Thy Neighbor's Wife (3 page)

bly can, she thought, then smiled at the sarcastic tone in her head,

suddenly feeling a little better. She decided she’d just wait out the

movers, give Claire time to go home, and then she’d have the whole

week to arrange the place the way she wanted it.

The simple plan clear in her mind, she let her head drop back

so she could absorb the sunshine beaming down on her. The combi-

nation of the cool, soft breeze, the fresh smell of the lake, and the

warm sun acted like a drug and her anxiety slipped away.

The silence of the moment was broken by a sharp series of

barks. She smiled, realizing they must be coming from her furry lit-

tle friend who lived next door. She turned her gaze and squinted

against the sun just as she heard a gently scolding voice.

“Kinsey. Quiet. Nobody wants your opinion.”

Alex was perched on the section of her deck that faced the

water, looking very comfortable in the lounge chair she occupied.

She seemed to be reading, but she looked out onto the water more

than at what she held in her lap. Jennifer debated whether or not to

disturb her, but she knew she wasn’t ready to go back into the house

just yet.

“Howdy, neighbor,” she called out.

Alex looked up and met Jennifer’s gaze with a wide smile and a

friendly wave. “Hi there, Jennifer. How goes the move?”

“Ugh. Don’t ask,” Jennifer said with a groan.

“Need a break?” Alex held up the glass she’d been drinking

from as incentive.

Jennifer was moving before she even had time to think about it,

retracing her steps off the dock, across the lawn, and up the stairs of

Alex’s deck.

Kinsey was excited to see her, his ears flat against his head, his

tail wagging furiously. He was clipped to a chain that attached him

to one of the posts on the deck and Jennifer smiled at the fact that

Alex wasn’t taking any chances on his escape that day. As she bent

to scratch the dog, he curled his lips in a goofy manner, showing his

teeth in a gesture so comical Jennifer laughed out loud.

“Is he smiling at you?” Alex asked from her chair.

“Yes!” Jennifer giggled at the description, for that was exactly

what he was doing. “God, he’s cute.”

“And he knows it, too,” Alex said. “He uses it to his advantage

every chance he gets. Have a seat.”

12 Georgia Beers

Jennifer took a quick look around the deck. It was spacious,

the wood natural in color, but well taken care of with no cracks or

chips, no rotting to be seen. A large glass table, the legs and frame-

work a deep forest green, occupied one corner. Four matching

chairs surrounded it, their cushions a floral print of greens and bur-

gundies. A bit to the right was a pair of lounge chairs, with thick,

comfortable looking cushions that matched those of the other

chairs. Several pots and flower boxes lined the railing and sat in

corners, but all were still empty given that it was only mid-May.

Jennifer thought how great the whole area must look when the

flowers were in bloom and she made a mental note to start thinking

about what types of greenery she thought might look best on her

own property.

She chose the matching lounge and sat down next to her smil-

ing neighbor who had a legal pad propped on her lap and a simple

Bic pen in her hand. A groan of pleasure escaped Jennifer’s lips as

she got off her feet for the first time in several hours and sank com-

fortably into the surprisingly deep cushion.

“Oh my God, that’s nice.”

Alex smiled knowingly. “Wait until you get the chance to nap

in one.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“You’ll never leave my deck.”

“I said don’t tempt me.” Jennifer smiled, closed her eyes, and

reveled in the warm spring sun, her chill gone.

“You look stressed.”

“Do I?” Jennifer opened her eyes, shielding the sun with a

hand, and mildly flattered at the look of concern on Alex’s face. “I

always was a bit transparent. I’ve been meaning to work on that lit-

tle character flaw.”

Alex jumped up. “Stay right there.” She set her pad and paper

down and ran into the house. Jennifer noticed how incredibly warm

and approachable she looked in her navy blue sweatpants and candy

apple red Henley—the sleeves pulled up to reveal her forearms. She

had nothing on her feet but white athletic socks and another peek of

white was visible in the form of a t-shirt that Jennifer could see

inside the buttons of the Henley. It was about as comfortable as one

could dress without actually wearing pajamas, yet Alex didn’t look

even a little rumpled.

