The Neighbor [The Complete Collection] (15 page)

—Wait.

The nurse looked down on her and put a hand on her shoulder soothingly.

—Yes?

—Is my neighbor still here?

—He’s in the waiting room. Been there all morning.

—All morning?

—He hasn’t moved an inch in four hours. That’s a good neighbor.

—Oh, Janey said.

Her mind raced back to the events of the previous night, her night with Luke. She remembered driving home with Ben. He’d grown mad. Then he’d hit her. He’d knocked her unconscious! He’d put her in hospital! Ben had never so much as laid a finger on her before. Now he’d hospitalized her.

—What about my husband? Janey said quietly.

—He’s been notified, the nurse said.

Then she looked at Janey meaningfully.

—You just say the word and we can have the police talk to him.

Then she left and Janey closed her eyes. She wanted to look in a mirror and see how badly her face was bruised. There was a gentle knock on the door. She looked up. It was Henry Walden. Janey hadn’t seen him since the day she’d gone to his bedroom. That had been the day she’d allowed his friend, Malcolm French, to have sex with her. She still wasn’t sure what had led her do do such a thing. She’d been going out of her mind thinking about Ben and Suzy. She’d been depressed and weak. Henry had seemed like her only friend in the world, and she needed to do something to strike back at Ben. She supposed she’d done it partly for herself, partly to get even with Ben, and partly because she knew Henry wanted to watch her do it. He’d been so kind to her, he’d even filled his pool with roses after she swam naked in it, and she’d wanted to do something for him. It seemed she’d made the right choice. If he’d brought her here, he might have saved her life.

—Henry, she said and leaned up in the bed.

—No, no. Don’t get up, Janey. You just rest.

—There’s really no need for you to be here, she said.

He’d already been there four hours and she was embarrassed. Her life was spiraling out of control and now she’d gotten him involved. She was sure a wealthy man like him had more important things to be doing with his morning than sitting in a hospital waiting room with his next door neighbor.

—Nonsense, he said.

Janey’s hands were out on her lap in front of her. Henry came over and touched them softly. Then he sat in the armchair next to her bed.

—I suppose you’re wondering what happened to you? he said at last.

—I am.

—Well I can’t tell you all that happened, but I can tell you how you got here.

Janey nodded and waited for him to proceed.

—Your car pulled into your driveway this morning. Your husband was driving. I was watching from my bedroom balcony.

Janey smiled. Henry really was a watcher. He seemed to notice everything. His watching, looking at her doing the most intimate things her bedroom, had been one of the most thrilling feelings of her life. But that had all been for fun. Now it seemed, his watching had done her some real good and gotten her out of a dangerous situation.

—I was surprised at the erratic way your husband was driving, Henry said. He damaged some plants on his way into the driveway. The car was half on the lawn. I could see that you were sitting in the passenger seat and weren’t moving. You seemed to be asleep. I was surprised again when your husband entered the house and left you in the car. Maybe I should have been minding my own business, living my life, but I didn’t do that. I kept watching your husband. I was concerned for you. It wasn’t normal for you to be slumped in the car in the driveway. I knew something was wrong. He went up to your bedroom, had a shower and changed his clothes, made a phone call, and then went back downstairs. About half an hour later a car came and picked him up and he left. All the while you were sitting in the passenger seat, slumped against the window.

—Who picked him up?

—I don’t know.

Janey didn’t know what to say. Never in a million years had she thought she’d be the kind of women who’d be left out in a car, unconscious, by her own abusive husband. Her life was spiraling out of control and she had to do something about it. The question was, what could she do?

—That’s awful, she said at last. How could he just leave me outside in the car all that time?

—It didn’t seem right, Henry said. As soon as he left, I ran down the stairs and checked on you. I saw that your face was injured and you were unconscious. I’ve got a medical background and I know that a concussion lasting that long can be serious. I called an ambulance immediately.

Janey knew all about Henry’s medical background. He was famous in certain scientific circles. The research company he founded had developed a revolutionary new treatment for the genetic condition his family had suffered from. Saying he had a medical background was somewhat understating it.

