Summer Crushed/Prologue

In your early twenties, you married your wife. You were happy together and enjoyed a few years of adventure before you both settled into a cozy home nestled in a small midwestern town. You worked from home as a contracted software developer and your wife worked as a manager for a regional branch of a much larger company. Your budget for a home was modest, but more than most people could easily afford. The house you and your wife picked was one you both thought would be perfect for a new family.

But sadly, that new family of yours never came to be. Try as you might, you and your wife were never able to conceive. Eventually, you both saw it as a blessing instead of a bitter curse. There was more time for trips, more money for hobbies and you both found yourself living a content life.

About a month ago, the elderly couple next door announced they were retiring down south and would be putting their house up for sale.