This will be a slow build. If you like long teases, please enjoy. I know I do.
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Janie sat cross-legged and cramped, reading under an umbrella that provided an ever-decreasing measure of shade. Her freckled skin stuck to the plastic chair straps every time she shifted. Today would be a hot one, but she preferred braving the high-nineties of the outdoors to staying in the empty house. During those rare few times when Luke was out, her anxieties would get the better of her. There were too many rooms and too many doors. The hallways were, for some reason, particularly unsettling.
She didn't miss the cluttered, dilapidated house of her childhood, but at least there she'd known every corner and shadow as well as she knew her own face. The new home was a stranger's face and if it was friend or foe was as yet unclear.
Reading provided a useful distraction, especially a smutty novel like this one. She was already halfway through a box of well-thumbed paperbacks that a friend had pushed on her before they'd moved away. And while they did indeed "get her motor going," as her friend had promised, there was no release for the wind-up and, more often than not, she found herself more frustrated and anxious than when she'd started.
Just as she was contemplating getting up and readjusting the umbrella for the umpteenth time, a heavy spritz of water fell from out of nowhere and splashed across her, soaking her bikini-clad body and her book.
"What the hell?" she said, peering out from under the umbrella and scanning the blue skies for a rogue raincloud.
"Oh my goodness! Did I get you?" A voice full of concern came from somewhere over the high wooden fence that lined one side of the yard.
"It's okay," said Janie politely, though she felt quite the opposite. She'd just gotten to a particularly... intriguing part of the book and now it would have to dry out for several days before she could pick it back up.
An eyeball appeared in a low, little knothole in one of the pickets, then the sound of someone ascending a ladder, and a woman's head popped up from behind the fence. Janie could make out little more than red hair and wide, pretty eyes.
"I'm so, so sorry, sweety," said the woman. "I was watering my tomatoes and the hose got away from me. Here, let me come around to the end of the fence and introduce myself." Her head gave a nod towards the front of their respective houses and then dipped down out of site.
Janie followed her lead and walked towards the front, through the backyard and side yard until the fence ended in a neat right turn towards the front of the neighbor's house, terminating in a beautifully arched gate that led into the yard. The trellis above the gate was strewn with trailing vines of yellow flowers that smelled intoxicating in the summer sun. It was all so elegant, thought Janie.
The woman standing under the arch was no less so.
"Hi, there. I'm Meredith," she said, offering her hand.
Janie stood dumbstruck for a moment. Though Meredith was dressed in nothing more than a white ribbed tank top, khaki shorts, and a wide-brimmed gardening hat, she wore it perfectly. The woman simply exuded confidence and charisma that Janie could only dream of.
"You must be..." prompted Meredith kindly.
"Janie," she replied, shaking off her stupor and returning the handshake. "We're your... I'm your... We're your new neighbors. My brother is... out. My folks are out of town." She could feel her face getting hot and knew she must be blushing beet red--a distressing attribute near the top of her list of self-perceived flaws. It was always hard talking to strangers but she felt practically alien standing in front of this mature goddess.
"Well, Janie The New Neighbor," said Meredith, "I owe you a towel and a dry book. Come on back, sugar."
Meredith turned and walked back into her yard. After a moment's pause, Janie followed, eyes flashing down to the woman's hips, which rocked in a side-to-side motion like a trained model walking the catwalk.
Meredith led Janie through her own side yard and around to the back, past a stunningly blue in-ground pool, up the steps of a meticulously appointed patio, through a sliding glass door and into the most beautiful house that Janie had ever laid eyes on.
With its high ceiling, numerous windows, and sophisticated furniture, it was modern without being sterile, spotless without being fussy. You could see that a real person lived here, albeit one with exquisite taste and quite a budget to work with. Janie had always lingered over the photos in celebrity magazines of stars' homes, imagining herself in them one day and how she would decorate if she had all the money in the world.
"This is... it's all so beautiful," said Janie, her eyes tracing every contour of the room.
"Thank you," said Meredith. "My creative input. My late husband's money." She waved casually around the room. "It was a good combination."
Janie wasn't sure how to respond. She suddenly felt very exposed wearing just bikini. She wrapped her arms around herself and gave a tight, noncommittal smile.
Meredith gestured towards the seating area. "Come, come, come. Have a seat." She ushered Janie towards one of the sumptuous leather couches.
"You're fine, please sit!" she said when Janie gestured down at her bare lower half. "I'm not exactly wearing a ball gown myself."
Once they were settled, Meredith continued, "It's been ages since I've had anyone interesting to talk to in this neighborhood."
"Oh, I don't think we're interesting," Janie demurred.
"I don't know," said Meredith. "A mysterious family buys a house that's been sitting vacant for three years. Guts it, renovates it, adds a pool, parks their Mercedes in the driveway and then vanishes, leaving behind their two beautiful children to fend for themselves." She gave a coy smile. "I'd say that's pretty interesting."
"Well, when you say it like that," said Janie with a little laugh.
"So what's the story, then?" asked Meredith.
"My family, we didn't always have money. That's a... new thing." Her parents had warned her against sharing details with anyone outside the family, but for whatever reason she felt like she could trust Meredith.
"We won the lottery. Like, a big lottery," continued Janie. "Before that, we were pretty broke. Not homeless broke, but we never had money for nice clothes or a new car or anything like that.
"I mean, it's not like they didn't work," she hastened to add. "They had a bunch of jobs all the time. We all had jobs. I didn't even get to date, really, or do the school newspaper because we had to work every day after school."
Meredith gave a sympathetic nod, then walked to the open kitchen on the other side of the great room and took two wine glasses down from a shelf. "Keep going, I'm listening."
"And then when the big check finally arrived, I guess we just kind of ran away from our old lives. It was easier to start over than explaining it to everyone. Plus, I guess my parents were afraid that..."
Meredith set a glass on the table in front of Janie, filled with a blushing pink liquid. "They were afraid that people might try to take advantage of the situation," finished Meredith.
Janie nodded.
"They were probably right," Meredith sighed. "Money changes people. After I married a wealthy man, I had to cut some people out of my life. It was sad. But, it allowed me to move on and meet new friends." She raised her glass in salutation.
