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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

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Kelly said. I knew she was hoping she’d have an inside track when her daughter was a junior. So be it. Knowledge was power.

“Maggie’s covering it for the news, you know,” Beth said, plucking a chocolate donut with sprinkles out of the box.

“Yes. I heard that,” I said. “So kind of her.”

I let them eat while I scoured through the yes pile casually, looking for number 122. When I’d entered the applications into the system, I’d made a mental note of Maggie’s son Bo’s number. I pulled it to the top now, trying not to roll my eyes at Bo’s bragging in the essay.

“Well, you all have your work cut out for you. These are good,” I said, putting down the yes pile.

If Maggie Lewis was playing some kind of game with me, she was going to be sorry. I was still in charge in this town.

I waited until all the moms were looking down and slid Bo’s application into the middle of the rejects.

Too bad, so sad, Maggie. Can’t be winners all the time.

TWENTY-FOUR

Theresa

Whenever I felt guilty, I got productive.

So I was checking everything off my to-do list the day after I saw Greg. I ordered new curtains for the living room. Sent Trixie a card for her birthday with a gift certificate to her and my brother’s favorite restaurant in Philly. Finished a freelance story about charter schools and sent it off to my editor—one day early—then turned to the block party.

Kendra had tasked me with finding entertainment options for little kids, and I spent thirty minutes on Google. I had no idea what she wanted, but I’d heard Kendra bitch before about how she always had to do things herself, so I didn’t want her to think she had to step in and do this for me. I wanted to be extra helpful to make up for my lie, even if she didn’t know about it.

Finally, I came across something that looked simple and inexpensive. I texted her.

I think I found the kid entertainment for the party! There’s a place that does movies. Like, brings the screen, projector, all that jazz, sets it up. They have a whole bunch of kid-friendly movies to choose from. Coraline!

Hmm... Maybe.

Low maintenance!

Wouldn’t that interfere with the band?

A new text from Kendra popped up before I could reply.

Think inflatables. A giant slide? Ball pit or something?

On it.

I stood, stretching my back, rolling my neck, which was stiff from leaning into the computer screen all morning. Through the window, I noticed the mailman pulling away.