The Couple Next Door Book Summary Novels & Stories

I turned the page I was reading and put the book on my desk. There was an unusual movement in the house next door because a new family was moving. Before leaving for college in the morning, I caught a glimpse of a moving truck that had brought their furniture, but apparently they had already finished moving their things. I was curious to know who my new neighbors were, but I assumed that in due course I would meet them. I closed the front door of my house and went to a cafeteria that was around the corner.

He was as happy as he could be with that once I promised him. Last month, our next door neighbors moved out. They had been renting the house for the past 2 years. They were finally in a position to buy their own house. We were so happy for them that we threw them a party. We all had a great time, and we even got to meet some of the other neighbors in our neighborhood. The next week they moved out. I figured they would be busy, so I hadn't been bothering them much. Last week a moving van pulled up into the driveway of their house. I watched as they moved all their furniture into the house. I started wondering if they were gay.

Again, Sophie's eyes communicated with Joyce so intensely that if the other two were watching them, they would have noticed. “It's not that cute,” Sophie closed her eyes to imagine the lies she was about to tell. She needed the scenes to play out in her head as she told them. “Well, we went out for that event and when I came back, I realized that I had a new neighbor. You know how top-tier that particular floor is? Guys, it's very expensive and shit and I know how much struggle I went through before I could get one of the top apartments in the place.” She heaved a sigh.

Late spring brought unforeseen news that would put the family's adaptation to the test in a whole new way: their long-time neighbours, the elderly Hendersons, announced they were moving to an assisted living facility, leaving them thinking who would purchase the house next door and how new neighbours would affect their established patterns. "The Hendersons have been such amazing neighbours," Grace stated as she watched the moving truck loaded. "I hope whoever moves in next will be equally polite." "Will the new neighbours have kids?" Phoebe asked, quickly thinking about potential playmates.

As always. I remembered my reaction when I received a call that my husband was now married. I was okay with being the distant wife. No, I was better. I was the mysterious wife, the one who had the whole world wrapped around her finger. But the day I found out that he had married another woman, that was the day I decided to make his life a living hell. I had to move fast, which was why I bought the house next door to theirs. I wanted to be a thorn in their perfect little love story.

"The Pastor lives next door. The brick one. This is number forty-two. You want forty-four." The woman blinked, looking around the porch in a daze. She looked at our house—painted a soft, modern grey—and then at the dark brick silhouette of the neighbor's home. "Oh," she whispered, a fresh wave of tears spilling over. "Oh God. I’m so sorry. I... I saw the light. I thought... I’m so sorry." I stood there, my heart still trying to beat its way out of my ribs, feeling like a fool. I had just dismantled my entire marriage in the span of sixty seconds. I had looked at a stranger and a child and seen a betrayal that wasn't there.

Kurt sighed, stroking my cheek, tucking the blonde streak of my hair behind my ear. “Have you heard any of our neighbors having sex?” Kurt questioned. “Well, no…” I furrowed my brow. “Exactly. It's not that they aren’t. While most of the residents are unmated, our direct neighbors are a mated couple. And we don’t hear them going at it. But you can bet they are.” Kurt smiled. “Okay, but maybe the soundproofing is just better in the apartment.” I offered. “An apartment building isn’t going to have better anything than the packhouse that the Alpha and Luna live in.” Kurt scoffed. “Then…” I frowned.

The next morning, as Trent stood in front of the kitchen window drinking his coffee, he debated whether or not to close the blinds. He looked across the yard towards his neighbor’s house. It appeared empty. With a small shrug, he decided to keep the blinds as they were. She had probably got bored of watching him at that point. He was something new. Trent understood that, just as he knew he wasn’t the most exciting person.

That was how it started with the man next door. His name was Grant. Forty-one. Married. Broad-shouldered, quiet, the kind of neighbor who offered to help carry boxes and then stayed for a beer on the porch. His wife, Nadia, worked long hours at the hospital and came home after dark most nights. Grant had mentioned it once, casually, like it didn’t matter. It had mattered. For three weeks they had been careful. His place when Nadia was on nights. Her place when he could slip away for an hour. Never long enough. Never loud enough. Always the same sharp, almost angry hunger, like both of them were trying to outrun something.

Silence. Together. ———————————————————————— The new neighbors moved in a month later. A young couple with a toddler and a dog, looking for a place to put down roots. They came to our door with cookies and questions, nervous and hopeful, the way we'd been when we first arrived. I welcomed them. Helped them carry boxes. Told them about the neighborhood, the park at the end of the street, the bakery where I worked. I did not tell them about the woman who'd lived in their house before. I did not warn them about casseroles or texts or visits at the gate.