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Back The Mother Next Door Save as PDF
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

“I don’t know about that,” she said, but my flattery had pleased her. Her cheeks blotched red. “I mean, not everyone.”

Above us a section of basketball hoop netting had wrapped around itself, and I kept glancing up at it, wishing I was tall enough to fix it.

Georgeann busied herself rearranging soda cups. “Some of the folks here are more up on that stuff. I just volunteer where I can, help out. My son’s on the swim team, so I go to the meets...” She trailed off, her eyes focused behind me.

I turned. She was staring at my neighbor, the blonde woman who lived across the street. The woman stuck out from the crowd in a chic plaid dress with a pretty fall-colored, striped scarf. Like she was going to a wedding shower instead of a meet and greet in a dumpy gymnasium.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

Georgeann started waving in her direction. “Hi, Kendra!” she called, but the woman didn’t notice her. Georgeann dropped her arm. “Well, that’s your neighbor, Kendra McCaul. You’re on Ivy Woods, right?”

I nodded.

“Their Halloween block party is famous, you know,” Georgeann added.

“Is it?” I asked absentmindedly, as Kendra crossed the room in heels in a way that would’ve made my aunt Ruth—who could cover forty New York City blocks in stilettos—proud.

“Oh yeah. Hundreds of kids come by every year.”

Kendra was greeting another woman, pressing her hands in hers, air-kiss at the cheek.

“Hundreds?” I asked, facing Georgeann again. “Our daughter loves Halloween. That might make the move less painful for her.” Adam would like it, too—he’d grown up in a big family and loved reunions and parties and socializing. Halloween was one of those holidays I could take or leave, but this year it sounded like I would learn to love it. Which was fine. If it was tradition, we’d be going all in as good new neighbors.

“She’ll love it,” Georgeann said. “You guys are living right in the middle of the in-crowd. They know everyone.” Georgeann fanned her face with a clump of napkins. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t gossip.”

“Oh no,” I reassured her. “You know what they say, ‘What happens behind the drink table stays behind the drink table.’”

She laughed, grabbed one of the watered-down Sprites, and took a swig like she was shooting vodka. “Kendra is the one who heads it all up. Rumor says she’s pretty militant about it, too. You know, that everything has to be perfect.” She smirked and did a scan of the crowd. “There’s another one of your neighbors. With your husband, actually.”