Authors: Louise Behiel
Her lips compressed, her scowl telling him all he needed to know about her views on rules and discipline for these rug rats. “I appreciate your desire to keep them safe. I’ll make sure they stay out of your yard.”
He didn’t believe her. Moving quick was going to be imperative. “It’s for their own safety,” he added.
“Of course.” Her smile returned, not quite as bright but still firmly in place. “I’ll make sure they stay in our yard.”
“Thank you.” Gray watched her stomp back to her own yard. He knew he’d come across as obnoxious and unreasonable but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to see those kids get hurt and she should be keeping a good eye on them. Or maybe get Mr. Bowen to do it.
He hefted a load of two by fours out of the truck bed and started carrying them around to the back.
“So, like, how far do you think we have to stay away from this guy’s place?” Bonnie wondered.
She pulled a couple of newspaper-wrapped plates out of a box labeled ‘Kitchen’. “Can we, like, walk on the sidewalk in front of his house when we want to go past? Or do we have to, like, cross the street?”
Andie chuckled as she lifted the toaster out of its packing. “I’m not sure crossing the street will do it. I suspect we’ll have to get in the car and drive a few miles before we dare head in that direction.” She set the toaster on the once-green chipped Formica counter. “And we’ll have to take the whole crowd with us because we can’t leave them here unsupervised.” She took a quick look out the window. Billy and his friends were still playing catch in the back yard while Chloe fed imaginary tea to two of her dolls on the patio. And Jamie, of course, was in here with her.
She studied the little boy curled up on the sofa in the family room, then focused back on Bonnie. “Seriously, honey, Mr. Mills isn’t asking anything unreasonable. He just wants us to stay out of his yard.”
“I suppose.” Bonnie didn’t sound convinced. “Still, he shouldn’t have made that crack about unsupervised. I was out there watching them.”
Andie cleared her throat. “He said something about you being on the phone.”
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bonnie’s chin come up. “Yeah. So? I was talking on the phone. I was still watching them.”
“I’m sure you were.” Andie pulled the blender out of the packing box. “Were you telling Karen all about your new bedroom?”
“Sort of,” Bonnie muttered
Andie glanced over to see the tips of the teenager’s ears redden. “You weren’t talking to Karen?”
“Well, no, but…”
“But what?”
“But—” Bonnie drew in a deep breath. “Look don’t get all freaked out about it, okay?”
Andie didn’t get it. “Freaked out about what?” Her heart gave a huge beat of hope. “Honey, were you talking to a boy?”
Bonnie blinked a couple of times. “Well, uh, uh, yes I suppose you could say that I was but...” She held up a hand, palm out. “It’s no one special. Just a--a friend.”
“A friend is a good step.” Actually a friend was a giant leap. Bonnie’s history of sexual abuse had left her wary and suspicious around males.
“I suppose.” Bonnie cleared her throat. “I was just, uh, telling him all about this place.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.” Bonnie’s tone grew reflective. “You know, when Sean and I were kids we used to talk about living in a neighborhood like this someday.”
“Did you?” Andie’s shoulder’s tensed. Sean, Bonnie’s half-brother, was a sad piece of bad news.
Bonnie murmured something. She set the plates down with a bang. “Of course, I didn’t tell him that the people around here don’t like us.”
“Oh, honey, just because one man—”
Bonnie flicked her black curls over one shoulder. “Make that two men.”
“Two men? What two…?”
“Mr. Kapinski,” Bonnie advised. “He lives two houses down. He stopped by while you were busy with the movers.”
Andie’s protective instincts rose at the hurt look in Bonnie’s navy blue eyes. “Oh did he? And what did he have to say?”
“Only that this is a quiet, respectable neighborhood and he expected us to all act with the dignity and decorum that entailed.” She made a face. “Oh, and if one pea is missing from his garden he’ll know who took it.”
“Ah.” Andie curled her hands into fists, fighting against the urge to march down the block and give Mr. Kapinski a large piece of her mind. “Well, I’m sure none of you would raid his garden.”
