Right Next Door

Chapter 1

Brian was sitting out on his patio, enjoying the view of the lake, when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and sighed before answering the offending piece of plastic.

“Hey Mikey, what’s up?”

“Brian, is everything alright? I called the office and Cynthia told me you weren’t there. I don’t think I ever remember you taking a day off,” Michael said, his voice practically screeching with concern.

“Relax, I’m fine. I’ve just decided to cut my work week back from five days to four. Kinnetik is doing great and with Cynthia and Theodore taking on accounts now, there’s no reason for me to be there 70 hours a week anymore,” Brian explained patiently. Sometimes he hated the way he always had to explain himself.

“Oh,” Michael replied. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Brian fought back his anger and remained calm. “This may come as a surprise to you, Mikey, but I’m a big boy now and I don’t have to answer to anybody.”

“I know, but I worry about you. My mother’s Debbie Novotny. I was predestined to worry. It’s in the genes,” Michael pointed out.

“Well, then go worry about the professor. I haven’t needed a mother since back when I still had one.”

“Alright, I’ll back off” Michael promised. “Listen, I was just on the phone with Lindsay and…”

“Forget it. I’m not doing it. If I wanted to have a kid, I’d eat pussy.”

“But Brian, she already told you that you wouldn’t be responsible for the kid. She and Mel would be the parents.”

“Come on Mikey, you know as well as I do that Lindsay would never be satisfied with that. The minute the kid was born she’d be finding reasons for me to drop by for bonding” Brian said.

”Would that be so bad? You’d get to be a father and you wouldn’t be required to change diapers.”

“I don’t want to be a father. I’ll leave that for the heteros and the lesbians. They’re perfectly capable of fucking up kids lives without me. Now I got to go. Later.”

Brian disconnected the call and slammed the phone down a little harder than he planned. Damn Lindsay and her quest for sperm. She’d been bugging him for months, batting her eyelashes at him and trying to convince him that he’d be the perfect person to help her conceive a child. All that talk about his genes and how gorgeous and smart the child would be was bad enough, but now she enlisted Michael’s help in convincing him that becoming a dad would be a good thing for him. As if either one of them had the ability to convince him of that. There’s no way he’d ever be stupid enough to fall for any of their arguments. Not when he had Jack Kinney’s blood running through his veins. He’d never subject a child to the horror he had experienced as a kid. No, he would never be a father. The history of abuse that ran through those wonderful genes he had stopped the day he realized just how vicious his father really was. He refused to follow in the great Kinney tradition of beating your children into submission.

Pushing away all thoughts of Jack, Lindsay, and Michael, Brian got up and walked the short distance down to the lake. It was one of the things that had drawn Brian to the house to begin with. He’d been looking for a place away from the city where he could be alone without all the interference of his friends. He’d been driving down the almost deserted road when he spotted a lake up ahead in the distance. As he got closer, he noticed the house that had been sitting empty on a nice piece of property. It was big, especially for one person, but he had fallen in love with it immediately. The view of the lake, which was located on the left of the house, was the main reason he pulled out his cell phone and called the number on the for sale sign.

As luck would have it, the house had been empty for a number of years and the owners were anxious to unload it. He bought it for a steal and after paying a fortune for a cleaning crew to come in and remove all the cobwebs and dust, he moved right in and had never regretted it. The house was his sanctuary. He loved being there and found himself spending more and more time staying home and enjoying the quiet that being the only one on the street provided. He’d checked with the real estate agent during their initial meeting and she assured him that although the land around him was available for building, the cost of having the land prepped for building was extremely high and she doubted anyone would be interested in paying top dollar when they could easily build something closer to town. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to wake up one day and have a bunch of neighbors invading his space.

As usual, standing by the lake seemed to ease the tension brought on by his friends and he was able to get back to enjoying his day. He walked back to the house and went inside, going right to his study. No one knew, but he’d been spending his free time working on writing a novel. It was something that he always dreamed of doing, and now that he had more time on his hands, he decided to give it a try and see what happened. So far, things had been going good. He’d drafted his first few chapters and was happy with the way they turned out. The only problem he was having was that the story took place in Amsterdam and he had no knowledge of the place aside from what he learned back in high school and the tiny bits of information he managed to dig up on the net. Not nearly enough to sound like he knew what he was talking about in a novel. He had been getting ready to throw in the towel and start over when he picked up a trick that had a brother who lived there. Now all he was waiting for was the go ahead and he’d be packing up his necessities and hopping a plane to foreign lands.