Again, Jennifer felt the excitement of having a new friend,

somebody totally removed from her usual circle. Most of the women

she was used to associating with were very much like Claire…wives

of wealthy businessmen who spent more time shopping and gossip-

ing about one another than anything else and Jennifer didn’t really

like the person she became when she was with them. She was glad

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 13

to be in a completely different environment, away from all that. She

didn’t feel the least bit awkward relaxing on Alex’s deck; she felt

relieved.

As she snuggled into the soft-cushioned chair, Kinsey took it

upon himself to jump into her lap and perch his little butt on her

thighs. His chain was plenty long enough to allow him access to

most of the deck, just not most of the neighborhood. She chuckled

at his assertiveness and scratched his side. As she did so, he lifted

his right front paw, as if directing her to scratch under his little arm.

She, of course, did as she was requested and that’s the position they

were in when Alex returned with a tall glass in her hand.

“Kinsey! Get down!” she scolded, slightly embarrassed. He

blinked up at her in wide-eyed innocence, but made no move.

“Oh, no. He’s okay, Alex. Really. I don’t mind.” The truth was,

Jennifer was flattered by the way he had taken to her and was not

quite ready to give him up.

Alex looked uncertain, but relented. “If he bugs you, just tell

him to get down. He’s very bossy. Aren’t you, bad boy?” She affec-

tionately scratched the top of his head and handed Jennifer the

glass. “Here you go. Guaranteed to allay any type of stress.”

It looked like a glass of cola, but Jennifer had the sneaking sus-

picion there was more to it than that. She took a sip, immediately

loving the creamy, spiced taste as it slid down her throat and she

hummed her approval, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Captain Morgan’s and Coke,” Alex announced with a smile.

“There’s no pressure the Captain can’t relieve.”

Jennifer smiled back at her. It had been a long time since some-

body had done something to brighten her day and she was flattered.

She took another sip, relishing the feel of the rum as it settled into

her stomach and spread throughout her body. Her goose bumps had

disappeared.

“So, the move’s not going so well?” Alex ventured. A couple

strands of her dark hair had escaped her ponytail and skimmed

along the side of her face in the soft breeze as she met Jennifer’s

gaze.

“Oh, it’s going all right,” Jennifer said. “It would be a lot less

stressful, though, if I could figure out a way to tactfully get rid of

my mother-in-law.”

“Ah. Too much help is she?”

Jennifer laughed. “Yeah, that’s about it. Plus, everything she

says is right and everything I say is wrong.”

“And this surprises you? Isn’t that the first thing they teach you

in Being the Model Daughter-In-Law 101?”

“I think I was sick that day.”

“And didn’t study for the final, apparently.”

14 Georgia Beers

“Jesus, I guess not.” They both chuckled. “First, she was abso-

lutely certain the sofa was not going to fit through the doorway,

despite the fact that the delivery guys didn’t see it as a problem.”

“And then?”

“Then, she swears that the oversized chair doesn’t match it.”

“The sofa?”

“Right.”

“Does it?”

“The matching oversized chair?” Jennifer smirked. “Yeah, it

does. I picked it out myself. Thus the term ‘matched set.’”

“I see. Any other furniture give her a hard time?”

“No, but she hates my dishes.”

“Your dishes.”

“Yes. She can’t put her finger on it, but they’re ‘just not right.’”

Jennifer launched into her best imitation of Claire, one she had

damn near perfected over the years, mixing the perfect combination

of haughtiness and egotism. She sat up straight as a rod, her voice

taking on the mysterious almost-English accent that Claire had

affected over the years for no apparent reason. “These…these

dishes, Jennifah, where on earth did you get them? The pattern is

so…so…” She waved her hand in the air as if she couldn’t be both-

ered with finding the right word. “They’re just not right.”

