Page 9 of The Neighbor
I’ve known that kind of thing is perfectly acceptable for men to say in passing since I was a child. My father used to say nearly the exact words about my mother, who in her defense wasnowhere near as irritating as Kimmy here. Nobody ever said he shouldn’t joke about shooting her because she wanted him to take out the garbage during the football game or expected him to mow the lawn when all he wanted to do was lay around on a Saturday off from work.
“Mr. Prentiss, it’s good to see you again,” Jared says, raising his red cup full of beer in the air.
“Adam,” Harold corrects him.
Jared seems confused for a few seconds but then shrugs. “Okay, Adam. Still good to see you. As a single guy, I bet you wish you didn’t get roped into these neighborhood things, though.”
I smile and shake my head, as if he isn’t almost completely reading my mind. “You know how it is. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Plus, I’m not sure even if I wanted to say no I could when Kimmy came knocking on my door the other day. Tim, your wife has a way of being very persuasive,” I answer, punctuating my statement with a chuckle.
Better to get the attention off me and back on the women since I know these men will spend all afternoon talking about how much they drive them crazy.
Once more, Kimmy’s husband clicks those tongs together before holding them over the steaks that he hasn’t touched once since I walked over. “Don’t I know it. You can’t think I wanted four kids, can you? Who the hell can afford all of those mouths to feed in this day and age? But she wanted a girl, and when my wife wants something, God help you if you don’t just let it happen. You either fight it or you let it wash over you and enjoy the ride.”
The three men in front of me laugh at his veiled reference to his sex life, yet another topic that’s perfectly acceptable at these suburbia gatherings but not most places in life. His mention of not being able to afford all of those kids confirms what Isuspected all along, in addition to my belief that they continued to try for a girl until they got Misty.
I doubt Jared can honestly join in on their patience discussion concerning his wife, though. He may be athletic and look like he’s the one with the power, but I have no doubt Suzanne wears the pants in that family. She certainly makes more money as a lawyer than he does as a manager of a sporting goods store. I may not be married, but I know money makes a difference in the power structure of anything, including between a husband and wife.
Right on cue, Harold starts in about just letting things happen and having control over yourself to be patient, and I watch as Jared turns away from the conversation and focuses on my tortilla chips and salsa. No doubt, he doesn’t have much to contribute to that discussion.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spy Caroline walk out her front door and feel my mood perk up. The prospect of having to listen to these men talk about their delusions they have about their lives all day had begun to depress me, but things are finally looking up.
It’s time to find out about the woman in the green house.
4
Caroline hesitatesas she walks up the street, looking around for the other women in the neighborhood, I suspect. I scan the area for Kimmy, knowing if she’s seeing someone alone that she’ll rush over to remedy that problem.
And just as I assumed, the second she sees Caroline slowly walking toward the party, she practically sprints over to her. I watch how the newest citizen of Park Circle reacts, and to my shock, Caroline seems genuinely happy to see Kimmy.
Marilyn joins them a second later, and from what I can tell, they all look like they’re the best of friends. For all Kimmy does to irritate me, to say nothing of how her husband feels about her, I can’t deny she is kind and welcoming in a way that makes anyone feel right at home here in our little cul-de-sac.
As I watch all this happening, Jared leans in next to me and nudges my right arm with his elbow. “She’s an interesting one, now isn’t she?” he says in a curious voice.
When I turn to look at him, he’s doing an eyebrow waggle as if to say he’s noticed the newest inhabitant of the neighborhood and approves of what he sees. For a split second, I wonder how his wife and his mistress would feel about him showing interestin Caroline, but if he’s willing to cheat on the woman he married, why wouldn’t he step out on the woman he’s two-timing her with?
“I guess,” I say as casually as possible, lying through my teeth. I haven’t thought of a thing other than Caroline Townsend since I couldn’t find out any more information on her the other day.
Unsatisfied by my apparent lack of interest, he turns to Tim and says, “Your wife seems to have taken to the new member of our little gang. ‘Fess up. What do you know about her?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harold perk up enough so he tears his attention away from that nearly empty bag of pretzels he’s been inhaling the entire time I’ve been out here. I hadn’t pegged him for a guy who’d be interested in anyone young enough to be his granddaughter. Maybe he isn’t just a boring and failed fisherman.
Tim shrugs before turning the hot dogs on the grill. Those pieces of meat he hovers over like a mother hen. I’m still curious to find out if his method of cooking steaks makes them any more tender than the way I’ve always done them.
“She’s young. Kimmy hasn’t said much about her since she’s been busy planning this party, but I think she might have mentioned she isn’t from around here originally.”
He stops for a long moment to stare up the ceiling of the tent, as if some detail about Caroline exists above his head. Finally, he continues, “Maybe New Jersey? Or maybe Maryland. I’m not sure.”
Maryland? Now that’s interesting. I wonder what part of Maryland?
I doubt Tim knows. Between working constantly, dealing with those four kids, and managing his marriage with that superior ability to stay patient with his wife, it’s highly unlikely he knows much of anything. I’m actually surprised heremembered even that tiny detail about Caroline being from somewhere else.
“Back in college, I knew a guy from Maryland. Where was that?” Jared says, thinking out loud. “Hagerstown?”
No one listens to him ruminate on this long-forgotten college buddy of his as the three women walk toward the tent. Caroline seems completely at home with Kimmy and Marilyn, almost as if they’ve known one another for their entire lives.
However, my gut tells me Miss Townsend doesn’t have a lot in common with an older woman dedicated to her roses and a mother with too many kids. I think she’s simply a very practiced social chameleon.
And how would I know? Well, I’m one, and those of us who have mastered the ability to blend in with the people around us can always tell when another chameleon is nearby.