Jake had assured him that his brother wouldn’t mind having a house guest for a few months if Brian was interested in learning all there was to know about the city. He thought about it long and hard, knowing he’d be leaving Kinnetik in the hands of Cynthia and Ted while he was gone, but the opportunity was just too good to pass up. He gave Jake the go ahead to talk to his brother and expected to hear something back later that day. In the mean time, he focused on his writing, pushing away anything that wasn’t related to the characters in his mind.

The call came through just after five. John, born and raised right there in Pittsburgh, would love to have someone to show around his city. He had visited there on a whim right out of college and fell in love with the place immediately. What started out as a short trip to find himself turned into a new way of life for him, and he was thrilled at the prospect of showing someone else exactly what the appeal was. Brian was expected to arrive the following week.

Once he got off the phone with Jake, Brian booked a flight, with his return date left open, and then called Kinnetik to arrange a meeting with Cynthia and Ted. They were shocked when Brian walked in and said he’d be leaving the country for about six months and wanted them to take care of the company while he was gone. He didn’t tell them the reason for his departure. He just claimed that he wanted to use his new found success to travel a bit and see the world. He wasn’t ready to let anyone in on his dream of becoming an author. After the initial shock wore off, Cynthia and Ted assured him that they were capable of handling the company during his absence and promised to keep him informed of any problems. Otherwise it was decided that Brian would be kept up to speed by emails and a weekly phone conference. He drafted a memo to the rest of his employees to inform them of his absence and tied up any loose ends before leaving his office indefinitely.

He wished his family took the news as well as his staff. He made his announcement that Sunday at Debbie’s family dinner and mayhem erupted immediately. Lindsay broke down in tears, convinced that he was leaving to get away from her, and Michael looked like his head was going to explode at the news. Even Emmett got teary-eyed and begged him not to go. Ted was the only one who wasn’t appalled by his news, having already known what was happening. By the time Brian left Debbie’s, he had a pounding headache and couldn’t wait to board his plane. Two more days and that’s exactly what he did. On Tuesday, he had a car drive him to the airport and got ready to take the trip of a lifetime.

*****

Justin tapped lightly on the door and waited until he heard a muffled reply before walking inside and finding his little sister curled up in a ball on her bed, tears streaming down her fair cheeks.

“Mol, is there anything I can do for you?” Justin asked softly as he approached the bed.

“Can you bring Steven back?” she asked tearfully.

“Oh Mol, I wish I could,” Justin replied sadly. “Come here.”

He took his sister in his arms and held her tightly as she cried over the loss of her husband. It had been almost a week since he got the call that his brother-in-law had spun out on the turnpike, losing his life at the tender age of twenty-nine. He’d been devastated by the news, having had a close relationship with the man who had stolen his sister’s heart, but immediately jumped on a plane to Pittsburgh, wanting to help his sister through her time of need. The scene he discovered when he arrived at his childhood home was almost more than he could bear. His sister was inconsolable and his niece and nephew, five year old twins, were confused by what was happening around them. Justin let his parents make most of the arrangements for Steven’s funeral while he spent every possible moment with his sister, trying to comfort her as best as he could. To add further turmoil to their already bleak lives, Molly had told Justin a few nights before that she and Steven had sold their home and were getting ready to move to Paris for a year, claiming that Steven’s photography was finally being recognized in the foreign country and he was offered an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. She hadn’t had a chance to tell the family yet and now, with Steven’s death, she had no where to go. Their house was going to close in less than thirty days and she and her children were going to be homeless. It was just one more problem that the distraught woman didn’t need.

As Justin continued to hold Molly in his arms, he knew that a distraction was just what she needed, so he decided to let her in on his plans.

“Mol, remember when I showed you the designs for the house I wanted to have built?” Justin had gone to college and gotten his degree in architecture and design. In one of his classes, his assignment was to design the home of his dreams. Since then, he had made some adjustments to the original plans, but he still longed for the day when he could have his dream home come to life. He was just waiting for the right time to move forward, and now it looked like the time had come.

Molly pulled back and wiped her eyes, surprised by the change of subject, but happy for it. “Yeah, it looked wonderful. Have you found a place to have it built?”

“Not quite,” Justin replied hesitantly. “But I was thinking about looking around here. I thought you and the kids could come and live with me.”

“Oh Justin, that’s so sweet of you, but I’m not going to disrupt your life like that. The kids and I will just move in here until I can figure out what to do next,” she insisted, her eyes watering once again over Justin’s selfless offer.

