The New Neighbor (12 page)

Probably not.
 

Jen decided to play it safe.
 

"I don't
want
you to forget it," Miss Dupree was saying as she opened the door.
 

"Jennifer! What are you doing here?" George stood in the doorway with Miss Dupree's hand on his shoulder.
 

Jen blinked up at her dad, afraid he was angry because that was the only time he called her Jennifer. "Everybody was asleep," she said, trying hard not to sound as scared as she felt. "I thought I'd come over with you and ... and meet Miss Dupree."

The woman dropped her hand from George's shoulder and stepped onto the porch, smiling. "Well, I'm glad you did, Jen," she said. "I've heard a lot about you and it's nice to finally meet." She held out her hand. Jen took it hesitantly and they shook.

An enormous dog peeked out the door and Jen gasped.

"He won't hurt you," Miss Dupree said. "This is my dog, Sodom. You can pet him."
 

Jen reached out a hand and the dog sniffed curiously, then licked it. She smiled as she stroked his head.
 

"We should get home, Jen," her dad said. "You shouldn't be out in this rain. I don't want you getting the bug that's going around."
 

"It was nice meeting you, Jen. You're welcome over here anytime. You can come walk the dogs for me. They'd love that."
 

Jen waved to her as Dad led her across the lawn and into the street.
 

"You know better than to be walking around in this kind of weather," he said with annoyance.
 

"Well ... “

"Well
what
?" Now he sounded angry.

"Everybody was asleep."
 

"What difference does that make?"
 

Although she didn't know what she was apologizing for – his anger made no sense to her – Jen said, "I'm sorry."

"All right," he grumbled as they went into the house.

In the living room, Jen took off her coat and saw that Robby was gone – he'd probably gone back to bed. She sat down in front of the television again. She heard Dad pop open a can of beer in the kitchen and wondered if he was really angry, the kind of angry that stuck with him for a while.

She was still trembling and couldn't quite catch her breath. If Dad came back into the living room now, she would probably seem more guilty than he already thought she was, so she decided to go to her room. As she headed down the hall, Jen heard him murmur to himself in the kitchen:
 

"Son ... of a ...
bitch
."

* * * *

Robby did not wake easily. His eyes felt glued together and his body was heavy as lead. He thought he was on the sofa in the living room, but when he finally pried his eyes open to see who was shaking him, he was staring at the Bangles poster on his bedroom wall.
 

"Robby?" Jen whispered.
 

He rolled onto his back and squinted up at her. "What?"
 

"Sorry for waking you."
 

"Whassmatter?"
 

"Are you sure you're awake?"
 

He rubbed his eyes and struggled to sit up. "Yeah, I'm awake. What's wrong?"
 

She sat on the bed and glanced cautiously at the closed door. "There was a man outside."

"When? What time is it?" He found his clock. "It's only eight o'clock."
 

"A little while ago. Out on the sidewalk."
 

"So, what was he doing?"
 

"He talked to me. Wanted to know who our new neighbor was."
 

"He
talked
to you? What were you doing outside?"
 

"Well, Dad went over to Miss Dupree's to help fix her car, so ... um, I followed him over a little later. And there was this man.”

Robby buried his face in his hands and groaned. His head felt like it was filled with sand. "Why didn't you tell Dad?"
 

"Just
listen
, okay? He wore a long coat, like an overcoat y'know? And a hat, too, like the ones detectives wear in the old movies. And he walked with a cane and, and he was really
ugly
, like part of his face was melting, or something. Like the guy in that old wax museum movie we watched last weekend? Remember? You know, the scary one?
Wax House
, or – “

"
House of Wax
. Vincent Price.”

"Yeah, that one. And he had a silver hand, like a robot’s hand. He wore a glove over it, but the glove came off in my hand and it was
silver
. Y'know, all metal? Just like in
The Terminator
after his skin came off!"

"God, Jen, will you just go to bed, or something, and leave me alone. And quit watching television." He rolled away from her.
 

"But he was
there
. He
talked
to me. He wanted to know who our new neighbor was. He said it was important. I think ... well, I think maybe he was, you know, looking for her, or something."

“Whatta you want me to do about it?" he mumbled into his pillow.
 

Jen got off the bed. "I don't know," she sighed. "I just thought I should tell somebody, I guess. Mom's asleep and Dad's ... I think he's mad at me for something."
 

Robby couldn't ignore the sadness in her quavering voice and rolled over again, facing her. Her lips were trembling and her eyes sparkled with growing tears.
 

"He's probably just had a bad day, or something," Robby said quietly. "Maybe if you waited till tomorrow – “

"But he was out there
tonight
!"

Robby sat up. "You’re serious, aren’t you?"
 

"
Yes
, I’m serious! He
talked
to me!" She seemed to sense she had his attention now and stepped forward. "And his face, Robby, you should’ve seen his
face
. He was so
ugly
.”

He knew she was serious, because Jen hated to cry and was on the verge of tears now.

"Well, there's not much I can do about it, Jen. Is there? I mean, what do you
want
me to do?"
 

She bowed her head. "Nothing, I guess. I just ... wanted to tell someone."

"I'm glad you did. But he was probably just out for a walk."
 

"He’s not from around here, that’s for sure. And his
face
... “

”Did you get a good look at him? A
really
good look? I mean, it's dark out there, you know. And raining."
 

She nodded slowly and turned to go.
 

"You gonna be okay?" Robby asked.
 

"Yeah. Sorry I woke you."
 

"That's okay."
 

She closed the door silently.
 

Robby curled up in bed again, but couldn't relax. He tossed restlessly beneath the covers for a while, then raised up and pulled the shade aside to look out his window.
 

