It had been a week since Claire had moved into her new home. For the young professional it had been a momentous decision. Before the pandemic she had been living in a studio apartment paying rent that cost more than twice her current mortgage. Her job had been flexible, but the firm she worked for still required her to come into the office. That changed after everything shut down. Claire's job had become fully remote and had stayed this way even after many people had returned to the office. This had provided her with an opportunity to finally buy a home in a small college town. While she missed her busy social life, having space and paying less for her home had allowed her to save money for the first time while pursuing more relaxing pursuits. As it was only the beginning of Summer, Claire intended to start gardening.
Things would be even better when Zoe moved in at the end of August. Zoe was the daughter of one of her mother's friends. She attended the local college and was going to pay for a room at Claire's house for the school year. Claire had actually babysat her a few times. It still boggled her mind to think that the little girl she watched was now 21 and a junior in college. When she really thought about it, Claire felt old. Although she had only recently turned 30.
Claire hated moving. There was nothing worse than packing everything up and then unpacking it again, but things were finally starting to come together. She had purchased new furniture which had arrived yesterday. The new king sized bed was amazing and she loved how the sofa and recliner matched her living room. Her new home looked great.
For the first time since she arrived, Claire felt like she could actually take a breather. She sat down on one of her bar stools and poured herself a glass of iced tea. There were still a lot of boxes to put away, but many of them would just end up in the basement. She could just grab things as she needed them and anything she hadn't used in the next year would be donated to charity.
While she took a moment to look at her phone, Claire heard the doorbell ring. She had been getting deliveries all week so Claire was a bit surprised to find a woman standing at the door. The woman was about Claire's age, a little taller with dark hair and stylish glasses. "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you," the woman said, smiling politely. "I'm your neighbor, Sarah. I live across the street and I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."
Claire was a bit surprised by the unexpected visit, but she smiled back and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Claire. Nice to meet you."
Sarah shook her hand and continued, "I hope you're settling in okay. I saw the moving truck earlier this week, but I didn't want to interrupt. I just wanted to bring over some homemade cookies and say hello."
Claire's stomach grumbled at the thought of cookies. She realized she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. "Thank you so much, that's very kind of you."
As Sarah handed the plate of cookies over, Claire noticed something strange. Sarah seemed to be looking past her as if she wanted to inspect the place. She then proceeded to walk right by Claire straight into the dining room. Claire was able to get a better look at Sarah as she walked in. The woman's outfit was casual but definitely name brand. She was attractive in a bookish sort of way. Her face was naturally pretty with no hint of makeup. Sarah's dark hair flowed down her back in a black sheet of silk. She was wearing a light blue tank top that accented her modest breasts, pink leggings that highlighted her curves and matching running shoes.
After entering the dining room, the woman seemed to realize that she had just barged in. "I'm so sorry. I am friends with the prior owners. I used to come over here all the time. Please excuse my prying, but I really just wanted to see what you did with the place."
Although a bit annoyed, Claire tried her best not to show it. Sarah was only the second neighbor to introduce herself. The last thing she wanted to do was make a bad impression. "Oh it's no bother at all. I just wasn't expecting guests so the place is still a bit of a mess."
"The place looks great. You just moved in. It's not like I'm expecting it to pass a white glove test."
"I'm certainly getting there. Tomorrow, I plan to put the remaining boxes in the basement. Things are just about settled."
"Wonderful, am I your first house guest?"
"Technically you are the first person to come into my home. I ran into Susan White yesterday when I was bringing in my groceries."
"It's a really friendly neighborhood. I think you'll like it here."
"Well Susan seemed nice enough. She actually invited me over for tea tomorrow."
"Oh really," Sarah gave Claire an odd look. It left her feeling a bit unsettled.
She hesitated before asking, "Is there a problem?"
"Oh no, there's no problem."
Sarah's body language did not line up with her words. Claire felt a sense of unease building. She finally managed to mutter out, "what?"
"Look it's really not appropriate for me to gossip. You should form your own opinions of the neighbors."
"Seriously you can't just leave things like this. What's wrong with Susan? Is she some sort of sociopath or something?"
Sarah giggled. "Oh no. It's nothing like that. It's just, well... she invited you for tea, is all."
"Tea? What's wrong with tea?"
"Look I'm not one to gossip." Sarah said as she began to gossip. "It's just with some of the women in the neighborhood, tea is code for something else."
At this point Claire's frustration level was at the point of bursting. "Just spit it out. Is Susan some sort of druggy?"
"No. Look, please do not tell anyone I told you this, but there's a rumor going around that some of the women in the neighborhood use tea as a code for getting together, to you know..." Sarah hesitated for a moment, but Claire's intense stare told her to continue. "They, well, take care of each other's needs."
Claire could not believe what she just heard. It was down right preposterous. How could something as innocuous as tea mean anything other than tea? "Please tell me you're joking."
"Like I said, it's just a rumor. From what I've heard it starts off as tea, but there is a signal. Apparently the woman who wants service drops something on the ground to signal her interest. The other person then gets on the floor to pick up the object. While she's on the floor, she ummm... how do I say this politely... addresses any other needs."
The new homeowner burst out laughing. "You're telling me there is some sort of secret lesbian tea service in the neighborhood."
"Hey like I said, it's just a rumor."
"My god, you had me worried. I thought Susan was going to murder me and bury me in her basement. This is just silly. Susan is married and I'm not into girls."
"It's the married ones you have to watch out for. Things get pretty routine after a while."
"I'm sure it will be fine. I am planning to bring some banana bread and have a nice chat."
Sarah seemed annoyed. "Hey don't shoot the messenger. I'm just telling you what I heard."
"Sure, sure. Look, I appreciate that. Ummm...I really need to get back to things." Claire began escorting Sarah toward the door. "I'll let you know if Susan tries any fast stuff on me," Claire giggled as she gently pushed Sarah out the door.
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The next day as Claire had walked over to Susan's house she had pretty much forgotten about her conversation with Sarah. However, she was annoyed with the woman who had brought cookies to her house. Although she had claimed to not be a gossip, it was obvious the opposite was true. Sarah was trying to stir up trouble, and Claire assumed that there must be some bad blood between her and Susan. Why else would she make up such an outlandish story?