The Neighbor

Albert stood outside her door raising his hand to knock on the door. He had met this woman a year ago when he moved into the house next door. He remembered it as if it was yesterday.

Twenty three year old Albert was walking outside early one Saturday morning to get the newspaper. He had just moved to this neighborhood after he got a job in the medical practice. He had been so busy moving his stuff that he hadn't had a chance to meet his neighbors yet.

He looked over and saw an older woman walking down her driveway to retrieve her paper. He got the urge to go introduce himself so he started walking towards the woman. She saw him and she looked shocked at first then she gave him a sweet smile and waved.

He finally became face to face with her and smiled back. He reached out his hand to shake the other woman's and said, "Hi, my name is Albert Baker. I'm new to the neighborhood."

"Welcome to the neighborhood Albert, my name is Edith Bunker. I live here with" then she stopped as a sad expression took over her face. "I'm sorry, I was about to say, with my husband, but I'm afraid he died of a stroke a month ago."

Albert's smile quickly turned into a frown and a look of sympathy took over his features. "I am so sorry for your loss Mrs. Bunker-"

"Oh please, call me Edith," the woman said with a friendly smile.

Albert smiled back, "Ok Edith, how long were you two married?"

"We were married for thirty years. We have a daughter who doesn't live far from here. He was only fifty five, but he was always very much stressed, I guess it just took a toll on him." She said with a sad smile.

"I am so sorry for your loss. If you ever need anything, feel free to come over and ask."

"Why thank you Albert that is very sweet of you."

After that day she would invite him over for coffee or lunch and they would just talk. Then she started to help him learn how to play the piano. Playing the piano with Edith, was fun and he enjoyed it.

This continued for a year and they had slowly become fast friends. Today was a little different as he walked up her front porch with flowers in his hand. Today was the first wedding anniversary that Edith would spend without her husband and she had invited him over because she didn't want to be alone. So he decided that he would make the day special for her since she was a special woman.

Edith opened the door when a look of surprise came over her face as Albert handed her the flowers. "Oh thank you so much. Come on in! I'll go put these in some water."

Albert walked in and watched as she ran off into the kitchen. He shut the door behind him as he sat down in a chair. She came back in and set the flowers on the table. "So how are you doing Edith?"

"Oh fine, I'm just trying not to think about it. It's painful without him," she said with a sad smile. Albert reached over and gently took her hand in his. She looked up at him and smiled.

They talked for a while and then went over to the piano so Edith could show him some of her old favorite songs. She pulled out one in particular and showed it to him. "This is was one of Archie's favorites, here sing it with me," Edith said as she placed the piano sheet on the piano stand."

Albert smile and said, "I would love to."

Albert sang with her and the words seemed to flow from their lips. It was a very romantic song really. It was about someone who had lost a love and was about to lose hope until they found new love again. Albert looked down at Edith's hands as they played the notes. As they neared the end of the song, Albert looked up to see tears rolling down her cheeks. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she played the last notes.

"Are you ok Edith?" Albert asked concerned.

Edith wiped her cheeks and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just hard that's all. I spent most of my life with him, it's hard to all of a sudden not having him around."

Albert took her hand with his and gently squeezed it. She looked up at him and said, "You know, you kind of remind me of a younger version of him."

"I do?" Albert asked with a smile. He was hoping that maybe that brought her some happiness.

"Yeah, same eyes, dark hair. The only difference is that you actually listen to me even when I ramble which I know I tend to do," Edith said with a chuckle.

"I enjoy listening to you Edith, you just have a way with words and the way you carry yourself. I just really enjoy your company."

Edith blushed and said, "I really enjoy yours too."

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds. Albert reached up to brush the few stray tears off her cheek and let his hand linger there. He felt a pull towards him as he was drowning n her brown eyes. He started leaning forward as if in a trance. He then gently brushed his lips against hers and when he didn't feel her pull away, he took it as a sign to deepen the kiss.

Edith wrapped her arms around his neck as she turned to face towards him more. Albert wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip asking for entrance. Edith opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to meet hers.

Albert didn't know what had come over him, he just knew that this felt right. He ran his hands up her back as their tongues battled for dominance.