It was raining hard now and wind made the tree branches wave. There was no one on the street, not even a car. Robby saw nothing more than a cat scurrying across the street, its head ducked low against the rain.

But it was a while before he got back to sleep.

Chapter 7
 

Midnight Guest

The dark bedroom seemed stuffy and gave George a vague feeling of claustrophobia. He got out of bed, careful not to disturb Karen, and cracked the window. Cold fresh air blew in and he hunkered down, put his face in the draft and inhaled deeply a few times before going back to bed. He lay naked beneath the covers, warmed by the electric blanket, and tried not to think of Lorelle Dupree.
 

He failed.
 

He was still stunned by her proposition. It had come so unexpectedly, in the middle of such an innocent conversation, that it had caught him completely off guard. It was not unpleasant – even very tempting – but still a big surprise.

She'd asked him in for a beer and, when he mentioned that Karen had the flu, she'd said, "Then you haven't eaten?"
 

"Not yet, but I just went out to get some – “

"Well, let me fix you something. I've got some stew on the stove and I can slip some biscuits into the microwave."
 

"No, no, thank you, that's nice, but my son and wife are asleep and my daughter's up watching TV and – “

"Then there's no reason for you to hurry back. Kids are very self-sufficient, you know."
 

He laughed. "No, really. Thanks for the beer, but – “

She moved forward suddenly, pressed herself against him and put her arms around him, her lips close to his, and whispered, "If you stay, we can fuck. They won't even miss you."
 

He almost dropped the half-finished beer he was holding, then stammered for a moment, unable to form words.

"Anything you want, George," she went on, pressing her breasts hard to his chest. "You want to fuck me in the ass? How about between the tits? Or ... how long has it been since you got a reeeaaally good blow job?" In a sing-song voice she added with a grin, "I'll
let
you
come
in my
moouuth
."
 

His eyes widened and he looked around as if she might be talking to someone
else
, but when she kissed him, he knew she was serious. It was a long, wet, noisy kiss and when she pulled away, he gasped for breath. If he hadn't forced himself to push her back and walk around the kitchen, scrubbing his face with his palms, he knew he probably would have returned that kiss. But he thought of Karen and Robby and Jen, and he reminded himself that they were across the
street
. Yes, it would be fun, and yes, it would feel good – but he asked himself if it would be worth the inevitable price.
 

"I'm sorry," he said, unable to look at her, trying to sound firm but not unpleasant. "I'm very flattered. Really. But ... my wife ... my family ... I just can't. I'm sorry."

She went to him, smiling, and placed her hand to his face. "Okay, okay." Leading him to the door, she said, "I hope this won't affect our relationship as neighbors."

"Oh, no," he laughed, wishing his erection would go away. "No, not at all. You're welcome in our house anytime."
 

"Really?"
 

"Really. It's as good as forgotten."
 

"I don't
want
you to forget it," she said, opening the door, and –

– there was Jen.
 

George sighed into his pillow, turning on his side. His erection brushed Karen's thigh. She didn't respond. Her throaty breathing went on without breaking rhythm. He pressed his cock to her again, cautiously, and let the moist head slide over her flesh, watching for some reaction, in which case he would pull away. He remembered Lorelle's offer –
You want to fuck me in the ass
? – and thought about that, imagined it, as he moved against Karen's leg. He hadn't thought of doing that in years. It was the only thing he and Laura hadn't done, the only thing she
wouldn't
do, even though he was eager to try it, if only once. Karen did not even twitch as he moved, a little faster now, and –

– a hand came to rest on his shoulder and George spun around, kicking at the covers, ready to shout at whoever had sneaked into the room, but –

– it was Lorelle.
 

George froze, elbows locked behind him, knees up. "Whuh-whuh—"
 

She laid a finger over her smiling lips and knelt beside the bed in the soft glow of the small night light plugged into the socket beneath George's night stand. She sat back on the floor, legs spread, arms resting on her knees; she was naked. Silently, her lips formed two words:
 

"
Fuck me.
"

George's heartbeat was the loudest sound in the room and he looked over his shoulder at Karen. The slow breaths wheezing in and out of her open mouth were all that kept her from appearing dead. He eased himself off the bed, embarrassed by his wet erection, and whispered, "What're you – how did you get
in
here?"
 

She leaned forward and began stroking his cock as she whispered in his ear, "You said I was welcome anytime." Then she bent down and sucked him hard into her mouth.

* * * *

Robby was dragged slowly from the quicksand of a bog-like sleep by a thunderous bellow. He fought to sit up in bed, lifting his leaden shoulders from the mattress and rocking himself upright as he wiped at his gluey eyes.
 

Barking. The sound he heard was a dog barking –
two
dogs – from across the street.

He muttered the names Sodom and Gomorrah, but they came from his pasty mouth sounding like spitwads hitting a brick wall.
 

With great effort, still unable to open his eyes more than a sliver, Robby turned and looked out his window, nearly tearing down the shade with his clumsy, sleep-numbed hand. He blinked, rubbed his eyes with a knuckle and tried to pull everything into focus.
 

There was movement in the street, but this time it was not a cat.
 

A man wearing a hat and a long coat staggered from Lorelle's yard, leaning heavily on a cane and glancing over his shoulder. He turned left, heading toward Mistletoe, kicking up a spray of water as he moved quickly though a puddle. The dogs barked more frantically from inside Lorelle's house and the man slowed, turned, and waddled backwards for a moment as he looked at Robby's house. Then he disappeared into the shadows.
 

Robby blinked some more, wondering if he was dreaming, and lifted himself up on his knees. The shade dropped from his hand and his arm fell heavily to his side. He felt drunk, drugged, beaten, and when he tried to climb off the bed, he felt as if he were going over a cliff. He hit the floor with a thunk and groaned.