“Disrupt my life? What life? Mol, I’ve been doing freelance for the last couple of years so I can work from anywhere. Relocating back to Pittsburgh is no big deal. I’ve been thinking about doing it for awhile now. And as for any personal life, I don’t have one. I haven’t even been out on a date in over six months. There’s absolutely nothing to disrupt,” Justin assured her. “Besides, I’d love having you and the kids with me. You’re my best friend and I love Hailey and Jared like they’re my own. I want you guys with me.”

Molly looked at Justin skeptically, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. The look of sincerity in his eyes told her he was. “Do you realize how active two five year olds can be?”

“You were five once, and I put up with you? How much worse can two be?” he teased.

“That was a little different. You were seven at the time,” Molly laughed, giving Justin a playful shove. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I’m positive. I’ve been thinking about it ever since you told me about your house. I have an appointment with a real estate agent tomorrow to look at some land. Why don’t we leave the terrible twosome with Mom and Dad and go take a look together?”

“Thank you, Justin. As great as Mom and Dad have been, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through all of this without you here,” she replied honestly.

“I’ll always be here for you, Mol. I just hope this is the worst thing you ever have to go through,” Justin said softly.

“Me too, big brother. Me too.”

The following day, Justin and Molly met with the real estate agent and drove all over Pittsburgh, looking at different properties that were available for building. As the day wore on, Justin was becoming discouraged, thinking that they were never going to find what he had been imagining from the day he started working on his designs. Just as he was about to give up for the day, the agent placed a call to her office to get directions for one final location.

“Okay, this place is outside of Pittsburgh, but it’s only about a thirty minute drive. The land is zoned residential, but other than the basic groundwork, it isn’t up to code for building. There’s only one other house on the block and that was built by some rich recluse years ago, who was looking for solitude. He’s since passed away and the place was just recently purchased by a local business owner, but otherwise it’s still pretty secluded. It’s going to take some money to get everything ready for building, but I think it might be just what you’re looking for.”

“Well then lead the way, because so far I haven’t seen anything that even remotely resembles what I had envisioned,” Justin replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He and Molly got in his car and pulled out on the highway behind the agent before Molly said anything.

“Jus, maybe you’re just being too picky. We’ve seen a lot of places that would be perfect for building.”

“I know Mol, but none of them felt right. I know it sounds crazy, but when I designed this house, I had specific ideas about where I wanted it placed. I can’t settle for just any piece of property,” Justin told her. “I’m sorry to keep you out so long.”

“Hey, don’t worry about me. Being out is helping me keep my mind off other things. I’m just going to call Mom and check on the kids. I hope they’re not giving her a hard time,” Molly replied as she pulled out her cell phone.

Once Molly was sure that the kids were behaving themselves, she hung up the phone and began telling Justin her plans for the future. She hadn’t held a job in almost six years, since a difficult pregnancy forced her into bed rest during the beginning of her third trimester. Once the twins were born, she and Steven agreed that she would be a stay at home mom while he worked hard to get his freelance photography business off the ground with a little help from a small inheritance that Molly had gotten from her grandfather. She didn’t have any qualms about using her nest egg to further her husband’s career, but the plans they made didn’t allow for Steven to be killed in a senseless accident. Now she was broke, aside from a little bit of money she would receive from his life insurance and the tiny profit she’d be making on the house. Their lifestyle wasn’t one of financial success, but they hadn’t been concerned because they were sure that in time things would turn around. Had Steven lived, Molly was certain his talent would have brought them great things. But that dream was now gone and as much as she hated to admit it, without Justin she didn’t know what she’d do.

As much as she wanted to bury her head in the sand and hide away from all her troubles, she had two wonderful children that were depending on her to keep them safe and happy. She owed it to them, as well as Steven to do what was expected of her. Once she was done outlining her plans, she turned to Justin and waited for his opinion.

“Mol, I told you before that you don’t have to rush into anything. You may have used your inheritance, but all I did was invest mine. Between that and the money I make selling my designs, I’ve got more than enough to take care of you guys for awhile. Take some time to heal before making any decisions, alright?”

“But…”

“No buts,” Justin insisted as he turned off the main highway and followed the agent down a seemingly deserted street. He was about to voice his concern about where they were going when he saw a house, standing alone up ahead. “This is it?”

Molly looked around in confusion. “Talk about being in the middle of nowhere. Are you sure this is what you’re looking for? Something so secluded?”

