“You’re determined, huh? Sure. It’s Saturday tomorrow, so I guess we won’t be interrupting Iris’s work. Just remember, some kitties don’t like pets. What do you do if the kitty growls or hisses?”
“If the kitty is mad then no touch.”
“Very good. Now let’s go brush your teeth. The sooner you get in bed and get to sleep, the sooner it’ll be tomorrow.”
Hailey nods and takes my hand to go upstairs. Her stubby little legs still have trouble navigating the stairs, and that’s probably my fault. Since Lisa was pregnant when we moved into the apartment, I insisted on renting something on the first floor, and both sets of grandparents have single-story homes. She’s never really had to deal with stairs before.
I tuck her in and turn on the nightlight. She hugs a stuffed lion, a gift from Lisa for her fourth birthday. Hailey’s a Leo, so Lisa thought the toy might be fun for her.
The baby gate sticks at the top of the steps when I set it up. I have to jiggle the latch a few times until it finally opens. Once I’m sure Hailey’s not going to get up in the middle of the night and tumble downstairs, I go back down to do some more unpacking in the living room.
I’ve just about gotten the bookshelves loaded when the doorbell rings. I open it to find Karen on my porch. She’s got an armful of notebooks and folders, and I wonder what rule I could have broken already. I got the full list of the neighborhood regulations when the sale finalized, and it was such an extensive list I can’t imagine what else she might have for me now.
“Hey, Karen. What brings you by so late?” It’s only seven thirty, but I’d rather not encourage evening visits from married women.
She digs through her collection of paperwork. “I noticed you had a young woman here earlier.Veryyoung. I hope that won’t be a regular occurrence. We don’t need to give the gossips any ammunition.”
I suspect Karen is the main gossip on the block, but I keep that to myself. “You mean Hailey’s sitter? Becky’s nineteen. She helps me out from time to time in exchange for a few bucks and the occasional tutoring session. She’s a smart girl, but sometimes calculus escapes her. It’s a fair enough trade.”
“Hm.” Karen finally pulls the folder she wanted from her stack and hands it to me. From the label on the front, it’s a set of rules about overnight parking on the street and restrictions on party hours. “Well, you might want to consider having one ofourkids watch Hailey in the future. Much more convenient, and that way you won’t have to have this Becky come all the way here for nothing.”
I’ve seen the neighborhood teens. Spoiled and bratty, and Karen’s son especially seems to think he’s a bougie gangster. No, thanks. “I appreciate the offer, Karen, but Hailey really loves Becky. I’ve already uprooted her by moving here; let her have some familiarity.”
“She can get familiar with Niles.”
I hold up the new folder to redirect the conversation. “Didn’t you already give me everything the other day? What’s in this that wasn’t in the rest of the paperwork?”
Her collagen-enhanced lips spread in a fake smile. “Oh, this is just a subset of the normal regulations. Just in case you had a housewarming planned.”
I return her smile with one that I hope is a little more genuine. “No parties over here.”
“Good.” She looks a little disappointed. Probably was hoping to throw her weight around some more. “Well, I’ll leave you to your unpacking. Remember, the recycle is only for paper, plastics, and aluminum. Cardboard has to be taken to the dump, so don’t put your boxes at the curb.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Karen leaves, and I heave a sigh of relief. Even though I’ve only just met her, it seems like every time I deal with the woman it leaves me drained. Yesterday she made an offhand comment about the moving truck—which was parked in my driveway. I have yet to park on the street or to have any visitors parking on the street.
I go back inside and check the time. Eight thirty. Still early. I survey the sea of boxes and decide I’m done for the day. Time for some pixelated violence. I find the box with my GameStation and hook everything up. Popping in my favorite first-person shooter, I sit on the couch and mute the TV so I don’t wake Hailey. A few missions later, my eyelids start to droop mid-assassination. I shut off the GameStation and turn off all the lights.
Tomorrow more unpacking. Maybe I’ll start with the kitchen, so I can make Hailey pancakes.
Chapter 3
Iris
The Saturday after Micah moves in, I’m woken by the incessantpingof my doorbell app. I fumble for my phone on the nightstand and check the camera, but I don’t see anything. Did a bee set it off again?
As I get ready to shut off the phone, I watch Micah come running out of his house, leap over the hedge dividing our lawns, and jog up my sidewalk to pick up his daughter, who’s too short for the camera to see. He hefts her onto his hip and tosses hair out of his eyes before pressing the chat button by my doorbell. Curious, I tap the screen to answer.
“Hello?”
Micah leans closer to the speaker. “Hey, Iris. Sorry to bother you. I told Hailey to wait until I could come over here with her, but I guess she decided to go without me.”
Is everything okay? Why would his daughter want to come see me on a Saturday morning? “It’s okay. Give me a few and I’ll be down.”
I roll out of bed and dig through my dresser for something to wear. I decide I really need to invest in better casual wear than t-shirts and leggings. He’s going to think that’s all I own! Five minutes later, I almost trip over Cleo on my way to the door. She yowls and runs into the living room, and I hear Hailey giggle on the other side of the door.
“Hey, sorry it took me so long. What’s up?”
