The Neighbors

Prologue

So in love.

Never in a million years did I expect to love another human being the way I loved her.

She was perfect.

I couldn't stop staring at her.

I'm sure I sat there for hours and just marveled at her sweetness.

Her tiny little breaths. Her perfect miniature fingers and toes. Her itty bitty little nose positioned over her flawless, tulip-shaped lips. I even stared in wonder at her tiny fingernails.

You would think she was my first baby. No, she was my third, but as with each of my other girls, I was in awe that such an impeccable human being was created inside my body. My intense admiration of my new baby girl was interrupted by the squealing voices of my other two girls. They crept up onto the bed, carefully corralled by my mom.

"This is your new baby sister, Rachael," I gently told them. They stared in amazement at their tiny sibling, barely speaking and reverently touching her tiny hands.

My mom took the opportunity to greet me with a kiss to my forehead. "Hi, Sweetheart. And how's my newest granddaughter?" She almost sang the words, clearly delighted to be a grandmother once again.

"Oh, Mom, she's wonderful. Thank you for being with me for her birth." I hated to change the subject, but I had to. "Any luck tracking down Eric?" I asked, quietly enough so that the girls wouldn't hear, but not even bothering to hope for a yes.

"I'm sorry, Lise. I'm still getting his voicemail. Believe me, I've left him extensive messages, but he's nowhere to be found. I'm so, so sorry you had to do this without him."

"But I wasn't alone, Mom. You were here! Rachel will definitely know that her grandma was here when she was born. And I'm sure Rory and Grace were delighted about their time with Papa. Did he take them swimming?"

"You bet! He loves to show his girls off at the YMCA. And he even made grilled cheese for dinner, just the way your girls like it." Making their favorite grilled cheese was quite the chore that required three kinds of cheese – American, Cheez-Whiz, and a sprinkle of parmesan – but my dad would do anything for his "grand-darlings" as he called them.

"What would I do without you and Dad?" I smiled.

"Did you decide on a middle name yet?"

"Amelia. Rachael Amelia Gibson."

I loved my new baby girl with all my heart, just as much as I loved her two sisters. But my feelings for their father had long since disappeared. Clearly we had enough of something between us to create a baby nine months ago, but I can't remember the last time I felt anything remotely like love for Eric.

"It's over, Mom," I said quietly.

"I know, hon. I know." She squeezed my shoulders. "It's been over for a long time, hasn't it?"

I nodded, but no tears came. I had cried too many tears throughout the lives of my older two daughters. It was the start of my baby's life and it was going to be a new start for her sisters and myself as well. I knew I could raise the girls by myself; I'd been doing it by myself for four years anyway.

My parents lived less than an hour away, my sister lived ten minutes away, and my brother; well, he lived in Houston, but he would hop on a plane in a heartbeat if I needed him. My point is that I knew my family would be there for me. I wasn't afraid anymore. I was simply done. I had no more hope that my missing-in-action husband would step up and take responsibility.

"How long can you stay, Mom?"

"For as long as you need me, Sweetheart."

"When you get home tonight, will you do something for me?"

"Sure, hon, what is it?"

"Find me a good lawyer. I'm filing for a divorce."