The Good Neighbor Read online

  “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Dahmer’s neighbors thought too.”

  Andy wasn’t going to let this rest until we knew what Jenson was doing. As I realized this, I sighed deeply and went in to mark the calendar that hung in the kitchen. I simply put the letter j on today’s square. I wondered how long I’d have to do this, how many j’s would be on this calendar before a pattern emerged. What if a pattern never emerged? What if it was all random? Well, I knew the answer to that. Andy would make me follow Jenson one day. I shuddered at the thought of stalking an old man.

  After grabbing a soda from the refrigerator, I returned to the porch, where I quickly saw I wasn’t alone.

  6 Owen

  “Were you two watching Mr. Jenson?” she asked, occupying the seat Andy had just vacated.

  Blushing slightly, I said, “Sort of.”

  “Why?” she crossed her right leg over her left in a swift motion and I tried not to notice.

  Taking my seat, I said, “He’s sort of a mystery to us. It’s killing Andy.” I popped the top on my soda and offered it to her. She declined.

  “What kind of mystery?” asked Carla.

  I considered the reasons why I shouldn’t tell her, but couldn’t think of a single one. I told her about the heavy bags. She listened intently as I described how he never had visitors and wasn’t social with anyone on the street. When I said it had been this way since he’d moved in two years earlier, her eyebrows drew together in suspicion.

  “Why are you looking like that?” I asked her.

  “I was just thinking.”

  When she hesitated, I asked, “About what?”

  “Well, it seems like a lot of things have happened here in the last two years.” She looked down at her wrist, fiddling with her bracelet. I could tell by the way she bit her lower lip she was concentrating.

  I didn’t say anything. I just watched her. It was cooler out today, so she’d traded in her shorts and sandals for jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and athletic shoes. Her hair fell down around her shoulders, framing her face. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but I found her even more beautiful today than yesterday. Yesterday, she’d been beautiful. Today, she was mesmerizing.

  “Didn’t you say Mr. Jenson moved in a couple years ago?” she asked, still twisting her bracelet around her wrist.

  “Yeah,” I said, unable to take my eyes off her. “Uh, I think he moved in...two and a half years ago, I guess it was.” I thought back, trying to pinpoint when exactly he’d come to Hewitt Street.

  “And didn’t you say the old couple passed away last January?”

  “Yeah,” I said, watching her connect the dots. I didn’t know what the picture would be, but the line was leading to Jenson. The line always led to Jenson.

  “And my Aunt Elaine was last February...” she said, trailing off at the end.

  “So you think Jenson...what – killed them?” I asked.

  “I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that a lot of things have happened since he moved in. I don’t know if he had anything to do with any of it, but it is odd.” She rested her head against the back of the chair and turned her face toward me. Quietly, she said, “I shouldn’t have come here.”

  I set my soda on the table and turned to her. I held her left hand firmly between both of mine and looked at her with more intensity than was probably necessary.

  “Listen, Carla. You and your kids will be fine here. I’ll personally make sure nothing happens to any of you. Whether or not it’s all a coincidence, you will be safe here. Please don’t think you shouldn’t have come.” I smiled to assure her. “I’m glad you came.” I couldn’t tell her that her moving here had led to a pivotal moment in my life. If she hadn’t come, I might not have decided to put Holly behind me where she belonged.

  “I just don’t want to put my kids in harm’s way. If anything were to happen to either of them...”

  I didn’t give her time to ponder the horrible things she was surely about to consider. “Look, I have nothing else to do. I’ll watch your place, if you want. I kind of do that anyway,” I admitted.

  “What?” she asked, unsure what emotion she should feel about my little revelation.

  I quickly added, “Not in the creepy stalker kind of way, but in the good neighbor way. Besides, I have to make sure Bernie isn’t trying to move in with you.”

  She laughed. “I owe you then.”

  “No, you owe me nothing. I’m happy to do it.”

  She stood up and came over, stopping in front of me. How far could she get with me still holding her hand? Feeling a little silly, I stood and reluctantly let go of her soft hand.

