We came up with a harmless plan. I pretended to leave for the night, parked around the corner, and quietly came back through the back door. Connor waited inside, holding a wrench (for dramatic effect), wrapped in one of my fluffy pink robes.
At exactly 7:11 p.m., just like clockwork, Josh appeared. As he leaned in to mess with the lock again, Connor opened the door and stepped onto the porch.
“You must be the mystery locksmith,” he said calmly.
Josh froze. He didn’t say a word — just turned and ran. I followed him and asked, “Why are you doing this?” His answer? He had hoped I’d ask for help, maybe reconnect. “So… sabotaging my door was your way of starting a conversation?” I asked. “It sounded better in my head,” he said.
Connor calmly suggested that he move on — and to my surprise, Josh actually listened.
Later that night, I posted the security camera footage to TikTok with a lighthearted caption: “Caught my ex jamming my lock. So I introduced him to my very calm, very tall house guest. 😂” The video blew up — millions of views overnight.
Josh wasn’t thrilled. But it turns out, actions have consequences. His workplace learned of the situation, and one of his close colleagues (who hadn’t known about me) was very surprised. After that, Josh decided to take a different career path.
Danny changed the locks a couple of weeks later — not because we needed to, but because it felt like a fresh start.
“Why didn’t you just call the police?” he asked.
I smiled. “And miss all this? Besides, sometimes the best way to move on is with a little closure… and a security camera.”
That afternoon, Connor came by with pizza and soda. We toasted to fresh starts and lessons learned.
“To small victories,” he said.
“And to new locks,” I added.
My phone buzzed again — another million views. I just laughed. Sometimes, life writes the best scripts — all you need is a little patience, a sense of humor, and good friends to help you through.