Newton Neighbors (New England Trilogy) (34 page)

“Noreen told me to choose, so I did,” Ely said.

Jessie rolled her shoulders with indifference. “I prefer my lake view, so I’m happy,” she said and wandered over to Ely’s window which overlooked Crystal Lake Lane. “Did you see a man walking along the road a minute ago?” she asked.
 

Ely joined her. “No. Did you?”

“Yes. He was wearing a flat cap, and I think he might have had an English accent, but it could have been my imagination.”

“It must have been Bruce. He lives in number three. Miserable old soul. Never talks to anybody,” Noreen said. It was the first time Jessie had heard the old lady say anything negative about anyone.
 

“That’s funny. He didn’t seem miserable, but rather quite nice.”

Noreen shook her head. “Then it wasn’t Bruce. We tried to be friendly to him when we moved in here, Joe and me, but he was so fractious. You’d do well to avoid him.”

Jessie nodded, but she didn’t think Bruce, if that’s who he was, seemed too nasty.

When Josh had moved all the suitcases into the right rooms, they went downstairs and had a glass of wine with Mrs. Palmer. Then Josh said his good-byes. He was reluctant to go, and Ely wanted him to stay, but she was stoic and pushed him out the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow at your place,” Jessie heard her friend whisper to Josh.

“The rest of our stuff will be coming from our dorm tomorrow, Mrs. Palmer. I can’t thank you enough for taking us in on such short notice,” Jessie said when the two lovebirds were out of earshot.

“Enough of that talk now. We both need each other—it’s a perfect fit. I’d been thinking of taking in lodgers for years, so I’m happy to give it a go at last. It was either this or move in with my son across the road, and I’m not sure I want to do that.”

They were sitting in the same room where they had enjoyed the milk and cookies on Jessie’s last visit. This time the fire was lit, and the place was warm and welcoming.

“I’ll give you both keys. You can come and go as you please. Just let me know if you want me to cook some supper for you.”

Jessie was overwhelmed. It was like coming home. Noreen was such a maternal sort. “This is fantastic, Mrs. Palmer. Thanks so much, and I’ll help keep the place clean and dishes washed.”
 

Noreen gave that light chuckle again. “Oh, I might not let you go if you’re that good to me. But please stop calling me Mrs. Palmer. It makes me feel like an old woman! Call me Noreen.”

Jessie nodded, and then Ely came in, looking a little lost.

“You’re still here?” Noreen looked surprised.

“Eh, yeah. Sure.”

Jessie knew her friend didn’t want to state the obvious. It was their first night in their new home. She couldn’t very well gallivant off with her boyfriend already.

Noreen shook her head and eyed Ely with a smirk. “If I had a hunky boyfriend like that, I wouldn’t be sitting around here with us looking at the fire and drinking house red. Why don’t you go with him, dear?”

Ely glanced from Noreen to her friend. Jessie knew she was waiting for her blessing after all the trouble she had caused. But how could she turn down a face like that?
 

She laughed at Ely.

“Go on. Git,” she said, using her friend’s lingo.

Ely kissed them both on the cheek. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ve missed him so much. It’s been ages.”

She headed for the door but was texting already.

“Just be careful, and I’m not talking about the slippery roads,” Noreen said.

“It hasn’t been ages. It’s been three days. We went away on Wednesday.” Jessie laughed.

“ ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’,” Noreen said. “Shakespeare.”

Jessie sipped her wine. Her new landlady didn’t seem too forgetful this evening. Josh’s car roared back up the driveway. “Bye!” Ely yelled as she banged the door behind her.

“I’m surprised you don’t have your own handsome man delighted to see you back in Newton,” Noreen said.
 

Jessie focused on the dancing flames in the fire. “I thought there was somebody, but he turned out to be someone else’s property.”

“Oh dear. But there’s plenty of fish in the sea. And you’re such a pretty girl I’m sure you’ll find somebody else very soon.”

Rusty began to bark. “What’s got into you?” Jessie tried to calm him, but Noreen was on her feet.

 
“It means somebody’s coming to the back door of the house. He can hear the snow crunching. It’s quite convenient,” Noreen said as she headed out of the room.

Jessie wasn’t sure whether to stay put or to follow, so she trailed after Noreen. She heard the conversation before she saw him. It was Rick Sanchez, and he sounded stressed.

“Jeez, Noreen, what’ll I do?”
 

Jessie felt like she was eavesdropping, so she walked over to let him know she was there.

“Jessie.” His expression changed.

“Hi, Rick.” They hadn’t seen each other since the “coffee offer.” Jessie had done her best to forget about that morning. There was enough going on in her life, between two-timing boyfriends and almost getting kicked out of college. Now Rick was standing in front of her again—a little more difficult to ignore. She didn’t want to think there was anything between them, because there wasn’t, was there? He was way too old and way too married. No, she convinced herself again. There was absolutely nothing between her and Rick Sanchez, her very attractive, new next-door neighbor.

“You know each other?” Noreen sounded surprised.

“I mind Rick’s kids sometimes. That’s how I met you, remember?” Jessie said, but she was looking at Rick.
 

“It’s Orga,” he said. “She’s run off in the snow and I can’t find her. I was hoping she came over here.”
 

“No, I’m afraid not. Jessie and her friend Ely have moved in with me, so we’ve had a lot of commotion, but we haven’t seen Orga, have we, dear?”

