Newton Neighbors (New England Trilogy) (16 page)

Noreen looked like she was having difficulty opening the latch on the back door. Of course, her hands would be weak, Maria realized. Her own arms were full with Alice, so she looked at her friend. “Cathi, can you help Noreen?”
 

Cathi’s eyes seemed saucer-size with excitement. She had to snap out of her rock-star-hostess daydream to see the problem Noreen was having with the door. “Oh, here, let me do this,” she said in a brisk tone. She turned the old iron key in the latch and the double doors to the outside deck clicked open. Noreen nodded, and then she walked out onto the balcony overlooking the lake.
 

“Joe always had a bit of a thing for Brigitte Bardot. She was one of his first interviews, and in all honesty, I think she had a soft spot for him, too. She stayed here often.”

Cathi looked like she had lost the ability to speak, and she just mouthed the name.

“OMG. What an icon. She actually stayed here?” Maria asked.

Noreen nodded again, looking happy to reminisce. “And she brought the rock star Mick Wolf with her once. He’s much smaller in real life than you’d expect, but my word, did he party hard. They were very naughty.”

Cathi sat down on a nearby bench, such was the weight of that name.

But Maria was enraptured. “How naughty was naughty?”
 

“I remember Joe saying there was more crystal meth in the house than Crystal Lake outside.”
 

Maria hugged her baby. “Jeez, the wildest party I’ve been to in Newton involved an ice sculpture luge and a few joints.”

Noreen sighed. “My son, Greg, says the same thing. I think we were a lot naughtier than the Newton neighbors of today.” She gazed out over the lake and then turned to see where Cathi had gone. She was still sitting down. It seemed like she was trying to take in the incredible history of the house.
 

“Mick Wolf and Brigitte Bardot,” Cathi whispered. “What an amazing house.”

“This is the view you wanted to see,” Noreen said to her now. Cathi roused herself and came over to the railings where the other women stood. It was just as glorious as Mrs. Palmer had promised. The well-tended yard was a gentle slope down to Crystal Lake. The trees along the sides and on the far side of the water had changed to a kaleidoscope of reds, oranges, yellows, and golds. On top of that, the low autumn sun hit the gently moving water, making it shimmer and sparkle.

“I think I’m going to cry,” Cathi said. “I love this house. I just love this house.”

“Oh.” Noreen looked a little surprised. “Would you be interested in buying it?” she asked. Maria and Cathi snapped to attention.

“Gosh, this is all a bit sudden,” Cathi said.
 

That annoyed Maria. She knew how her friend’s mind worked. Cathi wouldn’t have planned on going straight for the deal that day. She would much rather soften Noreen Palmer up with a few more cookies, chats, and the photos of her girls, or she would have liked to bring a pie.
 

Cathi continued. “I want to say—yes. I’d love to buy this house, Noreen—especially as you seem to have a mind to sell it.”

Noreen smiled. “No, not at all. I’m in no rush. You just said you loved it, but perhaps I misunderstood.” She shrugged.

“How much?” Cathi asked a little too fast. She put her hands down and clasped the deck railing, like she needed the support.

“Oh, that’s the exact spot where Mick Wolf stood and the exact way he held the railings when he asked me the very same question.” Noreen grinned.
 

“He tried to buy this house?” Cathi asked, sounding breathless. Maria thought her friend’s knees might buckle at the news.

“No, angel, he was trying to convince Joe to sell
me
. I think Mick was going through an older women phase, because if memory serves, both Brigitte and I were a good few years older than him. Funny he asked Joe and didn’t do the haggling straight with me.

“I suppose things were very different back then. We didn’t have the equality you girls have these days. If Mick Wolf were here today, I am sure he wouldn’t ask your husband’s permission to buy you. He’d buy you direct—if you were for sale in the first place—which of course I wasn’t.
 