  “I don’t want you to think I do this with every guy I meet,” she said shyly. “But you seem like a great guy, and you’ve been so helpful.”

  Before I could prepare for it, she stretched up and planted a kiss on my cheek. I was aware of a lot of things at once. The way her soft lips felt against my cheek, the light touch of her hands as they held onto my arms, and the feel of her breasts as they grazed my chest ever so lightly. I fought myself to not turn and kiss her.

  “That’s me thanking you for watching out for us. And to thank you further, I’d like you to come to dinner tonight.”

  I breathlessly accepted her invitation, but assured her again that she didn’t need to thank me. I really was more than happy to keep her safe. Whether it was from murderers or perverts, I wanted to protect her.

  As I watched her walk down the street, I had a rush of emotions I hadn’t had in years. I was excited, nervous, happy, and scared to death all at the same time. I didn’t know if getting involved with her was a good idea, but I knew that it was going to happen. If she didn’t want it to happen, she wouldn’t be so inviting with me. I noticed she wasn’t inviting other neighbors over for dinner. And if I didn’t want it to happen, I wouldn’t be accepting her invitations. I wasn’t having dinner with other neighbors, either. The signs were clearly there.

  The day seemed to drag by after that.

  As I walked to Carla’s that evening, I thought about what she’d said. There really had been a lot of things happen since Jenson had moved in. It was one hell of a coincidence. And Jenson was odd. I wasn’t the only one who thought he was odd. I knew Andy and Jill thought so. Hazel would never say a bad word about anyone. Louis was never home. Bernie was too wrapped up in finding himself a woman. I supposed it was just Andy, Jill, Carla, and me that noticed.

  Such a quiet neighborhood for so much bloodshed. Maybe Carla should move. Maybe we all should.

  7 Owen

  I shooed the neighborhood dog to go away while waiting for Carla to open the door. Instead of leaving, he walked a circle and lay down in the corner of the porch next to Bernie’s house, under the porch swing. Before I could insist further that he leave, Carla opened the door.

  “Whose is he?” she asked.

  “He kind of belongs to us all. He’s a stray that roams around here. He’s a good dog, though. No one minds.” The dog licked his lips, as if to confirm.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Oscar.”

  Saying nothing, she turned and disappeared into the house. I wasn’t sure if I should follow, so I stayed where I was, debating. Seconds later, she came back, carrying a hamburger patty.

  “Here you go, Oscar,” she said, bending down and giving him the patty. Oscar’s tail thumped against the porch as he happily ate the warm meat. Turning to me, she said, “Shall we go in and eat?”

  “You know, you just made a friend for life there. Friendly face, warm food, cozy porch. He may never leave,” I said to Carla as she walked past me and into the house. I looked at Oscar, who returned my gaze. I swear I detected a smirk on his face. Maybe I was just assuming he was smirking. That’s what Andy would’ve done.

  Carla laughed.

  We ate the burgers over great conversation. The kids were telling me stories about friends they had in Dallas. Carla watched, smiling
and occasionally giggling.

  I could see the unfathomable amount of love and devotion in her eyes as she looked at her kids. I watched her watching them and couldn’t help but wonder if she had so much love for everyone she allowed into her life. Had she loved their father as much as she loved them? Would she ever love me with as much enthusiasm and passion as she loved them? I certainly hoped I’d have a chance to find out.

  With the kids asleep, Carla and I sat on the porch swing. Oscar lay sleeping beneath us. We talked about nothing in particular. Things we liked, things we didn’t like. Books we’d read and movies we’d watched. As it turned out, we had quite a lot of things in common.

  Time went a little too quickly when I was with her. Before I knew it, Andy was driving past us on his way to work.

  I glanced at my watch. “Wow. It’s late. I should go.” I didn’t want to leave. Not now, not anytime soon. I wanted to stay by her side and continue getting to know her.