Jessie shook her head. “No sign.”

“I’m sure Jessie could help you search for the dog. Wouldn’t you?” Noreen looked at her.

“Sure.” Jessie forced a smile.

“That would be great.” Rick’s eyes moved from his neighbor to Jessie. “If it’s okay with you?”

“No problem.”
 

“I’ll just go and get you a flashlight, Jessie.” Noreen shuffled off, leaving them alone.
 

“How are you?” His tone was soft, more intimate than usual.

“I’ve had a tough couple of days, actually.” She raked her hand through her hair.

“Tell me about it.” He smiled and reached out to squeeze her arm.

Jessie felt herself being drawn in. It was wrong, she knew that, but then again, they were just being friends—good friends. It didn’t have to be anything more. She wouldn’t do that to Maria. Would she?

Chapter Twenty-Four

New Neighbors

“What more could I do?” Ricky sounded helpless, and that made Maria even madder.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure you could have done something,” she said with exasperation. “Five nights. That’s all you had to watch the damn dog for, and you lose her. Ricky? Hello?”

Her husband was holding Alice and watching her pace the kitchen floor. “I did a big search last night as soon as I noticed Orga missing, and then again this morning. I called the cops and I even nailed signs up all over the neighborhood.”

Cody was quiet. Even though he’d told Maria he loved the time in Puerto Rico, he had been excited to be coming home. He had told her he missed his dad and Orga, and now the dog was missing. This was a disaster.

“Cody, honey, do you want to go over to Todd’s and the two of you can search?”

“I guess.” He didn’t sound too convinced.
 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Your dad will find her.” She threw a filthy look in Ricky’s direction. Cody didn’t move.

Traveling home from the Caribbean, she had spent all her time trying to think of ways to fire up her marriage. She had played with the idea of getting some more kinky toys, but the last time she’d done that, Alice had arrived nine months later. Next she’d considered buying some expensive lingerie, but that was so not happening now.

Maria walked to the sink and took a cloth to wipe the already clean countertops. “Did you leave her in the house all day?”

“No. I even took her to work on Thanksgiving morning. Okay, I left the dog here for a few hours when I went over to Michael’s and Cathi’s for dinner, but that’s only because they have that shitty thing.”

“Shih tzu. Fifi is a shih tzu.”

“Whatever. I took care of Orga just fine—which is more than I can say for you,” he said.

That was the comment she had been waiting for. She knew he was mad as hell with her. She’d hoped he would miss her and appreciate her all the more after her absence, but the opposite had happened.
 

“Me?” She threw the cloth back into the sink.

Alice started to cry.

“Now look what you’ve done.” Maria took the baby back.

“I did this? Maria, you’re the one shrieking.” He stopped talking. Cody was staring at them.
 

Maria forced herself to sound more composed. “Honey, can you bring your suitcase upstairs and get your clothes out of it?” she said. Cody groaned. She knew there was little chance of him even opening the case, but if he left the room, at least he wouldn’t hear his parents argue.

As soon as he was gone, Maria continued her rant in a loud whisper. “I wouldn’t have gone if you were around this place a bit more, Ricky. You’re more interested in your damn job than you are in your family. You were gone so much I even wondered if you were maybe having an affair.”

“Ha!” He started to walk toward the door to the hall.

“You think it’s funny? That a woman would see so little of her husband she thinks he has a mistress?”

He walked back to her and stopped short, ominously close. “All I do is work my ass off, and you should know that because you sure know how to spend it!”
 

She could feel his breath on her face, smell his cologne. Maria had never seen him so steamed up. He was staring into her eyes, but the look was utter contempt. How could they have come to this? She looked away.

“Just find the damn dog, Ricky,” she said, the anger gone from her voice and sad resignation in its place.

“Jesus!” He balled his fists and raised them in the air like he couldn’t contain his frustration. Then he stormed out.

Maria sat heavily down on a kitchen chair and tried to sooth Alice. She hugged her daughter close and rocked her. “Shh, baby. Mommy’s here. Why don’t we get you a bottle?” She spoke softly to help calm the baby. “I’m not a big spender, am I? Lord, if he thinks I’m bad, he should see how Cathi cuts through cash.”
 

Alice’s mood improved when she heard the mention of milk.
 

The little girl began to chant. “Ba, ba, ba . . .”

Maria put her down on the floor to play with some toys while she started to make the bottle. She heard the front door bang shut. Judging by the force, she thought it had to have been Ricky.
 

Cody didn’t look like he was that interested in heading out into the snow. She didn’t blame him. Returning from Puerto Rico had only highlighted how cold it was in Newton. Inside, the house was nice and warm, but the snow had built up outside. There had to be at least three feet of the stuff at this stage. What a difference between her mother’s courtyard and her own backyard, she mused while bringing the bottles over to the sink and looking out her kitchen window. In the space of a week, one little week, the entire lake had frozen over.
 

“A bit like my marriage,” she said and filled three bottles with water.
 

The lake never ceased to amaze her. During the summer days, it was inky black and shimmered when the sun caught ripples on its surface. On the brightest days, it could look blue.
 

But in winter, things were different. If the low solstice sun bounced off the surface, it was blindingly bright. During the winter, it really lived up to its name—Crystal Lake. Looking out, she couldn’t help but wonder how thick the ice was.