Newton Neighbors (New England Trilogy) (15 page)

Chapter Ten

Naughty Neighbors

“Hello, Mrs. Palmer, are you here?” Maria’s voice was more jovial than she felt, but when Cathi spotted the note from Jessie on the kitchen table, there was no stopping her.

She squeezed Maria’s arm so hard it hurt. “This is far too good an opportunity to miss.” Cathi was insistent, but Maria backed away and reread the note.

Mrs. Palmer has invited Alice and me in for milk and cookies. We’re just next door if you’re looking for us.

Jessie

“Come on.” Cathi pulled at Maria’s sleeve. “Look, you told me yourself you’re not getting anywhere with her. Maybe if I meet her, I can convince the old bat. We can pretend we’re just stopping by to pick up Alice. Once we’re in the door, leave the rest to me. I’ll have the chance to talk with her, and if I’m very lucky, I’ll even get to have a look around house.”

Maria scrunched up her nose. “Cathi, I don’t think she wants to sell.” She was beginning to feel her friend was going too far. There was another house for sale on the road now. If she were that desperate, she could buy number sixteen and saddle herself with a gazillion-year mortgage. Kicking out poor Mrs. Palmer wasn’t the answer.

“Look, she’s going to have to move soon enough, if what you say is true about her beginning to lose her marbles. I’m not kicking her out on the street—I’m just giving her a little nudge, and I’ll pay her a good price. Just not as good as the one across the road. I mean, they’re developers—it’s highway robbery.”

“But she’s happy there.”

“No she’s not. She just
thinks
she’s happy. That house is way too big for a woman her age, and she’s living alone. I’m sure it was a great place to raise kids. That’s what I want to do. She needs to think about the rest of her life. We all need to look forward, not back.”
 

And so, despite Maria’s reluctance, they headed over to Noreen Palmer’s house.

“We’re in the front room,” Noreen called when she heard the voices. “Maria, is that you?” The old lady made her way through the even older house to greet her next-door neighbor at the back door. “Oh, and you have a friend.” She smiled when she saw them.
 

“I hope we’re not intruding.” Maria was worried, but Noreen shook her head.
 

“It’s lovely to see you. The girls are having milk and cookies. Perhaps I could make you ladies a cup of coffee or maybe even tea?”

“We don’t want to be a bother.”
 

“Tea would be perfect,” Cathi said. “Can I help you?”
 

And with that, Maria watched her friend set to work.

“You sit down and let me help,” Cathi said. “I’ll find the milk.”
 

Noreen looked amused to have such an organizer in her kitchen, and she did as instructed while watching Cathi take control in her new surroundings.

“Now, where’s the fridge? Ah yes, there it is. Wow, this is such a big fridge. It seems too large for one. Do you live alone, Mrs. Palmer? Not too lonely, I hope.”

Maria couldn’t listen anymore. She headed into the living room to say hi to Jessie and Alice.
 

“How did it go?” she asked Jessie.
 

“Not a problem. This little girl is a real dote. She’s a pleasure to mind, to be honest.”

“Oh, I forgot your money. It’s back at my house.”

Jessie shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I can get it from you later in the week. You did say you wanted me the day after tomorrow, didn’t you?” she asked with a smile as wide as Crystal Lake.

Maria stalled. Had she said that? She had. Well, she couldn’t fire her now. She would get her to babysit this week and then let her go after she had paid her.

“Okay, that’s fine.” Maria nodded and scooped up her little girl. “Thanks for today. It was great to get out. You can take off now if you like.”

“I just want to say good-bye to Mrs. Palmer and thank her. She’s such a nice woman.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Maria felt even guiltier for the way she knew her friend was treating her neighbor. They walked back into the kitchen where Cathi was putting the finishing touches on a tray laden with a large pot of tea, a jug of milk, cookies, and linen napkins. Cathi was in top gear.
 

“This house is really too big for just you. I mean, it must be hard rattling about in it, all alone. I have to say I’d be nervous with all the burglaries that have happened. You need better security, but then a new alarm system would cost you thousands.”

