“That’s your neighbor?” Her words are a barely controlled whisper as she bounces on her toes, her eyes still focused on the front door. “Why have you been hiding him?”
“I haven’t been hiding him! He’s been up in Alaska for the last couple of years. Besides I barely know him.”
“What do you mean you barely know him? He’s so flipping hot!” She looks at me like I just told her I committed a heinous crime as her voice rises with suspicion.
I shrug, unsure of how to explain my nonexistent relationship with Max. “He never really talked to any of us.” I feel my shoulders lift again.
“Oh good, so you’re both mental,” she says, pulling open her car door and producing a paper bag that clinks as she lifts it. “If you barely know him, then what’s he doing over here? And with his hot friends!”
“It’s been a really strange day,” I explain, shaking my head as the reality of the last hour plays through my mind in a quick burst of images. “Max came over with Sharon, his mom.” Abby’s eyes light up at the connection. “And then Kyle came to get me to see if I could fit through the Janes’s window because he managed to lock himself out, even though Ethel was still inside.” Her chin drops with boredom as I ramble. “Anyways, Max helped me climb through a window so I could unlock the door, but Ethel, who was supposed to be napping, ended up waking up and…” Abby motions with her hands for me to get to the point, and I shoot her a glare “…she shot at me.”
“She shot at you? With what like hairspray?” Her eyebrows lift as she contemplates what would be used in this scenario, having seen my elderly neighbors a few times.
“No, not with hairspray!” I retort, rolling my eyes. “With a freaking shotgun.”
“You’re lying!” Abby’s eyes grow round with disbelief.
“I’m serious! My ears are still ringing, and my heart’s still running a marathon.” I extend my arm out to her with my palm up.
“You’re shitting me! I can’t believe she shot at you! What happened?”
“Well, naturally I gracefully fell out of the window.”
“Oh my god! Are you alright?” She eyes me scrupulously. “She shot at you and you fell out the window? Oh. My. God!”
I shake my head, motioning with my hands for her to lower her voice. “I’m fine. She missed me by a few feet, and Max caught me before I hit the ground.”
“Still!” she cries, her eyes continuing to comb over me before they shoot to mine. “He’s like your hero. This is perfect!” Perfect comes out as a near squeal as her eyes dance with excitement.
I roll my eyes at her enthusiasm and shake my head. “Max is … different.” I’m at a loss of words to explain my neighbor, so instead I close her car door and become the target of her narrowed glare.
“What?” I cry.
“I don’t know, but it just seems really odd that he’s lived next door to the five Barbies and never tried to get close to any of you.”
“I hate when you call me that.” I turn to ensure she sees my frown before I continue. “Ask Kendall. Max never paid attention to any of us, and he was in her class.”
“Come on, I want to see them again!” She tugs on my hand without further question, “Is Eric here?”
“No, he had to go. There was some sort of printing error,” I reply, following her around the house to the back gate.
“Oh, how heartbreaking.”
She and Eric never managed to get off on the right foot. Even now, nine months later, the two can hardly be in a room together without starting a petty argument.
We round the house and I survey the yard finding Jameson standing beside Max and Landon, their backs facing us, talking to Kyle and my dad. My dad’s grinning, and I can tell by the animated way his hands are moving he’s telling them a story.
Jade and Emily splash in the pool while Mindi sits in a lawn chair nearby, devouring what’s left of her marshmallows, and Savannah munches on tortilla chips at the patio table.
“This will be ready in about ten minutes, ma moitié.” My dad makes eye contact with my mom from where he’s moved beside the grill.
“Okay, let’s do introductions really fast!” she says, evoking a groan from Mindi. Mom ignores her without even a glance and continues.
“Do you girls all remember Sharon’s son, Max?”
“Mom, he lived next door for like ten years.” Kendall whines, emerging from the patio door.
I watch Jameson’s eyes grow as they follow her to where she shuffles to a lawn chair and collapses. If I didn’t know from years of watching my sister suffer from jet lag, you’d think she was nursing a hangover with the way she’s squinting and shading her face with a hand.
“It’s been a couple of years.” I can tell by Mom’s tone that our hospitality skills are severely lacking tonight. “His friends, Jameson and Landon, are here for the summer. Boys, this is my oldest daughter, Mindi, and her husband, Kyle, and their daughters, Jade and Emily.” Mindi gives a halfhearted smile that even with the effort she expends still looks like a grimace as she pops another sugar-laced marshmallow into her mouth. Kyle offers a smile and nods his head, as if silently apologizing for both Mindi and the formal introduction.
“Savannah is our second oldest, and her husband Caulder …” She tries to locate where he is and perks up, pointing to him as he steps out of my dad’s work shed.
“Our middle daughter, Jenny, and her daughter, Lilly, weren’t able to make it tonight but I’m sure you’ll meet them soon. This is Kendall.” I notice Jameson’s eyes have barely left Kendall through the barrage of introductions.
“And our youngest, Ace, and her best friend Abby. And then of course Zeus,” she adds with a wave of her hand as Zeus rests his head against my thigh.
Dad finishes loading chicken on a platter already covered with several steaks as my mom completes her introductions and carries it over to the patio table, instructing everyone to come eat.
I carefully balance my plate and cup with Zeus trailing so close I feel his cold, wet nose on the back of my calf with every other step I take to a seat beside Kyle and Abby.
As I sit down I catch the tail end of a joke I’m sure Kyle’s been dying to tell without Mindi around, since it’s rather crude, and smile as their laughter draws attention to us. Zeus sits under my chair and lets out a sigh as he stretches and rests his large head on my feet.
“He sure looks happy to have you home.” Sharon smiles at me as she takes a seat beside my mom.
“He is without a doubt her dog,” Mom says, glancing down at Zeus.
“He’s a mammoth,” Jameson joins my mom and Sharon, followed by Max and Landon. “How much does he weigh?”
“He’s about one seventy-five.” Jameson’s mouth drops at my response, making me smile.
“The way Mr. Janes talked about being concerned with you running alone with your dog, I pictured a Chihuahua.” Jameson earns laughter from the table, which he soaks in with a grin as he glances to Kendall. She’s engrossed with her cell phone, and nursing a beer, making her hangover façade a little more condemning.
“He’s a gentle giant. Mr. Janes is probably right,” Kyle teases, leaning forward in his seat to ruffle Zeus’s fur.
“That is the most faithful dog ever. If any one of the girls were in trouble, he’d spring into action,” Dad says confidently as he sits across from Max.
“Dad, Savannah and I had already moved out by the time you guys got Zeus,” Mindi challenges.
“He still knows you’re family.”
“What do you think, boy? Would you bite Marshall if he ever got a little too creepy?” Kyle teases, referring to a neighbor down the street.
“If?” Kendall cries, finally setting her phone down. “Have you not seen him lately? He’s surpassed the too creepy mark.”