Kevin makes a sharp left before taking the first right. “We’re here.” He pulls into the driveway of the house I recognize from the realtor’s photos. The white two-story Cape Cod-style house looks like the picture-perfect starter home for a young family. All it needs is a swing hanging from the oak tree in the front yard, and maybe some flowers in the window boxes that adorn the first-floor windows.
Kevin jumps out of the car and gets my suitcase from the trunk. I join him after a moment. “I’ve never lived in a real house before,” I confess. “You know, with a yard and everything.”
My neighbor’s face contorts into a look of pure horror. “That’s not good, Tommy. People need grass. It’s a scientific fact.”
I side-eye him to see if he’s teasing me, but he looks serious. “I should probably find a gardener before spring then,” I tell him.
“What for?”
What does he mean, what for? “To mow the lawn?”
“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, you don’t hire a gardener to mow the grass. If you don’t want to do it yourself, you get a neighborhood kid. I’ll make you a list,” he offers.
With a nod of my head, I reach into my coat pocket for my wallet. Before I get it out, Kevin tells me, “You paid on the app. You’re all set.”
“I was going to tip you in cash,” I tell him. “Cash is king for tipping, am I right?”
“You know what’s even better?” he asks. “Taking me out for my favorite cheese curds. You can pay.”
“That sounds like a fair deal.” I reach out and shake his hand before pushing my suitcase to the front door of my new place. Leaning down, I lift the doormat and search for the key that’s supposed to be there. It’s not.
“No key?” Kevin calls out.
I turn around and shrug my shoulder. “No key.”
“Try the flower box under the picture window,” he suggests.
I walk across the grass to check, but there’s nothing but dirt inside. “Nothing.”
Kevin holds up one finger and runs across the yard next door. Walking inside, I hear him call out, “Shelly! I need you!”
A short red-head walks outside in a fuzzy bathrobe. Her hands are on her hips as she admonishes, “Is that anyway to say hello to me after you’ve been gone all day?”
Her husband leans down and kisses her cheek. “Hi, honey. Sorry. I just brought our new neighbor home from the airport. He can’t find the key Judy was supposed to have left for him.”
She peeks around her front porch to look at me. Then she waves. “I’m Shelly!”
“Thomas Culpepper,” I say.
“Call him Tommy,” Kevin tells her.
“It’s under the fake rock next to the porch swing,” my neighbor yells. “Everyone and their brother knows to look under the mat if they want to break into a house,” she yells.
And now they know about the fake rock on the porch,but I don’t mention that. I simply find the very unrealistic-looking plastic rock and pick it up. Opening it, I pull out the key and hold it up in Shelly’s direction. “Thank you.”
“No problem, honey. I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going to bring over some muffins for you.”
Kevin runs back across to my driveway and gets into his car. As he pulls out, he rolls down the window. “We’ll set up dinner soon, okay?” Then he waves and takes Adelaide home.
To be honest, I haven’t spent much time wondering what my neighbors were going to be like in Wisconsin. But if pressed, I don’t think I would have ever come up with a duo like Pickles and Shelly. So far, I’m not disappointed.
CHAPTER FIVE
FINLEY
I’m standing in what used to be the baby store next to my studio. While the extra space will be nice, I’m going to have some work ahead of me to make it useful for my needs.
My realtor is saying something, but my thoughts have already started wandering. All background noise is blending into a sort of low distant humming. That is, until I hear Anna say something about an infestation.