Maria squeezed her lips tight to stop from speaking. The police had been quite clear when they told her Crystal Lake Lane was safer than most because it wasn’t a through road. Thieves didn’t like places that were hard to get out of. Cathi stopped ranting when she saw the others.

“I wanted to say good-bye and thanks a million for the cookies, Mrs. Palmer,” Jessie said.

“You’re so welcome dear,” Noreen said. “It was very nice to see you again. Come back soon.”

“I will.”

“Hi there.” Cathi cut in the conversation as she was so good at doing. “I’m Cathi Grant,” she said, standing tall and sizing up Maria’s babysitter for the first time.

“Hullo, I’m Jessie Armstrong.” She shook Cathi’s hand.
 

Maria watched them with interest. The two women stood about the same height, but Cathi’s blond bob was poker straight. It was cut with laser-like precision to hang a half an inch above her shoulders. Meanwhile, Jessie’s hair fell loose and careless, curls dancing down her back in a haphazard way. Both were the same shade of blond and both had terrific figures, but Maria could see the twenty year chasm that separated them made a world of difference. Jessie seemed relaxed and at peace with the world, while Cathi looked severe and suspicious.
 

Maria wondered if it was the years that made Cathi so wary and Jessie so innocent, or was it their personalities? Cathi hadn’t gotten to this point in her life by being an open and honest woman. She was tough and got what she wanted most of the time. Michael, her husband, was a case in point. He’d been engaged to another woman when Cathi met him, but she had worked her magic, weaved her plan, and wore down her opponent until she got her prize.
It’s just as well she’s my friend
, Maria thought. Cathi was a great comrade, but she would make a vicious adversary.
 

“Leaving?” Cathi asked Jessie, eager to focus on her real prey—Noreen.

“I am. Thanks again, Mrs. Palmer.” Jessie went over and kissed the older woman on her soft, sunken cheek. “See you soon,” the young girl said in a half whisper and left.

“I love your home,” Cathi gushed before the back door had even closed behind Jessie. “It must have been a terrific place to bring up children. I have two little girls. I’ll show you their photos. Where should I take this tray?” She was already heading out of the kitchen and toward the front room.

Maria looked at her next-door neighbor when Cathi had walked on ahead. “Are you sure we’re not imposing?”

“Not at all.” Noreen chuckled. “I’m quite enjoying this,” she said and glanced sideways at Maria. For a moment, the younger woman saw a clarity in her neighbor’s eyes she hadn’t seen for a long time. Did Noreen know what Cathi was up to? Not possible. Cathi hadn’t said anything about her neighborly intentions yet, and Maria hadn’t told Mrs. Palmer the name of the woman who was interested in buying. No, there was no way she could have made the connection.

Cathi didn’t seem to need to ask permission. She looked very comfortable playing the part of hostess in Noreen Palmer’s house. Meanwhile, Maria felt awkward. But Noreen looked mildly amused.

“Milk?” Cathi asked.

Noreen nodded. “Just a splash.”

“Maria?”

“Um, you know, I think I’ll just get myself a glass of water. I need to rehydrate. I was out running. It was meant to be my big secret get-skinny project but—well, it’s a bit obvious what I was up to,” Maria said and headed back out to the kitchen with Alice.

“Can I get it for you, angel?” Noreen spoke from the sofa.

“No, no, you stay where you are,” Maria said. “I’ll just get a glass of tap water.”

“Speaking of water . . .” Cathi was back on the attack without missing a beat. “I’m surprised your drawing room is here at the front of the house and not the back. Your views of Crystal Lake must be as good as Maria’s. Seems a shame not to enjoy them.” She handed a steaming mug to Noreen.
 

Maria escaped to the kitchen for a moment. “This is wrong,” she said to the baby on her hip. “Cathi is going to railroad Noreen into something. I can’t just stand by and let that happen.”