  She looked disappointed that I had to leave. “I’ll walk you home,” she offered. It seemed she was just as eager as I was to make the evening last a little longer. This revelation excited me. It appeared she was feeling the same way about me that I was feeling about her.

  “But if you walk me home, I’ll have to walk you back home.”

  Laughing, she said, “I’m a big girl. I can make my way back by myself.”

  “If you insist.” We walked very slowly down the street toward my house, both of us trying to wring every possible drop out of the evening.

  Standing at the end of my driveway, I noticed she was hesitant. This was the first awkward pause between us. Neither of us spoke. I patiently waited for her to figure out whatever she was trying to decide.

  “Well, Owen, I guess I’d better get back. Thanks for coming to dinner. You can come by any time you want.” She had her hands in her back pockets. Very sexy.

  “I can’t bother you for dinner every night.”

  “I don’t just mean dinner.” I sensed a sexual undertone, but I didn’t want to react to it, just in case I was wrong. That would be humiliating for both of us. So I waited, unsure of what to say now. Finally, she added, “If you ever want to stop by to talk or visit or anything, you’re more than welcome. And it doesn’t have to be just dinner, you know. You could eat lunch at my place. Or breakfast.”

  I don’t consider myself a ladies’ man, although Andy was always telling me that I easily could be. According to him, I had the charm and the looks, which made for a lethal combination. I, however, had always been a one woman kind of guy, literally having been with only one woman.

  Even with my inexperience with women, I couldn’t argue that she was hitting on me. I hadn’t failed to notice she said I could eat breakfast at her place. She hadn’t said I could stop by for breakfast, which made me think she was hinting that I’d already be there for the first meal of the day. Of course, I could be completely wrong. I would’ve naturally assumed that I was wrong, if not for the way she said it or the look on her face when she said it.

  Just in case I was completely wrong, I decided to take the middle road.

  “Maybe I’ll take you up on that sometime.”

  “I hope you do,” she said sweetly. She leaned up and kissed me, just like earlier. This time, however, I noticed she left her lips on my cheek a little longer. This meant her hands rested on my arms a little long, and her breasts were lightly pressed against my chest a little longer. And I didn’t hate it.

  She walked away, leaving me standing there at the end of my driveway staring after her. I watched until she went inside her house and shut the door. I felt the stupid look on my face, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to force my muscles to relax, but they disobeyed me. I even wiped my hand across my face, trying to wipe the smile away, but it was there.

  It remained there until I was in bed, staring at the ceiling, imagining what it would be like to lie next to her. The damn thing was even there the next morning, waiting for me.

  I didn’t want to wish it away. It had been a long time since I’d felt much more than a frown on my face. I enjoyed the feeling that came with the smile. The feeling of warmth. The feeling of knowing someone was thinking about me. The feeling that I had something to look forward to every day, a reason to wake up.

  8 Carla

  I felt Owen’s eyes on me until I was in my house with the door closed. I was glad he couldn’t see my face, couldn’t see the goofy smile that seemed to be painted there.

  The last thing I’d expected to happen when I moved here was exactly what was happening. I met someone, a wonderful man, who made me feel good about myself. Unlike my ex-husband, he was easy to be around. I felt safe with him. And I felt like I could trust him with anything.

  I didn’t think I was falling in love with him. That would be crazy. We barely knew each other. But I believed that given a little time, it would happen. I could feel it.

  I lay in bed thinking about him. His muscular build, his tall frame, and his slightly shaggy, dark hair were all enough to make me dream of him. But it was the way he looked at me that made my heart beat faster.

  I could see in his eyes that he wanted to kiss me. I noticed his hesitation when we parted, as if he wasn’t sure if he should or not. I desperately wanted him to. When I’d seen that he wasn’t going to, I’d been unable to resist the urge to somehow kiss him. I was afraid that maybe I’d misread him and he didn’t want to kiss me at all, so I went for another peck on the cheek. It would do for now.

  I fell asleep wondering what it would be like to have him kiss me.

