The Girl Next Door (7 page)

“No. Not live there. No,” said Nina. “We just need a place to stay until we find something
for him. It’s expensive around here. It might take a little while.”

Mary nodded, but did not reply.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” said Nina, “but I really need this. And you know, you
never seemed to be … against him. You never seemed to blame him for Mom’s … You never
seemed to believe that he did it.”

“I never said that,” Mary cautioned her.

Nina frowned. “But you didn’t … did you?”

Mary looked at her sadly. “I respected your feelings, Nina. That seemed like the most
important thing to me at the time. As for your father, well …”

“He didn’t, Aunt Mary. I wouldn’t love him if he had done that …”

“Oh, honey,” said Mary, shaking her head.

“I don’t know what else to do,” Nina cried. “I didn’t want him to come back here either,
but he’s so intent on it. I know I
have no right to ask for anything from you. You’ve done more for me—”

“Nina,” her great-aunt interrupted her kindly. “Stop that now. I know that you believe
in him. And once upon a time, Duncan was a fine young man. For all I know, you’re
right about him.”

“He’s not young anymore. And he really needs a hand.”

Mary sighed. “If you want to stay in the house and use the car … Well, it’s your house,
too, Nina. You know that’s how I look at it.”

Nina jumped up and embraced her great-aunt. “Thank you.”

“Hey, take it easy,” Mary said.

“I’ll get him to fix things around the house while we’re there,” said Nina. “I promise.
There won’t be any trouble. And we’ll be gone just as soon as I get him settled in
his own place. You won’t be sorry.”

Mary took a deep breath and smoothed out the bedcovers over her lap. “Do you think
he knows how to tune a piano?” she asked wryly.

Nina beamed. “I’m going to go tell him. He’s waiting outside. He didn’t want to come
in. He thought you wouldn’t want to see him.”

“All right. That’s fine,” said Mary. “But, Nina, I want you to hurry up and get him
settled. And then get away from him. You can’t spend your life fighting his battles.
You mustn’t.”

“I won’t. And we’ll be out of there before you know it. I promise.”

“You have to live your own life, Nina. You need to think about having your own family.
What happened to that young man you were seeing? Hank. That shipping executive who
came to see you in the play all those times.”

Nina sighed. “Hank Talbot. I still see him …”

“Nina,” said Aunt Mary.

“All he thinks about is how much money he can make. He reminds me of Patrick,” Nina
protested.

“You said he was fun.”

“He
was
fun, at first,” said Nina. “Look, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I couldn’t be better.
Aunt Mary, I’ve got to go. My dad …”

“Go ahead. Go on,” said Aunt Mary.

Kissing her aunt again, Nina picked up her bag and flew out of the room, eager to
tell her father the good news. When she opened the door to the reception area, she
saw that there was a bloodless but cheerful-looking old man dressed in frayed, comfortable
clothes and house slippers seated across from Duncan.

“Harry,” said Duncan, “this is my daughter, Nina.”

The old man peered up at her. “Hello there, Nina,” he croaked. He was virtually toothless.
“I know your dad for a long time. He used to take care of me.”

Nina smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The doors to the reception area opened again, and a man wearing a bow tie and a blazer
entered the lobby. He was peering at a chart through half-glasses.

“Hey, Doc Farber.”

The man looked up over the top of his glasses. “Hello, Harry, how’re you doing?”

“You remember Doc Avery here?” The old man pointed with a trembling hand at Duncan.

Dr. Farber’s smile disappeared and his eyes widened in surprise as his gaze took in
the unexpected visitor.

“Hi, Bill,” Duncan said.

“Duncan. I heard they let you out,” he said gravely.

“The doc here was just givin’ me a little free advice.” said Harry gleefully.

“This man is not a doctor any longer,” said Dr. Farber. “He
disgraced himself and his profession. He has no business giving you or anybody else
medical advice. You should be getting back to your room, Harry.”

Harry protested, but Dr. Farber buttonholed a passing aide and pointed to Harry. “Help
this man back to his room.”

“I don’t need any help,” Harry grumbled as he accepted the orderly’s arm.