—Well, thank you, Henry.

—Of course.

—Thank you for being here. Thank you for waiting for me.

—It’s my pleasure, Janey.

He sat next to her and his presence there soothed her. Something about him made her feel safe and cared for. She looked around the room and began to notice that it wasn’t an ordinary hospital room. It was too comfortable, too well appointed. It felt more like a hotel than a hospital. Even the sheets were luxurious.

—What hospital are we at?

—We’re actually at the West Mount private clinic. I’m on the board here. They’ll take good care of you.

She let Henry touch her hands again. It was strange having him here, looking after her. She’d been fooling around with him, masturbating in front of him, treating him like a dirty old pervert, and now here he was, caring for her. It was strange how things in life turned out. She never would have thought her neighbor would be the one to stand up for her. She never would have thought she’d have needed so much help.

—When will I be able to leave?

—I think they’ll want to keep you overnight. Just for monitoring.

—Ok, Janey said.

She didn’t have the strength yet to leave that place. It was a comfort and a sanctuary, and outside, her life was in a complete shambles. She wondered about Ben. He’d never done anything like this before. He was rapidly becoming a man who she couldn’t trust. He was becoming dangerous and nasty. His behavior was deteriorating by the day. What had started as an affair had built up to him actually leaving her in a hotel room with another man, and now this. She couldn’t go on like this. Something had to be done. A husband’s job was to protect his wife, shield her from the world. Ben had abandoned her. He hadn’t cared one bit about what might have happened when he left her in the hotel room with Luke. Luke could have done anything he liked to her and what could she have done about it? Nothing. Her husband had given her away for the night and that was the way it was. If Luke had wanted to abuse her in some way, mistreat her, harm her, Ben wouldn’t have been there to take notice. He was too busy getting inside Suzy. She knew her views on husbands were a little traditional but she couldn’t help that. That was the kind of woman she was. She’d always been that way. She’d had a difficult childhood, her own father had been a troubled man, and the result was a deep yearning in her for a husband who looked after his family and protected her. She needed a father figure in her husband. She didn’t think that was too much to expect. There must have been plenty of other women with that same need. Women who’d been unfortunate enough to grow up with fathers who didn’t care for them the way nature had intended. She was willing to offer love, faithfulness and devotion in return.

—I’m going to let you get some rest, Henry said. But if you need me, if you need anything at all, you just tell the nurse and she’ll come get me.

—Please don’t feel like you have to stay here because of me.

—Nonsense, Henry said. I’m not going anywhere, Janey. They know me here. I even have an office. If I’m not in the waiting room I’ll be in my office. You tell them to come find me.

She thanked him and watched him leave. It was strange to have someone older and wiser looking out for her. She wasn’t used to that. She’d never had anything like that in her life before.

She tried to sleep. When she couldn’t she flicked on the TV and let an hour or two of daytime talk shows pass the time. Twice, her nurse came by to check on her. The second time, she came with the doctor. The doctor assured her that everything was normal and that they expected her to be fit to leave the following morning. The nurse gave her some documents to sign. She saw that the bill had been fully taken care of by Henry Walden. It was over two thousand dollars! She and Ben had insurance but she doubted it covered places like this. She asked the nurse to bring her a mirror and she examined her face. It wasn’t too bad, just some light bruising like the nurse had said. She felt silly that such a small injury had led to all this fuss. The doctor also told her that the police would want to ask her a few questions. Her injury appeared to have been caused by an assault, possibly a domestic dispute, and the hospital had an obligation to notify the police. He told her that she should think about what she wanted to say.

She wondered what he’d meant by that. She supposed most women who came in with their faces bashed in by their husbands weren’t ready to tell the police who’d done it. Anyone woman was going to make that admission would want to give it some thought first.

It was just as well, because when the policeman came and asked her about the injury she told him she’d fallen before getting into the car. The policeman was overweight and friendly, a man in his thirties with a beard and prematurely graying sideburns.

—You’re sure it was a fall?

—Yes, officer.

—No one assaulted you?

—No.

—Who was in the vehicle with you before you became unconscious?

