Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

Author:Sarah Langan [Langan, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781982144388
Google: KPztDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2021-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Dominick found his wife, Linda, in the kitchen. She was a round woman who wore overalls and soft, comfortable shoes with open toes.

“I can’t take them,” he said. “They’re monsters.”

Normally, she defended them. Talked about the nanny on TV, who claimed it was super important to be your kid’s advocate and best friend. This time, she burst into tears. “They’ve been so bad today!”

He made his way to her slowly, like if he took long enough, he’d figure out what to say. Behind, he left a trail of blood. Linda patted the seat beside her. Without air-conditioning, the heat was thick and miserable. She took one foot at a time, running her fingers along them, scouting for three tiny shards, which she pulled.

“Remember their Penguins teacher? She always talked about how well behaved they were. She called them her angels…,” Linda said. “She said Mark was a leader. She said Michael was an artist. Special, she called them.”

“I don’t remember. Which preschool?”

“Cathedral… I got a call from their camp last week. The director used the word cruel. She said they’re cruel to other children. How is this happening? Who’s teaching them this?”

“We give them so much. They can’t even say thank you,” Dominick answered. She dabbed his feet. The cuts were shallow but his muscles ached. Though he didn’t do the heavy lifting anymore, he still worked long hours managing construction sites. She squeezed his arches and at first it hurt more. But then the pain ran out like juice from a lemon.

“They won’t even help me in the garden.”

He looked around. This house had been a mess for a long time. Nice things, teak tables, antique chairs. But because of its child inhabitants, it was falling apart. He felt ashamed to admit that. A personal failure.

“The video games?” he asked.

She kept rubbing. “I used to think it was Dave Harrison. I mean, really. A house divided. That child’s a mess. Or Charlie. Say what you want; two moms isn’t normal. But I don’t know. This stuff about Arlo.”

“What are you saying?”

“There’s been so many clues. The fad diets, those cheap Parliaments. I don’t think those boobs of Gertie’s are real and she flaunts them so shamelessly. Even when he’s happy, Arlo yells. They have no boundaries. We thought it ended there. We gave them credit they didn’t earn. But now it’s clear Arlo hurt Shelly. We know that. Rhea would never lie about something this important. She’s too precise a person.”

“I can see that.”

“What we did last night was the right thing.”

“I know.”

“I’ll bet my mint that she’s not even hurt. It’s impossible those bricks actually hit her.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right. She probably wasn’t hit at all.”

“We had to, Dom. Arlo did a terrible thing right under our noses.”

“Yeah. I hate thinking it.”

“That’s how it happens, because we fail to imagine the worst.”

Upstairs, the kids hooted. Something smashed. The guttural shouts they made didn’t quite seem human, but like the kids from Pinocchio who stay too long on Pleasure Island.

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