The New Neighbor by Leah Stewart
For
Dr. Florence “Flossie” Ridley
And in memory of
Col. Ellis Cameron “Cam” Stewart and Mildred “Sissy” Stewart
Dr. Nina J. Markus and Capt. Felix “Mac” McAndrews
The whole world thinks she did it. She knows that. Even in her house with the doors locked and the blinds down, she can feel the weight of it. All that certainty.
Jennifer
Every story is a history . . . and when there is no comprehensible story, there is no history.
—CHARLES BAXTER, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
Signs of Life
Where before there was no one, suddenly I, Margaret Riley, have a neighbor. I went out on the back deck this morning like every morning, and there she was. Across the pond, sitting on her own back deck. I was startled. That house has been empty a long time. My first impulse was to go back inside, as if I’d come upon something shameful, or embarrassed myself. As if I were out there naked, which of course I wasn’t, and even if I had been she was too far away to see. But I am braver than that. I put my coffee cup on the table, as usual, and then I went back inside for my book, which is by P. D. James, a remarkable woman, as ancient as I am and still creating mysteries. I have to make two trips because I need one hand for the cane. Sometimes I try to manage cane and book and coffee all at once, and the result is always coffee stains, or burns, or at the very least a wet book and a diminished cup of coffee. Every morning I’m frustrated anew by the need to make two trips. Impatience and age are not compatible.
She was still there when I came back out. I lowered myself into my chair. I felt self-conscious that she might be watching this slow maneuvering, like I am when someone watches me trying to park my car. The position of my chair ensured that if I looked up from my book I looked directly at her. I knew I wouldn’t move my chair—because it would be rude, and because it’s heavy—but I thought about doing so anyway. I drank my coffee slowly, pretending to gaze out over the pond, which is what I do every morning, though usually without the presence of someone who might be watching me.
Strange that she didn’t wave. Wasn’t it? But I hadn’t waved either. I couldn’t make out her face, of course—the pond is an acre across—but I could see the yellowish smudge of her long hair, and so I knew she was young, or at least much younger than I. Was it the job of the younger person to be the first to wave? Certainly it cost her less to move. She was wearing something purple. I think it was a purple bathrobe. I like purple myself, but that poem about the old ladies and the red hats has made it impossible for me to wear it.
The coffee cup was empty. I set it down, careful to push it back from the edge of the table, and reached for my book. Before I opened it I looked right at her. There was no way to know for sure but she seemed to be looking right back at me. I lifted my hand off my lap and extended my arm. What I mean is, I waved. I left my arm suspended a moment. She didn’t move. My arm fell back into my lap, a heavy thing. I was about to look down at my book like nothing had happened, like a cat casually licking its whiskers, pretending it didn’t just smack into the wall. Then she moved. I swear—I know she was far away and even with my glasses I have an old lady’s eyesight—but I swear, she jerked first, like she’d started to wave back and been restrained. Then she raised her arm and returned my greeting.
“Hello,” I said aloud, though she couldn’t hear me of course.