Thy Neighbor's Wife (4 page)

ing sounds emanating from his little black nose.

Finally, Jennifer broke the silence. “What are you working

on?” She gestured at the pad Alex held. “A letter?”

“An outline, actually.” She glanced at it and said, somewhat

self-consciously, “I’m writing a novel.”

“Really?” Jennifer couldn’t hide her excitement. “You’re a

writer?”

“I hope so.” Alex chuckled, flattered by Jennifer’s glee. “One

day. We’ll have to see what happens.”

Jennifer was confused and her expression said so.

“It’s sort of a long story—no pun intended—but the short and

sweet version is this: I used to teach and now I’m trying my hand at

being a novelist. I’ve written short stories before, even sold a few,

but I’ve never written anything longer than fifty pages.”

“So you’re giving it a shot.”

“Right. It’s quite a challenge for me, given my tiny little atten-

tion span, and I want to see if I’m up to it.”

Jennifer was dying to ask what it was about, what was in the

outline, but Alex’s failure to offer it up herself told her that maybe

she was still too much of a stranger to trust with such personal

information. She chose another topic instead. “What did you

teach?”

“Freshman English.” A flicker of emotion zipped across Alex’s

face, but she offered no more than those two words.

It would seem the mysterious Ms. Foster has a few secrets, Jen-

nifer thought, vowing to get to know this woman better and maybe

uncover a few of them.

“So, are you and Eric officially moved in today?” Alex asked.

“Are you staying over tonight?”

“I know I am. I’m not sure about Eric yet. Remember I said his

firm has a new branch opening up in Buffalo that he’s been helping

to set up? I know he has an early meeting tomorrow, so he’ll proba-

bly go back to Pittsford and stay there tonight. That’ll cut half an

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 17

hour off his morning commute.”

“Wait. You’ve got another house in Pittsford?” Alex asked, her

eyes twinkling.

“Yes,” Jennifer drawled back, loving the playful tone of Alex’s

voice.

“Jennifer?”

“Yes?”

“Are you loaded?”

“Loaded as in drunk or loaded as in rich?”

“Either.”

“Yes.”

They burst into laughter. Kinsey lifted his head and gave them

an annoyed glare. They laughed at him, too.

“Can I get you another drink, lightweight?” Alex asked with a

smirk.

“Only if you want to carry me back to my place.” Jennifer

chuckled, holding up a hand. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

“You have tomorrow off ?”

Jennifer cringed inwardly at the question. The fact that she

didn’t work wasn’t something that normally concerned her, but in

the presence of her new friend, it bothered her a great deal. “Yeah.

Yeah, I do.”

“Well, I’m here most of the time, so if you need anything…help

with moving stuff around or whatever…just come on over.”

“I may take you up on that. Thank you.”

“Are you a morning person?”

“Sleeping until eight is considered sleeping in for me. Eric

whines that I run from the bed too early on the weekends.”

“Kinsey is an early riser, so we’re usually up by six or seven. I

highly recommend having your morning coffee or tea on the deck,

although it’s still a bit chilly yet. It’s quiet and peaceful. The

water’s like glass. Nobody’s in sight but a few fishermen. It’s

heaven. There’s nothing like morning on the lake.”

The look on her face was so full of passion, causing Jennifer to

vow then and there that she’d follow Alex’s directions the next

morning, no matter what. “Sounds wonderful. I’ll have to give it a

try.”

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, looking

out onto the sun as it reflected on the water. Jennifer felt the burn-

ing need to find out more about this new person in her life.

“So, you’re not married?”

“No.” Alex looked fondly at her sleeping dog. “Kinsey’s the

only man in my life.”

“Ever been married?”

“Nope.”

18 Georgia Beers

Alex offered no more detail, always a little uncomfortable with

that particular line of questioning. Fortunately, she was saved any

further interrogation by the sound of Eric’s voice.