“It doesn’t matter if we do or not.” Bonnie’s voice rose to the ‘hard done teenager’ tone. “If one of his precious peas goes missing, he’ll blame us.”
“I’m sure that won’t happen. Besides, really, how would he know? Surely he’s not out there counting the peas in his garden?”
Bonnie shrugged. “He looked cranky enough to do it…”
“Even so, he’s only one man. I’m sure the other neighbors are just delightful.”
“Yeah right.” Bonnie glanced out the back window. “It looks like we’re going to have a chance to find out. I think one of them is coming up the walk now.”
“What?” Andie peeked out the window herself. Sure enough, a stately, middle-aged, brown haired woman wearing an orange pant-suit stood in the back yard. She eyed the boys and Chloe for a moment, then marched up the steps to the back door.
“She doesn’t look too happy,” Bonnie observed. “I hope she’s not here to complain about us.”
“I’m sure she’s not.” Andie took a brief look around the kitchen before hurrying down the hall. The counters were piled with dishes and appliances while brown cardboard boxes littered the floor and the hall. Just what people should expect, she assured herself. She’d just moved in for heaven sakes. Still she’d like to make a good impression on one of her neighbors.
The woman on the other side of the door seemed friendly enough. “I’m Ellen Hill,” she announced as she handed over a plate of cookies. “I just dropped by to welcome you to the neighborhood.”
Andie gave her a huge smile. “Thank you so much. That’s very kind of you. I’m Andie Bowen. Please come in.”
“Well maybe for a moment.” Ellen followed Andie down the hall and on into the kitchen. By the time they arrived, Bonnie had moved the boxes off the kitchen table and done her best to straighten the place. She introduced herself to Ellen then announced that she was going to go outside ‘to keep an eye on things’. Andie fought back a giggle as she poured iced tea for herself and her guest. Apparently Bonnie wasn’t going to let anyone else accuse them of not providing proper supervision for the children.
Ellen’s eyes were cool and dark and assessing as she settled into a white and green stripped chair. She looked around the still-in-shambles kitchen, then peered through the open doorway into the back yard. “Marvin and I live on the other side of Mr. Mills. Have you met him yet?”
“Just briefly.” But not brief enough. Andie was still smarting at the ‘no supervision’ comment.
“He doesn’t have a whole lot to say for himself,” Ellen advised. “He lives there all alone, you know. According to Mr. Taylor, the real estate agent, he spends his time buying houses, fixing them up, then selling them.”
“Really?” Maybe he was close to finishing remodeling the place. Then he could sell it and a lovely family could move in – one that didn’t look down their nose at her parenting skills.
“I have no idea what he’s planning on changing in the Smythe’s place,” Ellen went on. “It’s quite nice the way it is. Not that it can’t use a little fixing up but still, we wouldn’t want to change the character of the neighborhood.”
“I suppose not,” Andie took a sip of ice-tea. “Have you lived here long, Mrs. Mills?”
“Ellen please. And yes, Marvin and I have been here for over thirty years.” She paused as the children’s voices floated in from outside. “You know, when we moved here the street was filled with children. But they all grew up and moved away.”
Andie wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. “So there aren’t any other young families around?”
“Not on this crescent.” Ellen’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Young people don’t usually move into neighborhoods like this. They usually move into the suburbs.”
“I suppose that’s true.” Andie took a cookie from the plate and bit into it. “That’s not what I wanted though. I wanted a place that felt established and settled and secure.” She settled back in her chair as she remembered the brand new houses she’d been through.” You don’t get that feeling from the suburbs. Plus I needed a house with five bedrooms so the children can each have a room of their own. It’s hard to find an affordable one that size.”
Ellen raised an eyebrow. “So you have four children, do you? That must keep you and your husband busy.”
Andie drew in a breath. It had been seven years since Dave’s death, but she still didn’t like to go into it. “Actually, there’s just me and the children. And you’re right. They do keep me busy. Bonnie’s a big help of course.”
