The New Neighbor

her eyes. It used to give her a little tingle of excitement when she thought about it, but now the tingle was deeper, lower… and a little scary.

In her bedroom, Jen heard Robby's door open. She stepped into the hall quickly and he stopped, turned to her.

'I saw you talking to the new neighbor,' she said. 'What's she like?'

Robby raised his eyebrows, shrugged and said, 'She's, um… nice,' then lifted a hand and said, 'See ya.'

She watched him go down the hall, then back to her bedroom with a sigh.

* * * *

George took a shower when he got home from work. He'd gotten little sleep the night before, overslept, and only had time for a quick wash before leaving the house; he'd felt dirty all day. After drying off, he glanced out the bathroom window to see Robby going across the street.

Wrapped in his terrycloth robe, George went to his bedroom, tossed his robe on the bed, and -

– something stung his bare right foot and spat a long wet hiss from under the bed.

'Son of a bitch!' George barked, hopping a few times on his left foot as his right began to bleed in four long thin stripes that ran from his outer ankle to the knuckle of his big toes.

Karen's Manx cat, Monroe, peered up at him from the dusty darkness under the bed. Hatred burned in the cat's black and yellow eyes as it bared its needle-like fangs and hissed again, then snarled and backed out of sight.

George swept one of his slippers off the floor, dropped to one knee and slapped at the bottom of the bed, grumbling. 'You miserable goddamned – “ But the cat dashed out from under the bed on the other side and George heard the heavy thump of its paws as it ran for the door. He looked up in time to see Monroe's jiggling tailless ass – and, worst of all, his dirty bare rectum – disappear from the room. Swearing again, George threw the slipper down and sat on the bed to rub his slashed foot, muttering, 'Nine years. Nine goddamned years.'

That was how long he'd put up with the only animal he'd ever encountered that he actually hated. He didn’t like admitting that to himself because he was an animal lover. But the cat had hated him first. Monroe had been a tiny kitten when George and Karen married. The cat hadn't liked him then and seemed to hate him more with each passing year. George never knew where the animal was hiding or when it was going to attack him next. Each time, the temptation to give Monroe a swift kick was great, but George always resisted, knowing that if he actually hurt the cat, Karen would be furious, probably even hysterical. Sometimes he thought she cared more deeply about that vicious, neurotic cat than she did for him.

After dressing and shaving, he went down to the kitchen and asked Karen, 'Where'd Robby go?'

'Across the street to help that woman arrange her furniture and unpack.'

'Oh. And Jen?'

'At Al and Lynda's.'

Al and Lynda Crane had twins Jen's age – a boy and girl – and if she wasn't at their house playing or eating with them, they were at hers.

'Aren't they going to eat?'

'Jen's eating with the twins and I guess that woman's going to cook dinner for Robby.' She removed two plates from the cupboard and set them down in front of the fat white Oster food processor.

'Oh?' George stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. 'Then we're alone this evening?' After the thoughts he'd had while trying to sleep the night before, he'd felt horny all day.

The microwave beeped and Karen pulled away from him to take out the food.

Figures, George thought, a little surprised by the bitterness he suddenly felt. 'What's for dinner?'

'Chicken.'

He watched as she dished up the chicken and vegetables. She was frowning, as if she were angry about something.

'You're staring,' she said. 'What's wrong?'

'You looked upset, is all.'

'Oh. Well, I'm just… don't you think it's strange, George?'

'What?'

'That woman – “

'She has a name, you know.'

' – asking Robby over like that. Cooking dinner for him.'

'What's strange about that? She needed the help and she wanted to do something for him in return. That's all.'

Still frowning, she shook her head. 'I don't know.'

'What, you think she's going to seduce him?'

'I just… thought it was strange,' she muttered. 'That's all.'

George took his dinner in the living room and turned on the news. Through a two-inch opening in the curtains over the front window, he could see the lights in Lorelle Dupree's windows across the street. Two silhouettes moved back and forth inside.

With a smirk, George wondered if maybe Karen was right. Robby wasn't a bad looking kid. He was no jock, but he wasn't a geek, either. For all George knew, maybe Lorelle Dupree was the Mrs. Robinson type, the kind of woman who liked to break in young men. He closed his eyes and imagined her with his son, both of them naked. He imagined the sounds Robby would make as Lorelle introduced him to things about which he'd only fantasized, and he wondered if Robby would be as overwhelmed as he had been the first time. As the image crystallized, became vivid, George's smile dissolved. He turned to the television again as Karen came into the room with her dinner and sat across from him on the sofa.

She wore a simple blue shirt-dress, no stockings, barefoot, makeup washed off. Yet she looked no less attractive than she had that morning, freshly made up and dressed, on her way to work. She watched the television without looking at him and he watched her, trying to relax and get that feeling back, that feeling of… ease. He wanted to put down his plate and go to her, nuzzle her neck and curl up on the sofa with her. But he knew better.

Monroe was coming.

The cat crept out from under the end table, lifted his bulk onto the sofa and placed his front paws on her thigh to peek over the edge of her dinner plate. She smiled as Monroe touched his nose to each piece of food on the plate.

George turned away from his wife as he winced disgustedly, then looked again to see Karen passing a hand over Monroe's orange fur as the cat curled up on her lap. George remembered when he and Karen used to eat dinner together, sitting close, touching one another, often exchanging smiles. He had been replaced by the cat. They used to lie on the floor together, too, curled up on pillows to watch television. Now she curled up with Monroe, and George didn't dare get too close to the cat for fear of being clawed. It was something he'd always tolerated, but over the years, it had become more and more difficult.

As Monroe began to purr, George's eyes returned to the opening of the curtains, to the shadows moving in the windows across the street, and his brows slowly huddled together, rippling his forehead.

If Karen was right and Lorelle Dupree was planning to seduce Robby, George had to admit that he was envious.

No, he thought, as his dinner grew cold, not envious. Jealous.

'Mind if I change the channel?' Karen asked.

George turned away from the window slowly, frown diminishing, and sighed, giving her the best smile he could without looking at the cat. Before biting into his chicken, he said, 'No, hon. Whatever you want.'

Chapter 4