“Jen!” he hollered. “I have to get going soon. Can you make

me something to eat?”

“Be right there,” Jennifer hollered back.

“Hi, Alex!”

“Hey, Eric.” Alex waved. “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

Jennifer sighed, her respite over. “Why can’t men cook for

themselves?”

Alex smiled. “It’s an age-old question passed down from gener-

ation to generation.”

“I suppose I should go.” She made no move to leave.

“I suppose.”

“Am I up yet?” she asked after a few minutes.

Alex chuckled. “Not quite.”

“Damn.” A few more minutes passed. “How ’bout now?”

This time Alex laughed out loud. “Um, no.”

“It’s this friggin’ chair of yours, you know.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Jen!” came Eric’s voice again.

This time, Jennifer smiled and gently moved Kinsey. “God has

spoken. I’ve got to go.”

Alex stood and picked the dog up off Jennifer’s lap, sorry to see

her leave.

“Thank you so much. For the drink as well as the company. It’s

just what I needed.”

“Any time. You know where I live. You’re always welcome.

And I mean it about tomorrow. If you need anything, just come on

over, okay?”

“I will.” She gave Kinsey a final scratch on his head as he

yawned, then hurried down the stairs. “I’ll see you again soon.”

“Definitely,” Alex replied, watching her walk quickly away and

unable to keep from enjoying the gentle sway of her hips as she

moved. She turned to the dog in her arms. “Well, you certainly had

the best seat in the house, didn’t you? Little stinker.”

She thought about her new neighbors and wondered what their

life was like. Were they happy? They seemed to be, though she

hadn’t seen them together more than a couple minutes. An idea

sparked in her brain. She set Kinsey down, picked up her pad and

pen, and jotted notes as they came to her.

She focused on Eric and Jennifer, trying to picture what their

life must be like. They were young, rich, and good-looking. Was

Eric the sweet guy Jennifer insisted he was? Maybe he was posses-

sive and bossy. Did he love her? She seemed so sweet and charming.

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 19

Did he love her like a sweet and charming woman deserved to be

loved? Was he good to her? Did he buy her presents and bring her

flowers? Did he tell her how beautiful she was on a regular basis?

Did he hug her often?

What about her? Did she love him? Was she happy? Was she

bored? Much to her surprise, Alex made a list of all the questions

bombarding her mind, and crumpled and tossed aside the sparse

notes she’d jotted down before Jennifer had visited. The creative

juices that had merely trickled earlier suddenly flowed abundantly

and she kept them going as best she could. An idea took form in her

head. She’d been having trouble smoothing out the details for the

story she’d planned to write, but the whole thing took a back seat to

the new piece now taking shape.

Was Eric romantic? Was he gentle and sweet when he made

love to Jennifer? Or did he simply take what he wanted and leave

her unsatisfied? Alex laughed quietly to herself when she realized

her brain was quickly thinking up several different methods of keep-

ing Jennifer very satisfied. A good fantasy never hurt anybody, she

rationalized.

She kept working on her lists and before she knew it, she had

created two fictional characters based not-so-loosely on Jennifer

and Eric. A teacher friend of Alex’s had once told her that a writer

should always know everything there was to know about a charac-

ter…what she would do in any given situation, how she would

answer any given question. Alex’s outlines grew lengthy as she cre-

ated backgrounds and families and idiosyncrasies for two of her

main characters. She gave them good jobs, bad habits, an unfulfill-

ing sex life…

…and a neighbor.

Alex laughed aloud.

This could be good. This could be very, very good.

Chapter

Three

Alex blinked in surprise when she opened her eyes the Satur-

day morning of the annual First Picnic of the Summer party. The

weather in Upstate New York was fickle, to say the least, and the

chances of having good weather in the summer, on a weekend,

when something’s been planned are slim to none. When she real-

ized the sun was shining and the sky was blue, she actually won-

dered if she might be dreaming.

