When we bought our dream house, the backyard hot tub was our favorite feature. My husband Tom and I had imagined countless evenings unwinding in it. But life got busy—my new job meant frequent travel, and Tom was covering extra shifts. Our hot tub sat unused for months, quietly collecting dust.
Then one afternoon, our neighbor Lisa came over with a strange complaint. “Could you and Tom keep it down on weekends? There’s been loud music and partying coming from your backyard.” I blinked, confused. “Lisa… we’ve been out of town almost every weekend.” Her brows furrowed. “Well, someone’s definitely been back there.”
Suspicious, Tom and I set up a hidden camera aimed at the hot tub and left for another weekend trip. When we reviewed the footage, we were stunned. There they were—our next-door neighbors, Jim, Lisa, and their teenage kids—relaxing in our hot tub like it was theirs. Drinks, towels, even music. They’d been sneaking in for months.
We were furious. But instead of confronting them immediately, we planned a clever payback—one they’d never forget. The following weekend, we “left” again, but secretly stayed home… watching the camera feed. And that’s when things got really interesting…
His name patch said Lucky, but I don’t think he felt like that in the moment. We were at