Alice gurgled in approval, so Maria headed back to the hall as quickly as she could to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“I must say, you make good tea. Joe used to fuss over me like this,” Noreen said, sounding sentimental. “Now, what were you saying? Oh yes, the views. You know, I’ve lived here for so many years that I’ve chopped and changed the rooms on more occasions than I can remember. I use this room more now because it’s smaller and easier to heat. The television is in here, and I like to watch the news most nights. The lake is pretty, but I don’t want to stare at it every night. Beautiful as it is, fifty years is a long time to watch one mass of water.” She chuckled. “I can watch the comings and goings on the street from this room, too. It’s amazing what you can pick up about your neighbors just by sitting here and looking out now and again.”

Maria walked back into the room with Alice just in time to see a brief flicker of panic on Cathi’s face, but it disappeared fast.

Noreen turned her attention to her neighbor and changed the subject. “Good for you getting out this morning, Maria. How far did you go?”

Maria sat back down and cuddled her daughter on her knees. “Not far, Noreen. I’m so out of shape. I lapped the lake. I wanted to run, but I walked most of it.”

“Well, you have a wonderful sitter in that young English girl. She’s so friendly, and she did a very responsible job that night with the firefighters.”
 

Alice lunged forward when she saw the cookies on the tray.

“Do you have fire alarms?” Cathi asked Noreen. “I’m sure these old wooden houses would burn up fast.”

“Oh yes. Greg, my son, lives across the road. He keeps an eye on me. He grew up in this house, and he checks in at least once a day. I keep trying to tell him he should move his family in here and I’d take that house. This one’s so much bigger.”

Cathi let out small noise that sounded more feline than female. It made both Noreen and Maria glanced at her.
 

“Are you all right, dear? Did you choke on your cookie?” the older woman asked.
 

Cathi was quick to recompose. “Yes, yes, fine.” Maria knew she was putting on her best Stepford Wife voice. “Really, I’m good. Please, would you show me your views of the lake? I just love water vistas.”

Maria was not happy. She was seeing a whole new—and very insincere—side of her friend. She never would have guessed just how two-faced Cathi could be, and felt really bad for bringing her into Noreen’s life. Mrs. Palmer was so sweet and trusting of people—would Cathi worm her way in and talk Noreen right out of her house?
 

“I’d love to show you the view,” Noreen said to Cathi. “It’s looking so beautiful now with all the trees changing color around the shoreline. I find it breathtaking even after all these years.”

Maria gave Alice a cookie and followed the other two women into the living room at the back of number nine. The first thing to hit her was the temperature of the room. It was freezing but huge, about twenty-five feet long.
 

“This is amazing.” Cathi sighed, twirling around like Cinderella in the ballroom. “The parties you must have had in here.”
 

Mrs. Palmer gave a soft nod. “We bought this house in 1963, and yes, those early years before the children . . . well, they were pretty wild. The parties in the sixties were just crazy.”

“You lived here in the sixties?” Maria had never done the math.
 

“You bet.” Noreen laughed. Her eyes seemed clearer. They walked over to the double doors that led out to the deck overlooking the yard and the lake beyond.

“Joe worked for WSLZ-TV. It was an affiliated television station here in Boston. Back then, television was so glamorous. Joe was quite the local celebrity.” Noreen smiled. “In those early years of TV, anything seemed possible.”

“Of course. That was the time of the Kennedys and Neil Armstrong landing on the moon,” Cathi said, looking a little serious, but Noreen shook her head.
 

“I’m talking about the contraceptive pill and the Beatles, to be honest. For us, life was one long party. Joe was always interviewing rock stars and fashion models. He had a way with people, you see, and everybody loved him.”
 

“Who did he meet that we’d know?” Maria asked, fascinated to hear about the old days. Cathi seemed enraptured, as well.

“Oh, he met them all, but he became friends with a select few and they’d come to stay with us when they were in Boston.”

“They were in this house?” Cathi looked like she could hardly contain herself. “Rock stars from the sixties? Who?”