The Good Neighbor: A Novel Read online

  Bruno’s lips tightened into a half-feral smile. “I’m an investment analyst,” he said simply and then mentioned the name of a firm that Austin recognized to be both sufficiently venerable and also as feral as Bruno’s smile. Inwardly, Austin shuddered. He recognized now why he felt so naked under Bruno’s earlier scrutiny. He would have hated to have seen Bruno come into his former job to assess its fitness for financial speculation. “And what about you, Austin? What do you do?” Bruno asked.

  Austin welcomed the sound of an approaching vehicle that grew into the noise of Meg’s Range Rover’s tires on the stamped concrete beside them. He looked up to see her tired smile in greeting as she maneuvered into the drive. He noted the boys already tugging at their seatbelts in the backseat. “Medical equipment sales,” he said as Rory and Bruno turned their attention to the car. He was relieved their attention had been diverted as his wife and kids spilled out.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you’ve found some friends and a beer,” Meg said breezily as she walked toward him. Quickly she pecked him on the cheek and then looked at him expectantly.

  “Meg, these are our new next-door neighbors, Bruno Griffin and Rory I’m sorry, I can’t recall your last name,” Austin said apologetically.

  Rory stepped forward and offered Meg his hand. “It’s Fallon. Rory Fallon.”

  Meg smiled reservedly and shook his hand as the boys came to stand politely beside their mother. Austin watched as Meg withdrew her hand from Rory’s clasp and offered it daintily to Bruno. Something about the man made him want to punch him, Austin thought. Guys like him, big, dark guys, were used to intimidating other men and making women feel all dainty and pretty.

  “Welcome home,” Bruno said gravely to Meg.

  “It is home now, isn’t it?” she replied and widened her smile in return.

  “These are our boys,” Austin interrupted. “Noah and Josh.” He was pleased to watch his sons manfully stretch out their little paws and shake hands solemnly with the two men.

  “Ow, man! Don’t crush my hand!” Bruno said to Josh, the youngest. Austin smiled grudgingly when the little boy laughed. He glanced around and was surprised to see Rory looking at him with an intuitive look on his face. Austin shied away from Rory’s look and turned his attention to the genial conversation Bruno was starting with his wife and kids.

  “So how old are you guys anyway?” Bruno said to the bigger boy who was trying very hard to appear blasé about the proceedings.

  “I’m fourteen,” Noah responded grudgingly, “Josh is six.”

  “You’re going to be fourteen,” Josh corrected his brother. “You’re thirteen for two and a half more months.”

  Noah responded with a murderous look for his brother and a shrug before pretending to be fascinated with the house across the street.

  “I was a surprise,” Josh continued confidentially to Bruno. ‘You know how it is.”

  Bruno laughed out loud, while Rory fought to keep an earnest look on his face, having seen Meg and Austin trade appalled glances.

  “I can see you’re full of surprises,” Bruno replied with a wink for Meg.

  “Yes, he is,” Meg commented drily.

  Bruno grinned, and it seemed as if the group dissolved around him but for Meg. Ignoring Rory and Austin, he asked her if the kids would be changing schools.

  “No, they’re at American Heritage,” Meg said, giving Bruno the name of the county’s most expensive secular private school, “so a mid-year move won’t affect them. It just means a bit of a longer drive for us to get them to and from. But my office is in downtown Fort Lauderdale, so it’s no difference, really, for me.”

  “So, you were in Plantation, then?” Bruno asked.

  “Plantation Acres,” Meg responded. “But it was an older home and we really wanted to move further west into something new.”

  “We hope to find some parents here who also have kids at American Heritage, so we can maybe get in a carpool,” Austin offered. “You guys don’t happen to know of anyone, do you?”

  Bruno spared him a charming smile for his interruption and looked to Rory to answer him before continuing his conversation with Meg. “We have moved every couple of years to take advantage of the real estate boom since Hurricane Andrew,” Bruno continued.

  “Please forgive Bruno; he’d rather talk real estate than anything else,” Rory said quietly.

  Austin turned toward Rory gratefully and said, “He’s really a personable guy, you’re very lucky.”

