Next Door Neighbors

by Hoelsema, Frances

  Mark, Mark, Mark.

  And a little bit of his fiancé.

  If she didn’t ruin her coat this morning, she would have been able to continue her streak of not seeing him ever again.

  Why even bother getting up? Life apparently wants to knock me down, she thought dejectedly.

  So there she lay on the ground, the snow accumulating around her.

  ---------------

  “I think this is it,” Brian told his mom.

  He had just emptied the last box he brought from her home unto her bed. It was the remaining pieces of clothing she had wanted to keep. Anything left over Brian was to bring to the nearest donation center.

  Elena surveyed the items and directed Brian where she wanted them to go. She helped by refolding some of the pieces that had been undone from the shuffling around.

  Brian had remained quiet with his mom. Not out of anger, but out of disbelief. He was struggling with the idea that his mom wanted to be put into a home, although he knew that what had been going on for the past year couldn’t continue.

  But still, to be in a home? She was too young for that in Brian’s opinion.

  “Do you think you could bring some of my books over soon?” Elena politely asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “If you want my help, I can come with you.”

  “That’s not necessary, mom.”

  Brian followed Elena out of the bedroom and over to the living room. It was a small square room, but good enough. He helped his mom down into the rocking chair that she insisted come with her. The rest of the furniture she allowed Brian to figure out if it should be moved or not, but the rocking chair was a must.

  “I’ll be back some time tomorrow,” Brian said as he turned the TV on for his mom. “You’ll be okay until then?”

  “Of course. Go enjoy yourself a little. You seem a little down.”

  Elena gave a look of deep concern for her son, a look he just tried to ignore.

  How does she not understand?

  Grabbing his coat and putting on his boots, he headed out the door with a final good bye.

  He was not looking forward to what had to be done yet at his mom’s house. There was a lot of stuff that his mom and dad had collected over the years that he had to sift through and figure out if it was worth keeping or not. There was furniture that had to be donated and rooms to be completely cleaned out.

  And then there was the whole putting the house on the market ordeal. That meant he had to find a realtor, open the house for showings and actually sell the place. Sell his childhood home. Brian was having an extremely tough time with that concept.

  Driving back to his mom’s house was intense. He had forgotten how bad the roads could get some days in Ashwin. It didn’t help either when out-of-staters decided that snow and ice on the roads didn’t mean a single thing.

  While cautiously making his way home, he thought about how persistent his mom was on leaving her place. He saw firsthand how tough it was some days for her so a part of him understood. Another part of him felt like a failure for not being able to take care of her himself. He tried thinking about making that work, but his life wasn’t here anymore. He had a business to run and a place of his own to take care of down south.

  Torn.

  Brian was torn between two worlds: wanting to stay; needing to leave.

  He drove past the park and a flashback hit him. That was the park that his mom took him to all the time as a young child. She would play hide and seek with him amongst the many trees near the playground, often times jumping out to scare him. She was a fast runner, but allowed Brian to win most of the time when they raced down the path. He also remembered how strong she was when pushing Brian on the swings. He got so high sometimes that he thought for sure he was going to make a loop around the pole.

  So many good memories of his mom being strong, fast, tough and young ran through his mind. He smiled thinking about them, but it was a sad smile. A smile of things that once were and would never be again.

  Brian turned the blinker on to indicate his upcoming right-hand turn onto the street he grew up on. As he made his way closer and closer to his childhood home, he contemplated what he wanted to get done first. Remembering his mom’s words to go and enjoy himself, he figured he’d take the night off.

  Maybe I’ll see what Jill is up to!

  He often wondered how Jill was taking everything, but had no time to ask. He was busy moving his mom and all of her belongings, and the times he wasn’t so busy Jill wasn’t home anyway.

  But he remembered her touch.

  The touch of her hand on top of his, when his mom made up her mind a couple months back, made a lasting impression. There was something in the way her hand rested on his that calmed him and made him realize he wasn’t alone.

  That someone else understood how he was feeling.

  Driving past Jill’s house, he glanced up the driveway to see if she was home. He immediately recognized her vehicle and for the first time in a few weeks he was excited.

  But there was also something else he noticed in the driveway. He couldn’t make it out from the quick glance driving past, but would figure it out when he would walk over in a few minutes.

  Brian maneuvered the car up his mom’s driveway and turned off the ignition. He was slightly nervous about asking Jill if she wanted to do something later because there was a very good possibility she would reject him. However, he hoped that he would sound non-threatening and that all it was is a chance for two people to enjoy one another’s company.

  Here goes nothing! Brian silently encouraged himself.

  Seeing as the snow was too deep to walk through the back yard, Brian instead got out of his car and made his way around the front. As he walked up her driveway, there was the object he caught before. Only this time he could clearly see that it was a person.

  Jill?

  Brian quickly ran the rest of the way to get up beside her. She was laying there flat and almost appeared lifeless.

  “Jill?” he said worriedly.

  He crouched down and gently shook her.