Justin didn’t reply. He pulled over and got out of the car, looking around and taking in the sight before him. There was a lake located at the end of the road, surrounded by trees and sand, giving it a beach like atmosphere. The rest of the street was tree lined, aside from the lone house that stood there looking almost out of place. It was two stories, maybe three, with a Victorian look to it. The perfect compliment to the house he planned to have built, almost as if they were made to stand together. As he continued to survey the area, he could hear the agent discussing the basics with Molly, but he barely listened as his mind flashed forward to images of what the future could be.

“Mr. Taylor, as you can see, it’s not really much. I’m sure if you give me a day or two, I can come up with more property to show you.”

“I’ll take it,” Justin stated.

“You will?” Molly and the agent replied together.

“This is exactly what I’m looking for. Where do I sign?”

Justin dropped Molly back off at home and then went to meet the agent at her office. She had time to gather up the information Justin needed to proceed with the building of his future home and as soon as he was finished signing the papers, he contacted a couple of contractors and inquired about having the work he needed done. Because he was buying a lot and not a dwelling, the closing would be in two weeks, so he arranged to have the pipe and line work started as soon as he took ownership. It was costing a bit extra to have the work done on his time schedule, but he didn’t care. Now that he had an address, he couldn’t wait to see his dream home come to life.

Two days later, Justin was on a plane heading back to Chicago to pack up his things and put his condo on the market. He knew of a few people who had been interested in moving into his complex, so finding a buyer wasn’t all that difficult. In fact, he quickly realized that he would be homeless long before his house was ready for him, so he arranged for his things to be shipped to a storage facility in Pittsburgh. On the day of the closing on his condo, he packed up what he had left into the back of his SUV and drove to Pittsburgh, ready to begin the next chapter in his life. He had rented a small apartment not too far from his parents’ house with a month to month lease and quickly settled in.

Only one thing put a damper on his excitement. Molly discovered almost two months after the funeral that she was pregnant. She was able to pinpoint the day of conception to the day that Steven died and although she was thrilled to be having another baby, the news took a toll on her already emotional state. She seemed to slip into depression, wondering why God would help her conceive a baby while he took away the man she loved. It was a difficult time for the Taylor family and the added stress on Justin made him even more eager to move into his home so that his sister would find stability before she gave birth to her third child.
 

*****

Aside from a few minor snags with licenses and building codes, things went rather smoothly and six months to the day that Justin had found the land, his house was declared ready for occupancy. It took two days for Justin and his father to move not only Justin’s things, but Molly’s as well, out of storage and into the new house. Molly was six months pregnant by then and unable to help in the actual moving, but she was right there with them, showing more excitement than she had since her husband’s accident, letting Justin know that he made the right decision. He was thrilled to see his sister smile after so many months of tears.

On their first night in their new home, Molly made a home cooked meal and they ate together as a family as the children chatted happily about their new rooms. It was such a domestic scene that Justin found himself with a pain in his heart over the lack of family in his own life. He’d always longed to find someone to settle down with so that he could have a family of his own, but at twenty-nine he was beginning to think he’d been foolish in his dreams. Shaking off those thoughts, Justin promised himself that he wouldn’t dwell on what could have been and focus on what he had. And maybe one day, he’d finally find the man of his dreams.

Molly put the children to bed, hoping they would settle down a bit and actually fall asleep. It had been an exciting day for them and she smiled when she thought about the laughter that had been filling the house since they arrived that afternoon. It had been too long since she had heard that kind of joy coming from her babies and she vowed to do whatever it took to hear it regularly.

“Hey, are the rugrats all tucked in?” Justin asked as Molly entered the living room.

“Yeah, they’re just waiting for their Uncle Justin to go up and give them kisses,” Molly replied as she dropped down on the couch. She was exhausted from all the activity of the last few days.

“I’ll go up now. Why don’t you just lay there and relax for a bit. You’ve been working too hard the last couple of days. It’s not good for the baby.” Justin walked over and rubbed Molly’s tummy gently, a loving smile on his face.

“Yeah, I am kind of tired. I’ll just lay back here and close my eyes for a second,” Molly mumbled as she laid her head on the arm of the couch and immediately fell asleep.

Justin watched her for a moment before heading upstairs to say goodnight to the kids. He went into Hailey’s room first.

“Hey Pumpkin, you all ready for bed?”

“Uh huh. Uncle Jus, I love my new room. Thank you for making it for me,” Hailey replied sleepily. “If Daddy can’t be here, I’m glad we get to live with you. Mommy looks so sad all the time but you make her teeth show.”