“But I have a vague recollection he thought we should all pretend to be bread rolls and smear ourselves in peanut butter.” Then she gave a little sigh. “Funny the things you remember. It sounds dumb now, but it seemed very reasonable that night.”

“Ooh!” Maria laughed. “Gross. Wouldn’t you have ruined your clothes?”

“No, pet, we’d been swimming. We were well past the clothing stage.”

“Skinny dipping in the lake?” Maria squealed out loud. “We’ve often talked about it but never dared to do it.”

“How much would you want for the house?” Cathi asked Noreen. Maria knew she was trying to bring the house sale conversation back because they had wandered off the subject again. Cathi was now massaging the Wolf-stroked wooden railing.
 

Mrs. Palmer blinked. “Oh, yes. Well, let me see—the one for sale across the road is six thousand square feet on a quarter acre plot with indirect lake views, and we all know what it’s listed for. This house is also six thousand square feet, but we’re on a larger half-acre plot, and of course, we have direct access to the lake. I think I’d consider any offers five hundred thousand above their asking price.” She stopped and looked at Cathi with a small smile. Then she wrapped her arms around herself. “You know, I feel a chill in the air. Shall we go back inside? It wouldn’t do for Alice to get cold.” She reached over to stroke the baby’s cheek and managed a quick wink at Maria at the same time.

Maria didn’t speak but watched the scene unfold with amazement. The old lady’s mind was as clear as the water in Crystal Lake. She knew the chill Noreen felt had more to do with her friend’s icy glare than any change in the weather. For Cathi’s part, Maria knew it was one of those rare times she wouldn’t be able to find a response. What was there to say? Maria knew Cathi would claim Noreen was being delusional. For that kind of money, Mick Wolf would have to be thrown into the deal as the live-in landscaper. Then perhaps the price tag would make sense. But in the real world, nothing was worth that kind of money. That was what Cathi would say.

Maria watched her friend try to compose herself.
 

“Ah, Mrs. Palmer, I don’t think that price is reasonable,” she said as they came inside.

“Don’t you?” The old lady closed up the doors to the deck and guided them back into the front room where their tea waited.

“Number sixteen is in mint condition. This house would need a total refurbishment.”

Noreen settled herself onto her sofa and looked around the room. “Do you think? Funny, I think it’s fine just the way it is. Now, can I give you a refill?”

Cathi didn’t sit down again. Instead she glanced at her watch. “You know what? I have to get to the school. I have a meeting with Katie’s teacher soon. It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Palmer, but I really have to leave now.”

Cathi was out the door so fast, neither Noreen nor Maria got a chance to say good-bye. They watched the void created as she swept out of the room, which was punctuated by the slam of the back door behind her. Then both women burst into laughter. Even Alice joined in. Rusty and Orga settled on the carpet, looking just as glad to see the back of her.

“I am so sorry about that, Noreen,” Maria said.

“No problem. I quite enjoyed it, as a matter of fact. I assume that is the woman you’ve been talking about when you said you had a friend who wanted to buy the house?”

Maria gave a guilty nod. “She came on a bit strong, didn’t she?”

“Have you told her about our ever more frequent flooding problems?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem to bother her, or maybe she just doesn’t get how bad it is.”

“Silly girl.”

“I’m the silly one, letting her into your house like that. I’m sorry, Noreen. I was so nervous she’d try to trick you out of your home. I know you’re not as young as you used to be, and you keep telling me you’re getting forgetful. But I have to say I was blown away about how well you played her just now.”

Noreen poured a little more tea from the pot into her cup to heat it up. Then she looked at Maria straight on. “I may be getting a little forgetful, Maria, but I’m not stupid. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, be an angel and pour the milk for me. Remember, I just take a splash.”

