The SUV approached the corner at its usual slow speed.
Arthur watched from the porch.
He did not stand.
He did not wave.
He did not call out.
Brenda slowed near the curb.
For a moment, Arthur thought she might notice the landscaping and choose a proper parking space.
The dark mulch was clearly visible.
The garden bed occupied the area where she had been leaving her vehicle.
But Brenda apparently saw only the same convenient corner she had used for weeks.
She turned the steering wheel.
The front tires rolled off the pavement.
Then onto Arthur's property.
The first tire entered the loose mulch.
The second followed.
For one brief moment, the SUV continued forward.
Then its front end dipped.
The wheels pressed into the soft material.
The loose mulch shifted beneath the weight.
And the vehicle stopped.
Arthur lowered his coffee cup.
Across the street, Brenda pressed the accelerator.
The engine rose slightly.
The front tires turned.
But instead of moving forward, the SUV settled farther into the mulch.
Brenda stopped.
Then tried again.
The wheels spun.
Dark material shifted around the tires.
The vehicle rocked slightly.
But it did not climb out.
Arthur watched quietly.
He had expected the new garden bed to discourage parking.
He had not expected Brenda to drive into it as though nothing had changed.
Inside the SUV, Brenda leaned forward over the steering wheel.
She looked down through the windshield.
Then toward the curb.
She shifted into reverse.
The engine rose again.
The wheels turned.
The SUV rocked backward a few inches.
Then stopped.
Brenda pressed the accelerator harder.
The tires spun.
More mulch gathered around them.
The vehicle sank deeper into the loose material.
Arthur set his coffee on the porch railing.
He could see Brenda's hands moving sharply across the steering wheel.
She tried another angle.
Then another.
The SUV barely moved.
Finally, the driver's door opened.
Brenda stepped out.
She looked down at the ground.
Then at the front tires.
Then at the broad expanse of dark mulch surrounding the vehicle.
For several seconds, she appeared unable to understand what had happened.
The silver SUV was sitting in the middle of Arthur's new landscaping bed.
Its front wheels were buried in loose mulch.
The rear wheels were pressed against the uneven edge of the bed.
And the vehicle was stuck.
Brenda turned toward Arthur's house.
He was still sitting on the porch.
She stared at him.
Arthur lifted his coffee cup slightly in greeting.