Even Kinsey did a double take out the window. Then he

yawned, his pink tongue impossibly long, and did his morning

stretch—first his front legs, then his back legs. Next, he padded

onto Alex’s chest where he stood on her like he was king of the

mountain—or mountains in that case—and proceeded to give her a

wake-up bath. It had become a morning ritual that Alex adored,

though she didn’t tell many people about it for fear of embarrass-

ment; not everybody understood the value of doggie kisses. Kinsey

had been with her for five years and there had been more than one

time in her life when she’d felt like he was her only friend.

“Hey, leave my eyeballs in the sockets, pal,” she scolded with a

chuckle as he became a tad overzealous in his washing. “We’ve got

company coming today. Gotta get moving.” She stretched her way

out of the queen-size bed, made a quick detour to the bathroom,

and then tossed on some cleaning sweats. Although they’d most

likely spend the better part of the day on the deck, it would be the

first time her friends would see the lake house since it had officially

become hers and she wanted it spotless.

It was a small house by lake standards—less than half the size

of Jennifer and Eric’s—but it was valuable by sheer location alone.

It had started out as a cottage decades before, but was gradually

refurbished and solidified so that it became suitable for year-round

living. It was only one level. The L-shaped deck supported two

entrances—a sliding glass door from the back, facing the water, and

a regular door from the side. Both entered into the kitchen. The

front door led to a good-sized living room with a small fireplace. A

Thy Neighbor’s Wife 21

hallway off the living room led to the master bedroom, bathroom,

and guest room. Alex was still trying to get used to sleeping in the

master. Whenever she’d stayed with Aunt Margie growing up, she’d

slept in the guest bedroom, so the adjustment was strange, even

after several months.

Exactly one hour before the party was to officially start, Kinsey

began to bark. Alex, smiling, came out of the bedroom in fresh

jeans and a white t-shirt. She knew it would be Jackie and Rita.

They always arrived early so Alex could have extra time with their

daughter. Kinsey continued to bark excitedly as Alex opened the

side door and clipped his chain onto his collar, as she watched her

friends clamor out of their minivan.

“Awek!” The beautiful baby girl voice of her goddaughter never

failed to melt Alex’s heart.

“Hannah Banana? Is that you?”

No sooner had Jackie set the toddler on the ground, than her

little feet carried her as quickly as they could to her godmother’s

outstretched arms. Alex swooped her up, smothered her giggling

face with kisses, and inhaled the incomparable toddler smell of

baby powder and sweetness.

“Nothing warms the heart like a three-year-old who thinks

you’re the Queen of All Things, does it?” Jackie asked with a wry

grin.

“Not a thing.”

“How’s it going, Stretch?” Jackie kissed Alex’s cheek.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. You?”

“It’s all good.”

The resemblance between Jackie and Hannah was remarkable,

given that they did not share the same blood. Rita had been insemi-

nated with sperm from a donor she and Jackie had picked together.

Rita had wanted the father to be as similar physically to Jackie as

possible. As a result, both mother and child had fine, blonde hair,

big, blue eyes, and long, thin frames. Rita, with her mostly Hispanic

background, had given Hannah her fiery temper and her passion for

the things she loved. The child was the perfect mix of Alex’s two

dearest friends and it couldn’t have worked any better if they’d been

heterosexual and conceived her the old fashioned way.

Jackie glanced up at the house, hefting a diaper bag over her

shoulder as Rita approached from the vehicle with a large bowl in

her arms. “It’s really yours, huh?”

Alex sighed and set Hannah on her feet so she could go pay

attention to Kinsey, who was still barking. “Yup. All mine. I still

can’t believe it.”

“So tell me how this came about,” Rita ordered. “Jackie didn’t

give me any details.”

22 Georgia Beers

“I did, too,” Jackie whined.

“‘Alex’s aunt gave her the lake house’ doesn’t constitute

details, my love,” she said sweetly, an unruly dark curl hanging over