“Her teeth show?” Justin asked in confusion.

“Yeah, like this. See?” Hailey smiled wide, showing her uncle all of her teeth. “I like when her teeth show.”

“I do too, Pumpkin,” Justin chuckled. He leaned over and kissed her forehead softly. “Good night, little one. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night Uncle Jus. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Justin whispered as he watched sleep overtake his niece before he quietly slipped from the room and heading down to Jared. He found the boy sitting up on the side of the bed, lost in thought. “Hey buddy, what’s wrong?”

“Uncle Jus, how old do I have to be to get a job?” Jared asked so seriously that it prevented Justin from laughing at the question.

“I think you have quite a few years left before that can happen. Why?”

“Well…I overheard Mommy talking to Grandma the other day and she said that she needed to get a job and make some money, but she couldn’t because she had the baby in her belly. I was thinking that maybe I could get a job and make some money so Mommy didn’t have to worry so much.”

Justin was touched by the thoughtfulness of his nephew and felt his eyes tearing up with pride. “Jared, you have plenty of time before you have to think about going out and working. Don’t worry about your Mommy. I’m going to take care of all of you.”

“Even the new baby?” he asked hopefully.

“Even the new baby,” Justin promised. “Now why don’t you climb in under the covers and get some sleep? I have to take a ride tomorrow and I want you and your sister to go with me.”

“Okay Uncle Jus. Good night. I love you.”

Justin leaned down and kissed Jared just as he had Hailey. “I love you too, buddy. See you in the morning.”

Justin went back downstairs and peeked in on Molly, happy to see that she was still sleeping. He tiptoed over and covered her with the throw blanket she had placed on the back on the couch that morning and then kissed her like he did the kids. He thought about waking her up and sending her to bed, but he knew that she’d be up in a few hours to use the bathroom, a complaint that he’d been hearing about for the last couple of months, and then she could go upstairs if she wanted to. He was just glad that she was resting peacefully. Once he was done, he went into his studio and sat down at his drafting table. He had a deadline that he needed to meet, but instead of throwing himself into his work, his mind strayed to the two beautiful children that were asleep upstairs. It saddened him to think about all they had lost in the last six months and he knew that he would do anything to see that they were able to put all the bad things behind them and be happy again. He couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when he took them to the pet shop in the morning. Every child needed a puppy, didn’t they?

*****

It took over forty minutes for Brian to get through customs and by the time he got out of the airport, he had a throbbing headache and couldn’t wait to get home. He’d been gone for almost eight months, extending his vacation slightly while he basked in the wonders of Amsterdam. John had been an excellent host and after the first few weeks turned into a good friend as well. Brian had the time of his life exploring the area and learning all he could about the different way of life. John was straight, but he was very familiar with the gay scene and took Brian to all the top clubs. By the third month, Brian was wondering why he was even going back to the states, but he knew that he needed to return eventually. He had a business to run. Yet he could definitely see the appeal and understand what had caused John to move away from his home country.

The car he had arranged was waiting at the curb, and Brian let the driver load up his luggage while he climbed into the back and made himself comfortable. Between the flight, the long layover he had to endure, and the time difference, Brian was utterly exhausted. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep for the rest of the day. He was glad that he didn’t tell anyone when he was returning. The last thing he needed was to have his friends and family rushing to his door to welcome him back. He just wanted to be alone.

Forty minutes later, he was startled awake when the driver asked for specific directions to his house. It took Brian a moment to gather his wits before he could direct the man to where he was going. As soon as the car turned down the street, Brian saw it. A house right next to his. A house that hadn’t been there when he left. A house that would no doubt block his favorite view of the lake.

“What the fuck?”

“Excuse me Sir?” the driver asked, startled by his passenger’s outburst. “Is everything alright?”

Brian mumbled to himself and told the driver where to stop, all the while fuming inside. His agent had told him that she doubted anyone would be interested in building anywhere near him and during the eight months he’d been gone, he somehow managed to find himself with a new neighbor. That was the last thing he needed after the long trip he’d endured.

The driver got out of the car and took Brian’s luggage up to the porch, leaving them by the door, then took the money Brian was holding out for him and made his exit. Something told him that his passenger was not happy and he didn’t want to be around to find out why.

Brian continued to stand by the street, watching the new house with all the anger he felt towards the intruders. It wasn’t that he expected to be alone forever. He’d just hoped that he’d have years before he’d have to worry about having someone else living on his block. Before he could go into the house, the sound of children laughing caught his attention. He looked to the right and was horrified by the sight of a dog, an apparent puppy given the size of it, barreling towards him with two small children on its heels.