  Rory rolled his eyes toward the street, where his look lingered, and he said, “Lucky to get a word in edgewise.” Quickly, he cut his eyes back to Austin with a look that said he understood what he had read on Austin’s face.

  Austin nodded, but was unprepared for Rory’s knowing glance.

  “And to answer your question, we really don’t know any other people in Venetian Vistas,” Rory continued. “It’s not exactly a very sociable place. People pretty much keep to themselves.”

  Austin gave Rory a slight smile and turned his attention back to his family and Bruno.

  “We’ve been moving west, in jumps, for years,” Bruno explained expansively. “My office is downtown as well, but as a short-term investment, trading up has made us money. All of our moves west couldn’t have been more solid in terms of return.”

  “Well, this is the end of the line then,” Rory interjected. “The next stop is Fort Myers.”

  Austin laughed. Bruno and Meg looked at Rory as if they didn’t get the joke.

  “I mean, hey… the Everglades is literally on the other side of Venetian Vistas,” Rory said quietly.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Meg said pleasantly.

  “Tree-hugger,” Bruno said, cutting Rory a cold look.

  “Goddamn hippie!” Josh piped up in a weirdly affected voice. His parents stared at him in open-mouthed amazement.

  “Josh! Where on earth did you hear that, young man?” Meg asked as she snatched at his arm.

  “South Park,” his older brother smirked. “He heard it from Cartman on South Park. Tree-hugger… hippie, get it?”

  Bruno laughed out loud. Even Rory laughed. Josh looked at his mother and tried not to laugh, as his upper arm was still held tightly in her grasp. Meg shot a look at Austin that pleaded for reinforcement.

  “You boys know better. I see some discipline ahead for you very shortly.”

  “His timing was perfect,” Rory said.

  “Please. We don’t mean to interfere,” Bruno pleaded. “But we watch South Park and we got the joke. Could you let it slide this time? We’d hate to see the little fella get punished on account of us.”

  Meg laughed weakly, but let go of Josh’s arm. “Well…”

  Austin just shook his head and looked at Rory. “Kids.” Then, more authoritatively, “Boys, I think it’s time you headed in and got washed up.”

  “I’m sorry I called you a goddamn hippie,” Josh said looking at his feet and then toward his mother.

  Austin groaned. Meg glared.

  “It’s okay, Josh. No problem,” Rory smiled, fighting the urge to laugh.

  The little boy gave Rory his father’s grin before his mother turned him by the shoulders and gave him a gentle shove toward the front door. Noah fell in step behind his brother. When they were at their door, Meg turned to her husband. “They’re not supposed to be watching South Park in the first place,” she shot at Austin.

  “I can’t monitor them every minute when they’re home, and God only knows what they hear at school,” Austin shot back.

  Rory and Bruno glanced at each other uncomfortably, having just learned from that exchange far more than they wanted to know. “They’re just boys,” Bruno offered. “I’m one of four brothers. Let me tell you, we had more ways of getting around our dad…”

  “I know that’s supposed to be encouraging,” Meg interrupted, “but…”

  “Meg, I’ll talk to them about their language, okay? Still, you have to admit, it was kind of funny.”
>
  Meg glanced around the group of men. “I can see it’s three to one on the testosterone scale. I rest my case.”

  “You must feel a little overwhelmed,” Rory said evenly.

  Meg laughed. “It’s not always easy living in a men’s barracks. Well, now I have my own bathroom and closet I can go hide out in. Thank god for this new house. If you boys will excuse me, I really want to get out of these heels.”

  “Good night, Meg. It’s good to meet you,” Bruno said.

  Meg waved and headed toward the front door. Austin finished his now warm beer and gave the front door a glance, then turned toward Rory and Bruno with a wan smile. “I think that’s my cue as well.”

  Rory smiled at him in return and Bruno offered, “If you need a place to hide or chill, just knock on the door, we’re here for you, man.”

  Austin looked at Bruno and cocked an eyebrow. “I might just take you up on that.”

  Bruno gave a quick look up and down the street before finding Austin’s eyes once more. “Um, I don’t know if this interests you these days, but if you’re the kind of guy that enjoys some relaxation, that’s always available next door.”