“She certainly seems to be,” Ellen agreed. “Just, uh, how old is Bonnie. Eighteen?”
“Close. She’s seventeen.”
“Ah.” Ellen took another sip of her ice tea, then set down the glass. “You seem awfully young to have a seventeen year old daughter.”
“Do I?” She might as well tell the neighbors the situation, Andie decided. They were bound to find out sooner later anyway. “Look, Ellen, I love these children as if they were my own but they aren’t. Not in the biological sense that is.” She glanced over at Jamie who was still snoozing on the couch. “They’re foster children.”
“Foster children?” Ellen blinked a few times.
“Yes. Bonnie’s been with me for five years and Billy for four. Chloe’s been here for about a year.” She gestured toward the couch. “Jamie’s the newest arrival.”
“I see.” Ellen pursed her lips. “And what sort of trouble have they been in?”
“Trouble?” Andie shook her head. “They’ve had more than their share of challenges but I wouldn’t say they’ve been in trouble.”
“I see.” Ellen pushed herself to her feet. “Well. I certainly do admire you for what you are doing.”
“Well, thank you I—”
“And they do seem like very nice children even if they are noisy,” Ellen went on. “But you never know, do you? I mean, I wouldn’t want them causing trouble in our quiet little neighborhood.”
“I wouldn’t either,” Andie agreed. She made a face at Ellen’s back as she walked her to the door. She was pretty sure the kids wouldn’t cause any trouble but she wasn’t so sure about the neighbors.
***
The moon shone on the neighborhood, reflecting off Gray’s truck. Inside, he was asleep.
The day was sunny and bright as the boy walked along the street. Happy, singing a little song. Glad he was going home.
Then it was night. Dark. Starless. Black.
He couldn’t see anything. He stopped. Stock still. Heart pounding. Wanting to move, but stuck. Stuck to the sidewalk.
Hands reached out for him. Grabbing him, lifting him off his feet. Pulling him. His heart raced and he tried to get away, dodging and twisting. But they were always there, right in front of him, no matter how fast he ran. No matter how far.
The darkness thickened. He couldn’t see where to run. Couldn’t move. The hands were still there, reaching for him, clutching at him. Pulling at his clothes.
Hands reaching. Grabbing. Pulling him away from…
Gray woke with a start, panic clawing at his guts, heart pounding.
He opened his eyes. Stared at the dark ceiling. Gasped in a breath, then another, forcing the tension to unfurl from his chest.
Not this again.
He wrestled with the sheets, untangling his legs from their grasp, yanking them away from his body with one hand, fumbling for the light switch with the other. The glow from the lamp swept across the room, erasing the remnants of the terrifying figures of his dream.
“Holy shit.” Gray muttered. He swiped a hand over the cold sweat beading on his forehead, sucked another breath deep into his lungs, exhaled slowly and forced himself to relax.
He’d had this nightmare hundreds of times, and it was always the same. Stark images. Hands everywhere, coming out of the darkness for him. After him. Clutching and grabbing him.
He shuddered, and swiped the sheet across his chest to wipe the sweat away. Yeah, the dream was familiar but it had been years since he’d last had it – so long in fact that he’d never expected to have it again.
So why was he having it now?
He wandered into the bathroom to splash some water on his face, then returned to sit on the side of the bed, his forehead pressed into the palm of his hands. When his heart rate returned to normal he raised his head, rotating his neck, loosening tense muscles. Something must have triggered it but God only knows what. Or why now.
He tossed it around in his mind for awhile, then gave up. The luminous dial of his alarm clock showed four-thirty. Earlier than he’d planned to start his day but since he'd never get back to sleep now, he might as well get at it. Right after a shower to wash away the sweat and toothpaste to clear the coppery taste of fear from his mouth.
He padded back into the bathroom, thinking. He’d been here for – he counted backward - fourteen months. Longer than any of the other houses he’d fixed and sold. It was past time to move on.