—My husband, Ben Carver.

—And why didn’t he seek medical attention for you?

—He must not have realized how badly I was hurt.

—Janey, the police officer said. Are you sure that’s what happened? We’re here to help.

Janey took a moment to think. She felt like telling the policeman everything. She felt she could trust him. She couldn’t really be in a worse situation with Ben as it was. If she was going to do something about her situation, get her life straightened out and move forward, she knew she would have to talk to someone in authority, sooner or later.

But she couldn’t do it yet. It wasn’t that she was afraid, it was that her marriage still meant too much to her. It had rapidly become an unhealthy relationship, a deeply troubled emotional place for both her and Ben, but it was still a marriage, and that had to mean something. If people let their marriages fall apart simply because things were difficult, life would be chaos. Certainly there’d been indiscretions, Ben’s affair, Suzy’s fooling around with her neighbor, the whole swinging incident with Luke, but their marriage was still sacred, still legally binding, and still valid, as far as she was concerned.

—I have nothing more to say, she said at last to the police officer.

He looked at her gravely before scribbling something in his notebook.

When he finally left, Janey burst into tears. She’d been so close to telling him what had happened. Ben had punched her unconscious and the police ought to know about it, she knew that. But she wasn’t ready.

II

A
T AROUND FOUR IN THE
afternoon, after watching several hours of daytime television and making small talk with the nurses, Janey asked her doctor if she could leave. She knew they wanted to keep her a little longer, and she actually didn’t mind being there. They were taking good care of her. But Ben wasn’t answering his phone and she didn’t know how she could get a hold of him other than by going to his office. She hoped Henry wouldn’t be upset with her for leaving early. He’d been so generous in arranging this treatment for her and she didn’t want to offend him. But she didn’t feel she could just lay in bed without getting in touch with Ben.

—I can’t keep you here, the doctor said, but I’d rather you stayed the night for monitoring.

—I understand, but I have urgent family business to attend to, Janey said. Would it be dangerous for me to leave?

—I don’t think so, the doctor said. Keeping you would only be a precaution.

—Ok. I want to leave. I’m sorry, I know you’re only looking out for my health but I have issues to take care of.

The doctor nodded and signed off on the paperwork. The nurse brought Janey’s clothes to her from a cabinet. Looking at the black dress and lingerie felt strange. She felt like those clothes belonged to a different Janey. It was a little ridiculous to be getting into that glitzy evening wear after all that had happened. She didn’t feel at all glitzy any more.

She said to the nurse, —Could you tell Mr. Walden I’d like to speak to him.

The nurse smiled faintly and left. When she got back, Janey was dressed in the heels and black dress she’d been wearing the night before. She felt utterly out of place. She was looking at herself in the mirror, gently touching the light bruising around her eye, when she heard Henry clear his throat. He was standing in the doorway.

—Come in, she said to him.

—They tell me you’ve been discharged.

—I don’t want to appear ungrateful, Janey said. It’s just, I can’t lie here any more and wonder what Ben’s thinking. I need to speak to him. I need to resolve this issue and find out where I stand with him. The uncertainty is driving me nuts.

—Have you tried calling him?

—A hundred times. He won’t answer.

—What about his office?

Janey thought about Suzy answering the office phone and shook her head.

—I’ve got a feeling he wouldn’t get any message I left for him.

Henry nodded.

—Well I guess you have to do what you have to do, he said.

—Thank you for understanding.

—Just promise me you’ll be careful, Janey. He left you in a bad way this morning. You could have had him arrested.

—I know, she said.

Henry walked her down to the front entrance of the hotel and hailed her a cab. He even opened the door for her and spoke to the driver. Janey saw him hand the cab driver a fifty dollar bill before letting them go. He really did seem to want to take care of her. It was strange, she thought. She’d never known anyone like that before. She wondered what it was about him that made her feel so safe and protected. Was it his age? He was about the age her father would have been. Or the fact that he was so wealthy? She wasn’t sure. The only thing she knew was that she was grateful for his friendship. She didn’t think she’d be able to get through this difficult period in her life without him.