  For a moment, Austin wasn’t sure he wasn’t being propositioned. Rory thought the confused look on his face was endearing. He interjected, “What Bruno’s saying is, he still has a bong and he still has rolling papers.”

  Austin’s face broke into a happy grin. “Oh man,” he said. “I haven’t visited with the crippies in a while.”

  Bruno snickered at Austin’s knowing use of the slang term for excellent marijuana. “Crippies, chronic… whatever. All I’m saying is at my house, college days live on.”

  Austin looked at Rory. “You?”

  Rory shook his head. “No, not for years. But my pothead boyfriend still gets high. If you see his car in the drive, feel free to come over.”

  Austin glanced anxiously at his house.

  “All on the down low, of course. No need to get the missus’ panties in a wad,” Bruno added conspiratorially.

  “Oh man,” Austin sighed. “I’m going to like having you guys next door.”

  Rory gave him a long look through heavily lidded, sleepy eyes and smiled. Bruno caught Rory by the nape of his neck, laughed, and turned toward home. “See ya, Austin.” Rory just lifted a hand and allowed himself to be steered toward their door.

  5160 ST. MARK’S COURT

  AUSTIN WATCHED AS the two made their way up their drive. “Yeah, later,” he said and wondered at finding those two living next door to him, so far from home. Out of his line of sight, he heard their front door open and close. They didn’t look as if they’d aged that much. Austin glanced down his long form and sucked in the slight swell he’d acquired in his midsection. It was as if the weight of the ensuing years since he’d first encountered Rory and Bruno had settled on him, and left them as curiously insular and comfortably coupled now as they had been then.

  Austin thought how odd it was that he had ever crossed paths with them, even in college. Essentially it all boiled down to a few poorly timed flukes of circumstance. Austin had found himself without a place to live at the beginning of the second semester of his senior year in college. After some desperate searching, he found a place in a two-bedroom apartment with Eddy Daniels, a guy he knew from his business school classes. Eddy’s old roommate had graduated in December and moved out, leaving him stuck with the full rent. Though Austin and Eddy knew each other only through their shared courses, Austin’s moving in seemed like a good solution to both their housing problems,

  Eddy was a pretty good roommate. He played drums in a popular cover band, and between studying, rehearsals, and weekend gigs he was hardly ever around. That gave Austin plenty of chances to spend long periods of time alone with Meg, studying, talking, and making love. That sweet semester was a prelude to the summer when they would marry, followed by their graduate and law school years as a married couple. They had already been as circumspect and narrow in their goals and range of acquaintances as they were now. Eddy was the only person they knew who was louche in any respect. It was through Eddy that Austin’s path had crossed Rory and Bruno’s.

  Standing now in his driveway, he recalled one late Saturday night long ago letting himself into his apartment after a night out partying to find Rory standing alone in his kitchen, wet-haired and nude but for a towel around his waist, smoking a cigarette at his kitchen sink and staring out the window into the darkness outside.

  “Uh, wow.” Austin remembered saying. “Hello.”

  Rory flicked an ash into the kitchen sink, turned his head, and smiled. “You must be Eddy’s roommate.”

  “Yeah. I am,” Austin said guardedly. “Excuse me, but who the hell are you?”

  Rory had made no move toward him. He’d only half turned away from the sink and leaned against its rim on his hip. “I’m m the band with Eddy. We’re crashing here tonight. I hope it’s okay with you.”

  Austin nodded. He’d seen Rory around campus. It was hard to miss him. He skateboarded to class in a blur of lean motion, his red gold hair, trimmed in a surfer’s bowl cut, swinging as he cut in and out of the foot traffic on the campus’s brick-paved walkways. He’d heard Rory was in a band, but Austin had never seen Eddy’s band play. Van Halen wasn’t his favorite group, and that’s what Eddy’s band mostly covered, quite faithfully he’d heard, belying the name Bad Halen. After putting all this together in his mind, he’d said, “Sure. No problem.”

  “We appreciate it,” Rory had replied as he casually ground his cigarette out in the sink.

