The Neighbors

2.5 New Neighbors

As promised, Harry returned the following weekend. He only had four days off, and it was a whirlwind of catching up with the kids and catching up on both houses. There were some things that I really needed Harry to help me with while he was home, so I didn't hesitate to put him to work, like dragging the treadmill upstairs so that I could sell it on Craiglist. I hadn't used it since Eric and I were married. I much preferred walking or jogging outside.

As Harry struggled with the unwieldy machine, I watched his muscles bulging under his tight, white t-shirt. Once he had it on the level surface of the first floor, I ran my hands under his t-shirt, over his sweaty ab muscles and I walked my fingers up to his butterfly tattoo.

"Take your shirt off for me," I purred.

"You are such a cougar!" He laughed, planting a sweaty kiss to my cheek.

"I resent that," I pouted.

"I really should finish my considerable list of chores," he smirked and then pulled up his shirt to wipe his brow, purposely revealing his entire abdomen. "A sneak peek for you," he laughed and then grabbed the treadmill and started dragging it again.

Courtney and Charlie came over for dinner and Harry caught us up on the Lifestyles of the Rich and (almost) Famous. It was really interesting to hear all that went into making an album. The childern were especially enthralled to hear that Harry had met Justin Timberlake. The girls thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Rachael piped up, "Daddy knows Katy Perry too!"

"No, love, I don't know Katy Perry yet. Remember? Uncle Charlie just said that I might be famous like her. But I'll never be that pretty."

The girls all laughed quite hard at that.

"So, Courtney, how was your interview?" I asked.

"It went really well," she beamed. "They said they would let me know next week."

"You're a shoe-in," I assured her. "You're fabulous with my kids. You're perfect for the job."

She smiled humbly and accepted my compliment.

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you! There is another house for sale in our new neighborhood!" I said excitedly. "And it's all updated, not at all like ours."

Harry cackled and looked at Charlie, saying, "No way! I can't live next to my brother for the rest of my life!"

"Nice," Charlie smirked. "When can we see it?"

Courtney giggled at him and then asked, "Eager much?!" Then she looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"I can contact the realtor. She's a friend of mine." I pulled out my phone and texted her immediately, knowing she would get the message whenever it was convenient for her. I hated to bother her during the dinner hour, although I know the life of a realtor – they practically work 24/7.

I received a text back by the end of the meal. "How about Monday at 9:30 AM?" I checked with Courtney and Charlie, and they both agreed that it would work.

I looked at the girls and asked, "Would you like it if Uncle Charlie and Aunt Courtney were our neighbors at our new house, too?"

Aurora and Rachael agreed but Grace had a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong, Gracie?" I asked.

"Well, I guess I just thought they were coming with us!" She said, and then she laughed when she realized how silly that sounded. I hadn't really given it much thought either, but it would seem awfully odd to not have Charlie and Courtney living right next door.

"I wish they were," I smiled. "But hopefully they will like this house and want to move in. Then they would be in the same neighborhood."

On Monday morning at 9:30 AM, all eight of us arrived to see the potential house. The children begged to come with us since I was going to drop Harry off at the airport right after the showing. They bounded out of the car and remarked, "Wow! It's so much newer than our house!"

I laughed and told them that, yes, ours was a fixer-upper because I wanted it that way. Then I told them to wait patiently for the realtor – who also happened to be my friend Kelly – to show us around and not run off to other rooms because that would be impolite.

The moment we stepped inside, I knew Courtney was in love. I could see it in her eyes. The ranch home that she and Charlie had been living in was a very nice house, but I knew she was a woman after my own heart when it came to decorating, and this house was right up her alley. I secretly cheered, hoping she and Charlie would indeed decide that this was the house for them.

As we moved through the house, the kids kept begging, "Please, please buy this house, Uncle Charlie!" Until I finally told them to hush so that he and Courtney could listen to the realtor. The house was one street over from ours, but when we went to the back yard, we realized that there was a crooked path behind a few of the houses that led straight to the gate of our back yard.

I looked at Courtney and then Charlie. "I think that's a sign, don't you?"

Charlie grinned, making his dimples pop just like Harry's. "I think so. What do you think, Court?"

"Yes!" She practically screamed.

The kids all cheered and I myself had to hold back a little. What we had just witnessed was practically a miracle. It is very rare to find the house you want after just one showing, but Charlie and Courtney were prepared to make an offer on the spot.

Harry and I were thrilled, but we had to leave them to the business of signing the papers because I had to get Harry to the airport for his flight.

We pulled up at the familiar check-in curb, and all the girls got out while I unbuckled Danny. They all gave their giant hugs to Harry and then I handed Danny to him while the girls got back in and got buckled. Harry snuggled Danny and kissed his cheek, saying, "Be a good boy for Mummy, okay?"

Danny must have been tired because he just nestled into Harry's neck. When I went to pull him away, he started crying, "Daddy," and reaching out for Harry.

Harry took him one more time and squeezed him and then said, "Daddy's got to go." He handed him back to me and Danny resumed his screaming.

"See you soon," I said. Harry would be coming back in exactly two weeks for the big move into the new house.

Harry gave me a quick kiss, but not before I noticed that he was biting his lip, trying not to let Danny's screaming unravel him. I wondered if Harry would find it hard, long-term, to keep leaving the children over and over again. I just hoped that he would find his groove, being able to balance his work with giving quality time to his family when he was home.