Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah
Author:Kia Abdullah [Abdullah, Kia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780593713815
Amazon: B0BQG1ZTGX
Goodreads: 70585312
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published: 2023-01-19T07:00:00+00:00
* * *
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it was an hour later that Bil came down to the kitchen, by which time Salma was showered and dressed. She prepared a breakfast of poached eggs, toast, and avocado with lashings of salt and chili flakes.
Bil sat down, rumpled from sleep, warmth still in his clothes. âHow are you feeling?â he asked.
She didnât speak for a beat. She was bothered not just by his reaction last night but his broader absence. There was a quiet battle raging at Blenheim and Bil had not been present. She knew he was tired from work, but she needed some support.
âFine,â she said, unable to keep the edge from her voice.
âHave you heard anything?â He smoothly poked an egg so the yolk ran in rivulets toward the edge of the plate.
âWilla lost her baby.â
âOh god.â Bil set down his fork.
Salma filled the silence. âI shouldnât have gone over there. Now sheâs lost her baby and itâs my fault. Iââ
âDonât say that,â Bil cut in. He scraped back his chair and stepped swiftly to her side. âDonât say that in front of anybody.â
âI just wasnât thinking.â
âIt was an accident, Salma.â
âBut if I hadnât gone over there, it wouldnât have happened.â
âYou donât know that.â His voice was low and urgent. âWe both know how much she smokes and that she hides it from her husband.â
âCome on, Bil. Donât blame her.â
âItâs true though.â He grimaced as if the truth pained him. âYouâve seen the way she jumps to high hell when her husband walks into the garden.â
Salma had seen Willa sneak a cigaretteâbut people already judged mothers harshly and damn Salma if she were to join them. âI think I should talk to her.â
âNo. Absolutely not.â
âBut, Bilââ
âIâm a five on that.â
Salma sighed. Early in their relationship, they had devised a system to express how strongly they felt in the midst of a disagreement. If Salma was a four and Bil was a two, then they went with Salmaâs choice. Bil never invoked a five, and the fact that he did so now made Salma concede. âSo what do we do? We canât just ignore them.â
âYes, we can. They started this, Salma, but we can finish it. We just donât rise to it.â
âThey still have Molly.â
âIâll get her back.â
âHow?â
âSomehow. Iâll buy her if I have to.â
âBut we canât afford that.â
âThen what do you want me to do, Salma?â
She saw the strain in his face and realized how much pressure he was underânot just now but for months. Bil had always dreamed of running a Michelin restaurant. Jakoniâs had been his first stepâbut it had failed, and though he cheerily assured her it was a bump in the road, she could see how much it pained him.
âIâm sorry.â She fit her hand over his. âWeâll be okay. I promise.â
âPromise me something else. Youâll stay away from those people.â
âBut, Bil, how can we live next door to them and not sort this out?â
âWe ignore them, Salma. We keep our heads down and we get on with it.â
But will they do the same? She didnât ask the question, for Bil was under enough stress.
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