  I awoke a while later to the sound of someone pounding on my front door. I kicked off the blankets, dashed downstairs and threw open the door, unable to imagine who this could be.

  “What the hell are you doing pounding on my door like that so early in the morning?” I asked, infuriated. The sun was just high enough to lighten the sky. My best guess was it was about five o’clock. If he woke my kids, I’d kick his ass.

  The man standing before me now, clearly intoxicated, was a stranger to me. He was short, stocky, unshaven, and he smelled like cigarettes and alcohol.

  He swayed backwards, but jerked himself forward to prevent falling. To keep himself steady, he put one hand on the door jam. He looked me up and down, smiling broadly. I felt violated.

  Suddenly aware that I wasn’t dressed to receive company, I crossed my arms over my chest. I wore a camisole top and a pair of panties, but I still felt naked. It was surely the way he looked at me as if I were. From the look on his face, you’d think I was standing there naked, possibly even jumping up and down.

  “Well?” I asked again, angrier.

  In a rough voice, he said, “I wanted to come over and introduce myself. I’m your neighbor, Bernie.” He held out his hand for me to shake. It was impossible not to notice the dirt under his fingernails. The tip of each one was dark black. When I didn’t respond, he continued. “I thought maybe you’d like to come over sometime and we could...do something.” The way he was looking at me, made me sick. His eyes, already glassy from the liquor, were more so now, probably from his disgusting lust. I wasn’t positive, but I swear I saw his tongue flicker across his lips.

  “That’s never going to happen. I don’t want you to come back over here, Bernie. Goodbye.” I tried to shut the door, but Bernie threw his foot in the way. A well-worn, scuffed black cowboy boot jutted through the crack in the door. Had I been faster, I might’ve gotten it shut before he had time to react and keep it from closing.

  “Just come over once. If you don’t like it, which I’m sure you will, you don’t have to come back. Promise.” His words were slurring and he was gently swaying back and forth. Had he not kept one hand on the door jam, he surely would’ve fallen.

  I was getting ready to throw open the door and shove Bernie down my front steps, but before I could, Owen was there.

  “Bernie, you need to go home,” Owen said. His voice was so much deeper and more masculine than Berni
e’s, yet it was also smoother and easier on the ears. “If she doesn’t want you here, you need to leave. And unless she invites you over, you don’t need to come back, Bernie. Understand?”

  Bernie only grunted and stumbled his way across the porch, nearly fell down the steps, and finally made it into his yard. He mumbled the whole way, but I couldn’t make it out.

  Owen turned to me. “Are you okay?” I could see the worry in his eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. A few minutes more and I don’t know if would’ve been able to say the same thing, though. Thanks for showing up so fast.” It was nice to have someone look after me. For so long, I’d only been able to depend upon myself.

  “My pleasure. I couldn’t sleep so I got up early today, fortunately.”

  “Want to come in?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes.

  9 Owen

  I stepped into Carla’s house, trying not to notice her lack of clothes. It required will power I didn’t think I possessed. Luckily, she rushed upstairs to get dressed. After watching her ascend the stairs, wishing things I probably shouldn’t, I sighed deeply. It was a cold reminder of how long it had been for me. Not just sexually, but since I’d even seen a woman that close to being naked. I felt guilty for having any type of sexual thoughts about her. I didn’t want to ruin our chances of a great relationship by being a pervert. That would be stupid.

  A few minutes later, she returned, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Still sexy as hell.

  “So I see you’ve met Bernie,” I said jokingly. “What’d you think?”

  “Nice guy,” she said sarcastically. “Hope he visits more often.”

  She plopped down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her. Obediently, I sat next to her.

  “Do you want coffee or anything? I know it’s early.”

  I declined the coffee. Apparently neither of us required caffeine in the morning to get going. We talked about that for a while, and then the subject returned to Bernie. I promised to do all I could to make sure Bernie didn’t bother her anymore. That seemed to make her happy, so I added ‘unless you want him to visit’, which made her laugh. She had a beautiful smile and a warm laugh. I couldn’t get enough of either.