Without another word to Duncan, Dr. Farber turned and walked back into the ward. Nina
used all the acting skills she possessed to keep the embarrassment and chagrin from
showing on her face as she looked at her father. His face wore a blank expression.
Probably, she thought, a skill he had perfected over years of withstanding the insults
of prison life. But blotches of color had risen to his cheeks, betraying him, like
the telltale welts from a lash.

T
HEY
trudged through the rustling mass of leaves that blanketed Aunt Mary’s front yard.
“Maybe we can rake these up for her,” Nina said. “I told Aunt Mary we’d do a few things
around the house.” Duncan nodded, but did not reply. He bent down and gathered up
a couple of newspapers, still in their plastic sleeves, which had landed near the
steps and were camouflaged by leaves. Nina stuck the key in the front door of the
rambling, shingle-style house that she had called home during high school and pushed
the door open with some difficulty because of the pile of mail that had fallen through
the slot and accumulated on the floor. “Come on in,” she said to her father.

The house smelled stale and the drapes were shut, so the atmosphere was gloomy. The
living room was dominated by a black upright piano, its surface dull and scarred.
Aunt Mary had loved to play when Nina lived here. Nina ran her hand across the dusty
keys and could see what her aunt meant about the instrument
being out of tune. As Duncan entered the house and set his bag down, Nina went around
to the windows, pulling back curtains and opening the blinds. Patches of faded butterscotch
light began to appear on the worn wall-to-wall carpet.

“There,” she said, “that’s better. We’ll get this place aired out.”

“Where do you want these?” asked Duncan, indicating the newspapers he had collected.

“There’s a recycling can beside the back door. Put them in there.”

Duncan went into the kitchen and looked around.

“Just outside. Open the back door,” said Nina.

Duncan did as she asked, and then returned to the living room.

“You can have my old room,” said Nina. “It’s the one on the right at the top of the
stairs. I’ll take Aunt Mary’s room down here.” Although her old room was smaller than
her aunt’s bedroom and was decorated in girlish pink gingham, it was a little more
cheerful than Aunt Mary’s room, which had not seen a change of décor or a coat of
paint in many years. Besides, she didn’t know how her aunt would feel about Duncan
staying there.

“Okay,” said Duncan indifferently. He looked around the shabby but comfortable living
room. The striped wallpaper was faded, and peeling in spots. But the bright watercolor
landscapes that hung in a grouping over the sofa still looked fresh and lovely. Noticing
Duncan looking at his late wife’s paintings, Nina felt a little anxious, but her father’s
face betrayed no emotion.

Several times Aunt Mary had urged Nina to take some of her mother’s paintings with
her and hang them in her apartment, but Nina’s residences were always temporary. She
planned someday to have an actual home, she had told her aunt. A suitable place to
hang them.

Duncan walked over to a display of framed photos on Aunt Mary’s piano and examined
them.

Nina joined him. “Do you remember all these people?” she asked.

Duncan nodded slowly. “Oh sure. Your mother’s family. I knew most of them. Your grandparents.
There’s your uncle John. And of course, these …” Aunt Mary had all the Avery children’s
pictures framed and on display. Duncan picked up Nina’s high school graduation photo,
which was larger and more prominent than those of her brothers. Nina hadn’t really
looked at that photo in a long time. She was struck by the look of sadness in her
own eyes.

“I had the one you brought me in my cell,” he said. “I looked at it every day.” He
set the photo back down carefully and then picked up another, smaller graduation picture
displayed beside it. It was a black-and-white photo and the girl pictured in the photo
had raven hair like Nina’s, but there was no sorrow in her eyes and she had a bright,
vivacious smile.

“She probably looked like that when you met her,” Nina said gently.

Duncan stared at it for a moment and then replaced the photo of his late wife on the
surface of the piano. “Shall we go and see Jimmy?” he said.

Nina was a little taken aback by the abrupt change of subject. “Uh … I don’t know.
I have to call him.”

“Does he know we’re arriving today?” Duncan asked.

“No. It was so sudden. I didn’t have a chance to call him. I’ll call him now.”

“I’ll take my bag up,” said Duncan, heading for the stairs.

“Okay,” said Nina, feeling vaguely troubled. She glanced back at the photo of her
mother, a high school girl smiling with such innocence and hopefulness, completely
unaware of the violent, bloody way her life would end. People always wished
they knew the future, she thought. It was better not to know. How many people would
really want to go on if they knew what the end would be? With a sigh, she went into
the kitchen and sat down next to where the phone was hanging on the wall. She dialed
her brother’s number and waited while it rang.