  Austin was about to ask who else was staying when a dark form appeared from the doorway behind Rory. Bruno emerged into the light—also wet-haired, but naked—and reached for the nape of Rory’s neck, taking hold of him there. Austin was distracted and embarrassed by the hefty swing of Bruno’s limp dick. Quickly, he looked at Bruno’s face and saw him lift his chin up by way of a greeting. Austin responded likewise. The two stared at each other in the dim light for a moment, warily assessing each other.

  Bruno squeezed the back of Rory’s neck hard enough to make him wince and tilt his head back in response. “Bruno, this is Eddy’s roommate,” Rory said.

  Austin watched as Bruno relaxed his fingers on Rory’s neck enough to gently massage it with a slow circular motion. He nodded at Austin gravely.

  “Well, do you guys need anything?” Austin said awkwardly.

  “No thanks,” Bruno said. “We’re fine. Thanks for letting us crash.” With that, he steered Rory by the neck past him toward the living room.

  Austin stared as Rory allowed himself to be directed toward the doorway. Looking back over his shoulder, Rory said goodnight as Bruno let go of his neck and half turned to follow him.

  As Rory left the kitchen, Bruno continued to stare at Austin. Finally, he said somewhat threateningly, “Are sure you don’t have a problem, man?”

  Austin was honestly drunk and somewhat disconcerted by the obvious possessiveness and authority Bruno had asserted over Rory. He’d never been around anyone so blatantly gay on the one hand and so threatening on the other. It was almost as if Bruno thought he was trying to hit on Rory or something. Austin laughed nervously. “No way, man,” he said holding up his hands palms out. “None of my business.”

  Bruno nodded and unexpectedly smiled. “Eddy said you were cool. We’ll be out of here early. Nice to meet you.”

  Austin nodded and said, “I’ll be passed out. Make yourself at home.”

  Bruno nodded, then loped through the door after Rory.

  That encounter had left him unsettled back then. It was strong enough for him to recall undimmed after all the years between then and now. The memory added to the dislocation he felt coming home to a new house on a new street. Now, however, the thought of the two of them so obviously coupled wasn’t as unsettling as it had been; he’d changed along with the world. There was room and experience in his mind to shrug off the reality of having a gay couple living next door. He had t
oo much to deal with at present to give it any serious thought.

  Austin’s front door opened, interrupting his reverie, and he heard Noah yell, “Dad! Mom wants to know is pizza okay for dinner or do you want Chinese.”

  Austin smiled and patted his stomach. The Fallon-Griffins would probably be eating delicate greens and boneless chicken breasts, he figured. “Pizza! Extra cheese!” he yelled back.

  “Where do we live now?” Noah shot back.

  Austin turned and looked at the few remaining boxes in the back of the minivan. He looked back west before he called out, “Noah, how about giving me a hand right now? If you help, I can get the last of this stuff inside, and I’ll call the pizza place myself.”

  Noah appeared quickly, trailed by Josh, who said “I want to help too.

  “You’re too little,” Noah said dismissively.

  Austin smiled. “I think there’s something in here he can manage.” He moved a large box and found two rolled sleeping bags he hadn’t yet carried in. With a tug, he freed one, and the other followed, pulled forward by the force of its twin. Austin considered them a moment, and then decided Josh could handle both. “Put this one under your arm,” he instructed the little fellow as he drew it from the back of the van.

  “Dad, are those guys we met brothers?” Josh said as he took the sleeping bag and placed its bulk under his arm.

  Noah snorted. “No, retard, they’re gay.”

  “They are not lame,” Josh retorted. “They’re funny and nice.”

  Noah laughed. “No, stupid, they’re gay, like, married.”

  Austin emerged from the back of the van holding the other sleeping bag and looked from one son to the other, amused.

  “Nuh-uh, boys don’t marry boys, do they, Dad?”

  Austin looked at Noah and said, “You started it. Instead of being such a smart-ass, why don’t you explain it to him.” He was interested in how Noah would work his way out of this one.

  Noah rolled his eyes and shot his father a dirty look.

  “I said, you explain it to him, Noah. I’d really like to hear what you have to say,” Austin demanded.