“Mo…Mo…come back here,” the fair-haired girl called out as she raced towards the offending creature. “Mo, sit!”

“Get him, Hail. Get him,” screamed the boy who was right behind them.

Brian watched as the puppy came right over to him, jumping up on his legs and wagging his tail in greeting.

“Sorry about that, Mister,” the little girl said as she came to a stop just in front of Brian and grabbed the puppy’s collar, effectively pulling him off Brian’s legs. “We’re trying to teach him to heel, but it isn’t working.”

Brian stood still, his mind trying to wrap itself around his current situation. Not only did he now have new neighbors, but they were apparently everything he detested. A hetero family with two children and a dog. He knew he never should’ve come back from Amsterdam.

“Mister, are you our neighbor?” The boy asked as he looked up into man’s face. “My name’s Jared. This is my sister Hailey, and this is Mocha, but we call him Mo. We’re twins.” The boy looked thoughtful for a moment and then broke out into a huge smile. “Me and Hailey, not me and Mo,” he giggled.

Before Brian could respond, he heard a door slam and looked up to see a blond haired man walked towards them, looking none too pleased.

“Hailey and Jared, what have I told you about letting Mocha out of his run? Now take him inside and go wash up for lunch.”

“But…but…”

“No buts, now do as I asked, please. Your Mom grilled up some sandwiches and she’s waiting inside for you,” the man insisted.

“Oh alright,” the boy grumbled. “Come on Mo, let’s go inside. Bye Mister.”

Brian watched as the children ran off with the puppy in tow before focusing on the man in front of him. He instantly noticed the stunning blue eyes, light blond hair, and fair complexion that made the man look more like an angel than an actual person, but his anger at the disruption in his life caused him to push those thoughts aside just as the man started speaking.

“You must be our neighbor. My name’s Justin. You’re met Hailey, Jared, and Mocha. My…”

“Don’t bother with introductions,” Brian stated, interrupting the man before he could continue. “Just because we live on the same street, doesn’t mean we have to be friends. Keep your kids and your dog off my property and we won’t have any problems.” With that he turned on his heels and stormed off, not giving a rat’s ass what his new neighbor thought of him.

Justin watched the man walk away in shock. He had been curious about the empty house that stood next to his since he realized that no one was ever in it. His real estate agent assured him that it hadn’t been abandoned and he’d been looking forward to meeting its owner. Living with a pregnant sister and two kids had him anxious to meet whoever it was who lived beside them and he had secretly hoped that he would have a friend once the neighbors appeared. “So much for that,” he muttered.

He turned and went back to the house, finding Molly waddling around the kitchen as she finished the final preparations for lunch.

“Hailey and Jared said that they met the new neighbor. What’s his name? Is he married? Are there any children? It would be great if the kids had someone close by to play with.”

“Mol, slow down. Don’t get your hopes up. I didn’t see any sign of a wife or kids and aside from being told to keep my kids and my dog off his property, our new neighbor didn’t have much to say,” Justin told her as he dropped down in a kitchen chair. “I doubt we’re going to be making new friends anytime soon.”

“Oh no,” Molly sighed. “He’s probably just having a bad day. He’s obviously been away for awhile. Maybe after a day of rest he’ll come around.”

“Maybe, but I’m not counting on it,” Justin replied. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve been here for two months without having anyone around us. Following his wishes and staying away from him won’t change anything. I’ll go see what’s taking the kids so long.”

Molly watched her brother walk away with a sigh. After all that he’d done for them, she was really hoping that the neighbor would turn out to be someone Justin could have as a friend. She had the children to keep her busy and with the new baby on the way, she didn’t have a lot of time to socialize, but Justin was different. He’d always been extremely friendly, even as a child, and made friends wherever he went. Working out of the house limited his exposure to others and he refused to go into town at night. He had an irrational fear of the baby coming early and not being there for her. Although he spent a lot of time playing with the children, he needed adult company. She could see the loneliness in his eyes and wished there was something she could do to take it away. It was obvious that the neighbor wasn’t going to be of any help in that area. She’d just have to wait until the baby was born and she was home from the hospital. Then she was going to force Justin to go out and get a life. Even if it meant locking him out of the house to do it. And maybe, just maybe, Mr. Antisocial would come around by then and realize that having neighbors wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.


End of part 1
08/08/06
 

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