J
IMMY
was having his AA meeting at the Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall. He had told
Nina to meet him there. Nina indicated a slatted park bench in front of the church,
and she and Duncan sat down. There was a gaslight beside the bench that was beginning
to illuminate as the light of day faded. “This way we can see him come out when the
meeting’s over,” she said.

Nina shivered and jammed her hands into the pocket of her fleece-lined jacket. She
glanced at her father, who was only wearing a gray windbreaker. He did not seem to
notice the falling temperatures as afternoon turned to evening.

“Aren’t you cold?” she said.

Duncan started as if she had awakened him. “What? No. No, not really. I mean I’m used
to it. It was always cold in … there. They always claimed there was nothing they could
do about the lack of heat. Except in summer, of course, when we’d swelter. You’d get
so you barely noticed it.”

“I guess so,” she said.

“So, Jimmy’s sticking with the sobriety,” Duncan said.

Nina nodded. “It’s been almost … ten years now.”

“And he’s got a job,” said Duncan.

“Yeah. He works at Hoffman Flooring. He’s been there for a while.”

“He turned his life around,” said Duncan. “It’s hard to believe.”

“I know,” said Nina. “Considering the way he was.”

“What happened to that Mears kid he hung around with?” Duncan asked.

“I don’t know.” Nina said. “I asked Jimmy and he said that Mears had to leave town.
Something about a kid dying of a drug overdose. Mears was involved somehow.”

“Was he charged?”

“I really don’t know, Dad. I don’t think so. I don’t think there was any real proof.”

Duncan shook his head. “There was something evil about that kid.”

“Yeah,” Nina agreed. “Things started to turn around for Jimmy once he got away from
him and got into rehab.”

“I’m so glad,” said Duncan.

Nina saw the door of the Fellowship Hall open. “I think it’s over.”

They got up from the bench and crossed the street as people began to stream out, passing
them as they approached the building. They exuded the smell of cigarette smoke and
coffee in the crisp autumn evening.

Nina edged past several people and walked into the Fellowship Hall. A broad-shouldered
man with a wide neck was emptying ashtrays and collecting used Styrofoam coffee cups.

“Jimmy,” she said. “Come on. Dad’s waiting.”

Jimmy looked up at her sheepishly. His once unruly black hair was now cut close to
the scalp in military fashion. His muscles bulged beneath a faded short-sleeved golf
shirt. “Just cleaning up,” he said.

“Couldn’t somebody else clean up tonight?” she demanded.

“Just give me a minute,” Jimmy said, and Nina had the overwhelming impression that
he was stalling for some reason.

“Hey. Is this a private party?” said a voice from the doorway.

Nina turned around and saw her father leaning into the room.

Jimmy piled the empty ashtrays on the table and wiped his hands on a dish towel. “Hi,
Dad,” he said faintly.

Duncan came into the room and walked up to Jimmy, lifting his arms as if to clasp
him in an embrace. Jimmy stuck out his hand and Duncan took it, reluctantly. Jimmy
shook hands and nodded, meeting Duncan’s gaze only briefly.

“How are you, son?” Duncan asked.

“I’m doing okay. How about you?”

Nina could see her father’s eyes glistening. “Okay,” he said.

Jimmy sighed and then pursed his lips and blew out a breath. “So. Nina says you came
back here to look for a place.”

“Yeah, I wanted to be near you and your brother. I’ve missed you kids so much. I want
to try and make up for some lost time.”

“Yeah,” said Jimmy with forced enthusiasm. “Maybe we could do that.”

“How about we start with dinner tonight? I can afford to take you out somewhere fancy
like the Bun and Burger. As long as you don’t order dessert,” Duncan said, smiling.

Jimmy grimaced. “Actually, Rose told me to … invite you to the house.”

Duncan nodded, pressing his lips together. “Isn’t that nice? What do you say, Nina?”

“Sure,” she said, although she would have much preferred for the three of them to
be alone. She could tell by the look in his eyes that Duncan was weary and felt the
same way. But he was not about to decline the invitation.