Даниэла Стил - Neighbors

“Oh,” Peter whispered to Andrew, feeling starstruck, and as Tyla looked at her more closely, she recognized her too. It was the same woman she’d seen in the yoga class, although Andrew didn’t believe her.

“I’m Meredith,” she said easily. “Do you all have the tools you need to turn your gas off?”

“I don’t,” Joel said, standing in his bathrobe. “Does anyone have a joint? I’d much rather have that than a wrench. Or a drink?” They all laughed, and Ava looked embarrassed to be standing in a terrycloth robe with nothing under it. You couldn’t see anything, but she knew, and Joel loved it. Meredith spoke to Will and Daphne then, and Daphne told her about her doll named Martha who was still inside on her bed. She looked worried about it, with her little brow furrowed, and her long dark pigtails with bows on them.

“I’m sure she’s okay, if she’s on your bed,” Meredith said with a gentle smile. “She’s probably sleeping.” Debbie and Jack were watching the entire group from a little distance with a look of displeasure. They seemed awkward and out of place, and didn’t mingle with the others. They kept their eyes on Meredith, as though she had escaped from jail, and they were eager to get her into custody again, but weren’t sure how to do it without creating a scene. Only Arthur, who couldn’t see her, and Joel and Ava seemed to have no idea who she was. Andrew and Tyla and Peter were stunned to be talking to Meredith White on the sidewalk, like any ordinary mortal. She didn’t act like a recluse. She seemed like a very normal woman, and Daphne was smiling at her. Andrew said regretfully that he had to get to the hospital soon. He was enjoying talking to Peter and Joel, and he knew now who Joel was too, the current king of the high-tech startup world, and Ava was very nice to look at. She had long dark hair cascading down her back, and even the terrycloth bathrobe couldn’t hide her figure. She kept having to tie the belt tighter to keep the robe from opening and revealing too much. Peter couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He was even more fascinated by her than the famous movie star. It was turning into a very exciting night.

“I can’t supply a joint,” Meredith said, smiling at Joel, in response to what he’d said, “but I can offer you all a drink and something to eat at my place. We’ve got plenty of bedrooms if you’d like to spend the night. I mean the offer. Things may continue to shift and fall through the night, and my house is built like a fortress.” It was the only stone house on the block. “You’re more than welcome to come in. We’ve got an emergency generator, so we’ll have some light.”

“We’d love it,” Joel said for both of them. It sounded like a party to him. And he was intrigued to see the inside of Meredith’s home. Andrew liked the idea too. Daphne was holding Meredith’s hand, and Tyla smiled shyly. They all looked grateful and relieved by her offer. Debbie and Jack looked horrified and exchanged a glance. The last thing they wanted was a horde of strangers coming in, and having to watch them to make sure that they didn’t steal anything while they were there, or take photographs, which wasn’t allowed. Suppliers had to sign a confidentiality agreement just to make deliveries. And now she was inviting strangers in. Debbie rolled her eyes at Jack. Meredith wasn’t in the least worried about her neighbors, and was enjoying chatting with them.

Joel and Ava rushed into his house to get some clothes to bring with them. Tyla disappeared into theirs, and returned triumphantly carrying Martha, Daphne’s doll, and iPads for both children. Andrew looked annoyed but didn’t comment. They all locked their front doors, hoping that there wouldn’t be looters or vandals later in the night. Then they followed Meredith to her front gate. She opened it with her key, Debbie and Jack had gone ahead, and the others followed her inside with a look of awe. Peter explained to Arthur where they were going, and when he said Meredith’s name, Arthur looked stunned.

He turned and spoke to Meredith immediately and introduced himself and she was equally impressed.

“I’ve wanted to meet you ever since you moved in. But I never wanted to intrude,” Arthur said warmly. “What a great pleasure it is to meet you, and how kind you are to invite us in. I’m beginning to think the earthquake was a stroke of good fortune,” he said enthusiastically, and Meredith laughed, and ushered them all into her home. They stood admiring what they could see by flashlight, and she led them all down to the kitchen, where some of the lights were on. Their emergency generator had kicked in, which would power a few lights and appliances around the house.

She asked Jack and Debbie to come up with something simple to eat for all of them. “Sandwiches and cookies would be great,” she suggested in an undertone. She could see they didn’t look pleased. She knew how protective they were of her and the house, and they had a profound distrust of strangers. But all of her neighbors were highly respectable people, one of them was famous, and the others looked nice. Peter was obviously a sweet boy, and both women were very pleasant, and the two children were adorable. She and Daphne were already fast friends.

“And I have a special job for you two,” she said to Will and Daphne. “Since most of the power is off, we’ll need to eat everything in our big freezer over the next week or so. So how about if you two get a head start and eat as much ice cream as you can? I think we have five or six flavors,” she said, as Will grinned and Daphne let out a squeal of delight. Meredith lifted her onto a stool, and scooped out the ice cream herself into two bowls in the flavors they wanted. And she added a plate of cookies while Debbie got to work on sandwiches with a sour look. Meredith had Jack get Joel a scotch on the rocks, Arthur asked for a brandy, both women had white wine, and Andrew said he couldn’t drink since he was going on duty, and should already be there, but he didn’t want to miss the gathering at Meredith’s house. Peter had white wine, like the two women. Meredith poured herself a small glass of wine too, took a sip, and toasted them all to welcome them to her home. It was the first time she’d had guests in years.

Debbie set out a big platter of sandwiches a little while later. She had just done a big grocery run the day before, so they were heavily stocked with food. Debbie liked to buy in quantity as much as possible, so she didn’t have to go often, except for produce and dairy products, but for now they had plenty of those too.

And Jack was pouring drinks like the bartender on the Titanic . He took a quick shot himself when no one was looking. The guests were all having a good time, and sat around the kitchen table talking. Andrew finally left them then to go to the hospital a few blocks away. After they’d all talked for a while, and eaten the sandwiches Debbie made, Meredith led them to the bedrooms she had offered to let them use. They were afraid to go back to their own houses, so they had accepted gladly.

She put Peter in a spacious room right next to Arthur. She had Debbie bring in a rollaway bed for Will, so he could sleep in the same room with his mother. And Daphne was going to share the canopied bed with her mother, and Martha, since Andrew had to stay at the hospital. Daphne told Meredith that Martha thanked her for the nice room and the pretty bed. Their rooms were on the same floor as Meredith’s, whose suite was at the opposite end of the house. There was a little sitting room off her bedroom where Meredith sat and chatted for a few minutes with Ava and Tyla. She’d given Joel and Ava a handsome guest room, after he and Peter went to shut off the gas at his house, and returned. Meredith loved having them in the house. Suddenly the whole place seemed infused with laughter and chatter, and delightful people. It felt like an old-fashioned house party and the earthquake made them feel like friends immediately.