Chapter Eleven

In the Deep End

Rick’s dive made barely a splash. He didn’t swim as much as he used to, but this evening it felt good. He did an entry dive—long and shallow, fast and sleek. A lifetime ago, when he was young, he had worked as a lifeguard in Watertown, his hometown. He was sad he had given it all up years ago, but at least he still had the form and the style of a good swimmer—he hadn’t lost that. None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered now was staying preoccupied. Before the swim, he had worked out hard in the gym for over an hour, just as he had every day that week. It was Friday night, and the club was quieter than usual.
 

Despite his grueling session, his mind flashed to
her
. What would
she
be doing tonight? He knew he was being a fool, a total idiot, but still his mind played games with him.
 

The first time he had seen Jessie was like being hit by a lightning bolt. He still remembered walking into the hall when the damn dog was barking and then—whammo, there she was, the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen in his life.
 

It wasn’t just her pretty hair or her face and a body straight from heaven. No, it was more than that—something primal. He was drawn to her on a deeper level. Could it be what people called spiritual? Rick’s faith was weak, although he’d been brought up Catholic. But the thoughts and fantasies he was having for Jessie Armstrong sure weren’t within the guidelines of his religion.
 

Of course, he had fought his feelings for her. He was a married man, a good husband to Maria and father to the kids. He’d never done anything behind her back. That wasn’t his style. Rick had considered himself a good guy, until he’d seen Jessie. Why had she walked into their happy lives? If he’d just never met her, he would have been okay.

He reached the far wall of the Olympic-sized pool and did a perfect flip turn in his lane. Sure, if he were single, he’d go for her, pursuing her the way he’d once pursued Maria. And he’d get her, too. He was confident of that. Rick wasn’t the kind of man who took no for an answer. That’s how he’d hooked Maria back at college, and he was pretty certain he could win Jessie over with charm and charisma mixed with the right amount of romance and persuasion.
 

Naturally this was all hypothetical, because he wasn’t going to do anything about Jessie Armstrong. She was their sitter, a child herself—but no, she was a young woman.
 

She wasn’t really a child, was she? Maria had filled him in on Jessie’s life while Rick had tried to act disinterested. But the truth was he had sucked up every word his wife dropped.
 

Jessie was roughly the same age Maria had been when Rick first met her, maybe older. Jessie was plenty grown up.
 

Stop
, he said to himself and plowed harder through the water. He made another perfect flip turn at the far wall. If he could just get the girl out of his head, that would be a start.
 

He might have succeeded in forgetting about her if he hadn’t seen her again in his damn kitchen. Perhaps if he had been better prepared. Known she was going to be there. But he hadn’t, so, again, she’d caught him unawares. He rarely went home during the workday. What were the chances of her being there the one day he did? Was fate playing with him? Had they been destined to meet up that morning?
 

Rick had only rushed into the kitchen to say hi to his wife. His plan was to collect the document fast and get back into Boston. But there she was again. Jessie—beautiful, funny, charming, intoxicating Jessie.
 

He swam even harder.
Get her out of your head, you fool, you old man
, he roared at himself.
She is way too young for a guy my age. She wouldn’t even be attracted to me
 . . .
or would she?

Rick kept himself in good shape, and he thought he still looked pretty good, but a girl like Jessie could get anybody. Then again, she’d said she didn’t have a significant other yet. Maybe she preferred older guys, and that was why she hadn’t found anybody at college. It made sense.

While Rick’s mind raced, his body began to suffer from the grueling pace he was trying to maintain. He couldn’t keep up his top speed in the water, so he slowed a little.
Adultery? Men have been doing it since time began,
he thought as he took it easier. In fact, it was pretty normal.
 

When women got older, they lost interest in romance and all that stuff. He had seen it happen to Maria. There was a time when he had thought she would never run out of steam. Maria had been the hottest girl in college. It wasn’t just about her looks—she had an excitement and life about her that was intoxicating.
 

He had loved her like a drug. Darn it, he still did, but it was fair to say the fizz had gone flat. If she was his drug, he realized with regret, he’d built up immunity to her particular cocktail of charm and charisma.