Page 103 of The Man Next Door
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Yes, we remember the highs and lows, but we also sometimes remember the smallest most mundane details too. I’ll always remember the picnics Gavin and I used to have under the large maple tree at the back of the Fortin property, right off the park. Old man Fortin used to spot us once in a while and chase us away. Once, we got caught in the rain, the three of us, Gavin and I and Magnum. We used to love those picnics. If pure happiness could be described in only two words, those words would be: summer picnics.
We were coming back from one of these picnics, stomachs full of roast beef sandwiches Gavin had made and the blueberry muffins I’d baked when we ran into Johnny and his posse. Johnny was one of Izzie’s many cousins.
I knew from their expressions that they were out to make trouble, which was quite typical of them. Every neighborhood has its bullies, and Johnny’s gang were ours. Being Izzie’s bestie, I’d always felt protected, but now I was shaking a bit. I didn’t feel safe around them anymore. And neither did Gavin. I could feel his fear in my bones. Gavin was a big guy, but there was only one of him, and four of them.
“Hey, Foster… out with young girls again?” Johnny smirked and turned to me. “What the fuck are you doing with this creep, Abby?”
I took Gavin’s hand, a gesture of solidarity. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Johnny frowned, and pursed his lips. He threw his cigarette and stomped it. He shook his head. “He gets off on young girls. He’s a total scumbag.”
Gavin didn’t say a word. He knew better.
“I’m eighteen,” I pointed out. “Hardly a young girl anymore.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but how long has he been sticking it in you?”
Gavin lurched at him and gave him a shove. Johnny pushed him right back. “You watch yourself, you fucking weirdo. Watch your back. I wouldn’t go out of your house if I were you.”
Johnny’s buddy grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. “C’mon, Johnny. He’s not worth it right now.” He cocked his head in Mrs. Turner’s direction. She was sitting on her porch, watching the show, a cigarette in her mouth, a beer in her hand. “There’s people around.”
Johnny reluctantly walked away. “We all know you did it, Foster.” He jerked his head around. “You’ll get yours… I’ll make sure of that.”
My heart was beating a mile a minute as we both stood frozen, watching them walk away. I wrapped my arms around Gavin’s waist. “They’re just creeps. I wouldn’t worry about them.” Even as I said the words, I knew I was full of shit. I knew he should be worried because everyone at the park knew Johnny was fucking crazy.
We were still shaken when we got back to his place. “You shouldn’t be telling everyone we’re together,” he said.
“Why not?” I argued. “Are you ashamed of our relationship?”
He smiled. “No… I want to scream about it from the rooftops.”
I laughed. “Well, the rooftops around here aren’t very high.”
He grinned. “Except for old Fortin’s place. Maybe I should climb on his rooftop.”
My eyes grew wide. “He’d shoot you.”
He laughed, and took me in his arms. “He would.”
We settled on the covered loveseat swing on his porch. We hadn’t been sitting there together for long. We’d only recently come out in the open. “I just think you shouldn’t flaunt it,” he went on. “There’s a big age difference, and you know people… they judge. And not sure if you noticed but people hate me around here.”
I pouted. “They don’t know you. People around here are jerks. And besides, there’s only ten years between us. If they want to judge, let them judge. Who gives a fuck.”
He frowned, but he was smiling. “I don’t like it when you curse. Potty mouths don’t belong on pretty girls like you.”
I smiled. “If people see that you and I are an item, they might stop suspecting you. They might not think you’re such a…”
“A what?”
“Uh… a… reclusive.”
“You were going to say ‘weirdo’ right?”
I laughed out loud. “I was.”
He broke into laughter too. “I get it. I need your seal of approval, right?”
