and not put on a show for all of us to watch. JSNG then proceeded to go on and on about how he may have hit her this one time but he really did do a lot for her. I found out, whether I wanted to know or not, that he paid for her kids clothes and shoes and other items while "their Daddy does nothing." I also found out that JSNG "f-ing loves him, even if he is a Mexican." This was apparently the first time either of them had used the word love and it appeared to make my neighbor, her boyfriend, uncomfortable. He didn't seem to mind paying for her kids but he didn't seem to want to be in love with her. She, of course, was too drunk to catch this but it didn't get by her friend. The friend asked if he loved her and he said, "yeah, sure." He then suggested that the friend go home so they could go in and stop disturbing the neighborhood. (Amen!) The friend was skeptical but she agreed and left and everyone went inside.

Update 1/15/08: The next morning was the last time I saw JSNG. She really should have left him when he hit her. He was trying to tell her all along that he didn't really love her.