BooksBarbecue
Back The Mother Next Door
Chapters (84)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. About the Author
  5. HALLOWEEN
  6. Seven Weeks Before Halloween
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. HALLOWEEN
  11. Six Weeks Before Halloween
  12. FOUR
  13. FIVE
  14. SIX
  15. HALLOWEEN
  16. Five Weeks Before Halloween
  17. SEVEN
  18. EIGHT
  19. HALLOWEEN
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. HALLOWEEN
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. Twenty-Five Days Until Halloween
  26. THIRTEEN
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. HALLOWEEN
  29. FIFTEEN
  30. SIXTEEN
  31. SEVENTEEN
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. HALLOWEEN
  36. Eighteen Days Until Halloween
  37. TWENTY-ONE
  38. TWENTY-TWO
  39. HALLOWEEN
  40. TWENTY-THREE
  41. TWENTY-FOUR
  42. Eleven Days Until Halloween
  43. TWENTY-FIVE
  44. TWENTY-SIX
  45. Eight Days Until Halloween
  46. TWENTY-SEVEN
  47. TWENTY-EIGHT
  48. TWENTY-NINE
  49. HALLOWEEN
  50. THIRTY
  51. Four Days Until Halloween
  52. THIRTY-ONE
  53. HALLOWEEN
  54. THIRTY-TWO
  55. Two Days Until Halloween
  56. THIRTY-THREE
  57. The Night Before Halloween
  58. THIRTY-FOUR
  59. HALLOWEEN
  60. THIRTY-FIVE
  61. Halloween, Present Day
  62. THIRTY-SIX
  63. THIRTY-SEVEN
  64. HALLOWEEN
  65. THIRTY-EIGHT
  66. HALLOWEEN
  67. THIRTY-NINE
  68. HALLOWEEN
  69. FORTY
  70. HALLOWEEN
  71. FORTY-ONE
  72. FORTY-TWO
  73. FORTY-THREE
  74. FORTY-FOUR
  75. HALLOWEEN... NOW
  76. FORTY-FIVE
  77. Seven Months Later
  78. FORTY-SIX
  79. FORTY-SEVEN
  80. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  81. ALICE SWANSON’S
  82. Reader's Guide
  83. Questions for Discussion
  84. Booklist

“Maybe she’s stressed about planning the block party,” I offered. “Or Full Moon? Two major events in one month can be a lot for some people.”

When I got to Alice’s backyard after dinner and lifted the rustic gate latch, the old firepit was roaring. Pia and Bettina were already sitting in lawn chairs close to the flames. They were drinking wine—well, for Pia, water—from Alice’s plastic goblets.

“Where’s our host?” I asked as I walked up and poured myself a goblet.

Bettina jabbed her thumb toward the house. “Hildie started fidgeting on the monitor, so she went in to check on her.” Sure enough, in the grainy black-and-white feed of the baby monitor on the table, Alice was bent over the toddler bed, fussing with the blankets.

“Any hint as to what’s going on?” I checked a seat for spiders with my phone’s flashlight before settling in.

Pia shook her head. “No clue.” She was closest to the fire, so close I thought her sweater, a geometric pattern that had to have cost a fortune, might start to smolder. It was pretty, but too snug on her. “I just hope this doesn’t take too long. Michael’s supposed to call me tonight.”

Bettina’s eyeballs seemed like they were going to roll out of her head. “The twenty-six-year-old?”

Pia sniffed. “He’s twenty-nine. And very mature for his age.”

“Cradle robber,” I said. Ever since Pia shipped her kids off to college, she’d been playing the role of affectively bored divorcée, including her obsession with online dating sites and men way younger than her. “Speaking of men, what did you think of the new principal?” I asked them.

The fire danced in the lenses of Bettina’s glasses, glasses she didn’t need but just liked the style of. Bettina was always about the accessories. “I hope he’ll be good for Woodard.”

I pinched my lip. Adam Wallace was a decent-looking guy. Goofy, maybe, but in an attractive way, if you squinted. He was about Paul’s age but still had all his hair. And a nice jaw. Earnest smile.

“I bet they have good sex,” Pia said.

“Do you think they role-play teacher and student?” I pressed. “Spank me, Mr. Wallace,” I said in a low, husky voice. “I’ve been a bad girl.”

“You guys are disgusting,” Bettina said. “I don’t want to imagine this.” But she was laughing.

“I’ve got his wife volunteering at the game next weekend,” I said.

“Yeah. You sure strong-armed her into it.” Pia pulled out her phone and checked a notification on the screen, then slid it back into her pocket.