“Wow.” Alex laughed. “She sounds…um…difficult.”

Jennifer was amused by Alex’s obvious attempt to tread care-

fully when speaking about a woman she’d never met who was

related to Jennifer. “Oh, it’s okay. Don’t be polite on my account.

She’s a bitch.”

“We should introduce her to my mother.”

“Yeah? She the same way?”

“Without the polish or the money, yes. I never do anything

right.”

“Are you married?”

“Nope.”

“Well, hopefully when you are, you won’t get a mother-in-law

who’s as bad. If you do, come and see me and I’ll give you my best

advice on how to deal with two of them at once.”

“You’re mom’s just as bad?”

“She’s close.”

“My God, Jennifer. How do you stay sane?”

“Who says I am?”

They laughed over that. Jennifer sighed and took another swig

from her glass. “I didn’t think it was going to be this hard.”

“What? Moving?”

“Yeah,” Jennifer replied, almost honestly.

Alex looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 15

Jennifer wasn’t sure where it came from and was very surprised

to feel it, but she had the sudden, almost irresistible urge to spill her

guts, to pour out her heart to this complete stranger. She was able to

control herself and to keep from doing just that, but it was such a

weird feeling. She knew that if things had been the other way

around, if Alex had come to her home and began to tell her woes

after they’d only met once, Jennifer probably would have figured

out how to shoo her away and would have rolled her eyes about

Alex later. As it was, she just felt so comfortable sitting there that

she couldn’t bring herself to leave. Alex gazed openly at her, expect-

antly, like she really cared what her new friend was about to say,

like she really intended to listen. For the first time in years, Jennifer

felt like she could be herself and she wouldn’t be judged.

“How long have you and Eric been married?” Alex asked.

“Almost eight years. I’m twenty-nine.”

“You’re a baby.”

“Wipe that smirk off your face. What are you, thirty?”

“Many moons ago. I’m looking at the big three-five next Janu-

ary.” She grimaced at the thought, only half-jokingly.

“Ouch. You’ll have to let me know how that goes. I’m already

dreading it and I’ve got five more years.”

“Eric the same age as you?”

“A year older.”

“You guys married young, huh?”

“Yeah, I suppose we did.”

“I bet you had a beautiful wedding.” She had an image of a

huge extravaganza, probably at Oak Hill Country Club or some-

place equally gorgeous. Expensive food, tons of guests, Jennifer

looking beautiful in a flowing, white gown, Eric all handsome in his

tailored tux.

“It was.” Jennifer nodded. “Though I think our parents were

more excited about it than we were.” I wasn’t ready to get married

and neither was Eric, she wanted to add.

“He seems like a nice guy,” Alex commented sincerely.

“He is. He’s been a little stressed lately with his job, but I sup-

pose that’s to be expected in his line of work.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a lawyer in his dad’s firm. He’s being groomed to take

over as partner when his father retires next year. Daniel’s been

handing his clients over to Eric little by little and with the addition

of the Buffalo office, I think Eric’s a bit overwhelmed. He’s really a

great guy, though. I could do a lot worse, that’s for sure. Feels like

I’ve known him forever.”

“Are you high school sweethearts?”

“Yup. Actually, we grew up together. We’ve known each other

16 Georgia Beers

for…” She did a quick calculation in her head. “Jesus, twenty

years.”

“Wow.”

“His family and my family are very tight. When Eric and I

started dating in high school, our parents sort of latched onto the

pairing and the rest is history.”

“That’s really very sweet.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is.” She drained the rest of her glass.

They gazed steadily out at the water, watching the seagulls dive

and swoop. They were quiet and the silence was comfortable and

warm. Kinsey had curled up in Jennifer’s lap and twitched restlessly

every now and then as he chased something in his sleep, small snor-