  “Jill? Are you okay?”

  ---------------

  Jill slowly opened her eyes and noticed Brian kneeling beside her. His head was perfectly positioned in front of the sun so as a halo appeared to be formed around it.

  “Have I died and gone to heaven?”

  Brian laughed, relieved she was alive and talking. “I’m afraid not.”

  “Oh.”

  Brian couldn’t sense if she was glad or disappointed. Regardless, he offered to help her up.

  “What happened?” he asked, grabbing her hand.

  Jill let out a deep sigh. “Let’s just say I had a really bad day,” she said despairingly.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Eh, not really.”

  Brian continued to walk beside Jill to help her into her home.

  “Want to come inside?”

  “Sure! I’ve got a few minutes.”

  She offered him a drink, listing the few options that she had available.

  “I’d love some of that chai tea again, if you don’t mind.”

  “I was actually thinking the same thing. Chai tea coming right up!”

  As she prepared the two drinks, she asked Brian about Elena.

  “Oh, she’s doing well I guess. She really likes it there.”

  “It does seem like a good place,” Jill agreed.

  “It is! It’s just that…I don’t know. I don’t think she needs to be there.”

  Jill noticed the grim look on Brian’s face. She suddenly realized that as bad as it was for her next door neighbor to be gone, Brian had it much worse. “I understand what you’re saying. I feel it all went really fast.”

  “Right! As soon as she saw the place that was it. I guess it’s just hard to wrap my mind around it yet.” Again, Brian sensed that Jill knew exactly how he was feeling without having to say it. Never had he met someone t
hat could do that.

  Jill handed Brian his tea and he immediately took a sip. The hot liquid flowed smoothly down his throat, satisfying his thirst and warming him up. It was the perfect beverage to drink on such a cold winter day.

  “So what do you have to do yet?” Jill wondered.

  “Oh, there’s a lot to do. She wants me to bring her some of her books so that’ll be first I suppose. But basically I just have to go through everything. Anything that she won’t keep I have to try to donate or sell. Eventually I’ve got to sell the house, too.”

  “I had a feeling that was coming.”

  Just then Brian spotted Marble by the kitchen doorway leading to the living room. The cat was rubbing its head on the doorframe, trying to figure out if he wanted to join the humans at the kitchen table or not.

  “Come here, Marble. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” he called.

  At first the cat hesitated, but then slowly made his way to Brian so that Brian could pet him. As Brian rubbed his back, he began to purr.

  “So then you obviously won’t be staying, right?” Jill concluded.

  Brian stopped petting the cat and looked towards Jill.

  Do I sense a hint of anguish there?

  Brian tried reading Jill’s face as she looked down into her tea cup, slowing moving it into circles to stir the remaining contents.

  Does she want me to stay?

  “I want to stay. Like I’ve said before, moving away from Ashwin was something I never thought I’d do.”

  “But?”

  “But my life isn’t here.”

  Jill took a slow sip and stayed silent, accepting reality.

  “I mean, my shop is there, which I’ve already been gone long enough as it is. I’ve got my own place –”

  Jill stopped him in his tracks by saying, “You don’t have to justify yourself. I know full well that’s where you’ve got to be.”

  An awkward silence ensued.

  Brian had no idea what to say. He was kind of taken off guard by Jill’s reaction. A bit of him was confused as well.

  Did she wish things were different?

  He decided not to ask Jill to do something later because things were odd now between the two of them. At least he felt that way. Clearing his throat, he said, “Well, I guess I better start weeding through stuff.”

  Jill offered to help, but Brian declined.

  “If you change your mind, you know where to find me,” she smiled, getting up to place both of their tea cups in her sink.

  Brian also got up and placed his hands in his pockets as he got ready to leave. “Thanks. Are you sure you’re going to be okay, having slipped and all?”

  “I’m fine. I just need to be more careful. Thanks for your concern though.”

  He shot Jill a friendly smile and then decided he should probably leave.

  Jill watched him go, not sure what all just happened. She knew that Brian staying was never a possibility. She knew that he had a life to live elsewhere and that she could never expect him to give up everything to move here.

  She knew it all. But a part of her wished things were different.

  A part of her felt connected to Brian somehow, especially since Elena had decided to move out. And to know that the end of seeing him was nearer than she wanted to admit made her feel even more alone, more distraught, more hopeless.

  With everything that had transpired as of late, and with the myriad thoughts and emotions running through her mind, she thought it best to take a bath and relax the rest of the night.

  Her cat followed her to the bathroom where she turned the bath water on. She added some lavender vanilla bath bubbles once the water temperature reached the desired heat level, and then she let the tub fill up.

  When she undressed herself, she noticed a couple of bruises, but nothing major. As soon as her feet touched the water she knew that the bath was exactly what she needed. She laid down in the tub, the bubbles surrounding her body all around. Closing her eyes, she let the scent and heat of the water relax her muscles and melt away all her cares in the world.

