Page 82 of The Man Next Door
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My mouth is dry. It always is when I’m nervous. I’m not sure why I’m such a wreck. I dig into my oversized bag and grab my water bottle. I take a swig before ringing the doorbell. I press the button, and impatiently wait. Colleen swings the door open and is all smiles.
“Mrs. Cooper,” she says. “Please come in. It’s so nice to see you.”
Mrs. Cooper.I still have Daniel’s last name and I cringe a little every time someone says it.
I’ve been here before, but this house still manages to impress me.
“Madison,” Colleen calls out. “Mrs. Cooper is here.”
“Please call me Abby,” I insist.
She smiles. “Yes…Abby. I keep forgetting.”
Madison pops her head in. She looks really happy. She looks healthy, not as gaunt as she was before. Her hair is shiny and her cheeks are rosy. A second later, another sweet face makes an appearance.
“This is Maddie’s friend, Cassie,” Colleen tells me. “She lives three houses down.”
“Hi, Cassie. Nice to meet you.”
She smiles shyly. She’s very pretty, dark hair, dark complexion.
“Can I offer you something to drink,” Colleen asks. “I have everything. Is it okay if Cassie is here? They were having such a blast… I couldn’t ruin their fun.”
“Uh… no. It’s fine.” I certainly don’t want to be the bad guy, the big mean social worker. Madison and I have established a good relationship and I don’t want to mess with that. “As long as Madison can sit for a bit, and answer a few questions.”
“No problem,” Madison says and plops her rear on one of the kitchen table chairs. Her friend follows suit, right next to her. They both fix me with inquisitive eyes and huge smiles. Obviously, they find this all very exciting and fun. “I’ll have a tea, please,” I say, finally answering Colleen’s question. “Any flavor… surprise me. Two sugars.”
I smile as I flip open the Perez case folder. “So how is school?” I ask. “You like it?”
Her face visibly lights up. “I love it. It’s so much better than my last school.”
I’m so happy to hear this. “And you’ve made friends?”
She nods enthusiastically. “Yeah… everyone is so nice. And Cassie goes there too. She’s in my class. We met on the bus.”
I smile. “Perfect.”
“We’re both in the badminton club at school,” Cassie tells me. “Maddie is so good.”
Madison smiles shyly.
“And she won first place in a math competition in our class,” Cassie points out. “She’s really smart.”
I jot down a few notes, including Cassie’s remarks, in my observations. “Of course she is.”
I glance up at Madison again. “You look really well, Madison. You’ve been sleeping well? Eating well?”
She nods. “Yeah… my bed is so comfy. And auntie Colleen makes the best muffins for my lunch. She also makes awesome spaghetti and hamburgers and all sorts of yummy foods.”
“No more canned foods?” I joke.
“Well, she buys the chili in the can because she knows how much I love it.”
I laugh. “Yeah, that stuff is good.”
“Ewwww… chili,” Cassie chimes in. “There’s beans in that.”