  12

  Jill was stiff and sore the next few days, especially in the mornings. A few more bruises had popped up as well, but her spirits had done an almost one hundred and eighty degree turn. Things were finally going a little better for her, especially at work.

  Just yesterday she had received a good review, and a raise was to follow. More money was always good in Jill’s opinion. But the money wasn’t why she was a nurse. What was even better than a good review from her boss was that a patient had specifically mentioned Jill by name when they filled out the survey on how the hospital was doing.

  That was the type of stuff that Jill thrived on. It meant she was making a good, lasting impression on others, something extremely important in the medical field. Being a nurse was hard work, but taking care of people was what Jill did best. She was pleased each and every time someone recognized her for her efforts.

  Since Jill was in such a good mood, having slept well the night before and not having to work today, she thought she would check up on Brian. She knew it couldn’t be easy to go through everything in Elena’s house. And even though he said that he didn’t need any help, she figured he was probably just saying that because he didn’t want to burden anyone else with the task. Deep down he must be overwhelmed, and she knew he was working hard having seen him drive back and forth at least twice a day.

  Brian loved the cookies she made for him a couple months back so Jill’s goal was to make more for him, bringing them over and then talk her way into staying to help. This time, however, she made the cookies with a mint Oreo on the inside and a chocolate exterior, a flavor combination she remembered him saying she should try sometime.

  There was ten minutes left on the oven timer so Jill dilly dallied around the house to occupy her time. She found a few things she needed to put away, she made her bed and took care of the cat litter box. Just as she double checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror, the buzzer rang. Having opened the oven door, she saw how perfect they turned out and couldn’t wait to share them. She just needed to wait for them to cool first.

  Jill quick peaked out her living room window to make sure Brian was still home, making this the third or fourth time this morning she did so. His car was still there, making Jill happy that so far everything was going according to what she had planned.

  Marble came up to Jill, rubbing his body across her leg, meowing. That was his way of begging for his soft food that he had yet received today. Jill had been so caught up in getting the cookies made that she forgot about her own cat.

  Oops!

  “Did I forget to give you some food?” she asked babyishly, crouching down to pet her cat. Getting back up she said, “Come on. Let’s go get some.”

  Marble ran right behind her knowing full well what he was about to get. He sat patiently while his owner scooped out a spoonful of the chicken and salmon shreds he enjoyed so much. Then the plate came down and he buried his face in the yummy goodness.

  Jill washed her hands and checked on the cookies. They were a tad on the warm side, but good enough. She didn’t feel like waiting any longer, afraid Brian might slip out of his mom’s house to go somewhere. A container was found that would be perfect for storing cookies, and in they all went.

  Maybe I should leave a few to bring to Elena later on, she contemplated at first.

  However, she decided to just wait and see what Brian would like and go from there. She could always bring a different treat to Elena if she needed to.

  She grabbed her coat and fastened it, then picked up the cookies and headed for the door. The trek to her next door neighbor’s house was always longer in the winter, having to walk around the front of her own home and then over to the back of Elena’s home. Once she made it, she knocked on the door as hard as she could.

  Brian didn’t answer.

  Come on, Brian! It’s cold out here!

  She knocked again, this time louder. Afterwards
she rang the doorbell. On the other side of the door the sound of a dog pacing excitedly could be heard.

  Jill bounced a little in hopes to keep herself warm. She had no clue why Brian wasn’t answering the door.

  A third round of knocking done, frustration started setting in.

  Brian, why aren’t you answering?

  Then Jill heard a noise that startled her. It sounded like shattering glass. Listening further, she heard a few thumps as if items were falling. If she didn’t know any better, it sounded like a struggle.

  Brian?

  Worry rising in Jill’s mind, she took matters into her own hands. Trying the doorknob, she was grateful it wasn’t locked. She let herself in, placing the container of cookies and her coat on the kitchen counter, all the while hearing more noise coming from what was one time Elena’s bedroom.

  Jill was puzzled as to who or what was making so much racket. She slowly made her way over to the room, heart pounding. As soon as she saw the mess, however, her jaw dropped.

  Books and clothing had been thrown around the room. There were boxes in a couple of the corners, as well as a giant trash bag that looked almost full. It looked as if a tornado had gone through the room.

  Then she spotted Brian. He was seated on a box facing the open closet, head in his hands; his rampage over for the moment. Jill realized there was in fact a struggle going on in here. It just wasn’t between two people.

  It was with himself.

  “Brian?” Jill nearly whispered.

  The sound of her voice startled him. He lifted and turned his head to look at her. “Oh, I didn’t know you were here.”

  Brian’s face had anger and sadness written all over it.

  “I tried knocking and ringing the doorbell, but you were clearly busy.” Jill’s eyes surveyed the room once more, Brian knowing full well what her words referred to.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

  “It’s okay. Are you all right, though?” Jill asked, still standing in the doorway.

  “No, I’m not, as you can clearly see.” He chuckled a little at how ridiculous he must look.