Close to You by Mary Jane Clark

neighbors.” Susan balanced the tray in one hand as she reached out to shake Eliza’s with the other.
    â€œThat’s so sweet of you!” exclaimed Eliza, holding on to Susan’s warm, firm grip. So many women Eliza knew gave the limpest handshake, lacking any confidence whatever. Score one for Susan.
    After introducing Katharine and Paul to her new neighbors, Eliza pointed to the pool. “And this is Janie, my five-year-old.”
    James’s green eyes widened. “I’m five too!”
    â€œAre you starting kindergarten this week?” Eliza asked,knowing the answer as Susan winked at her.
    The boy nodded emphatically.
    â€œAt the HoHoKus Public School?”
    â€œYup.”
    â€œWow! That’s great! Janie is starting there too. You’ll be in the same class.”
    James thrust his bouquet into Eliza’s hand and headed toward the swimming pool as Eliza called out her thanks after him. Laughing, she turned to Susan and asked if James would like to go for a swim.
    â€œGee, thanks,” Susan responded, “but James, my husband, is home with our other two kids. Kimberly is three and Kelly is two, so he has his hands full over there. I’ve got to get back, but I just wanted to introduce myself and drop this over.”
    Eliza put the flowers down on the lawn in order to take the golden cake Susan presented.
    â€œI hope you like pineapple.”
    â€œWe do. It looks scrumptious. Thank you so much!”
    â€œYou’re so welcome. And if there is anything at all I can do, just let me know. I can show you the lay of the land around here and I’ll be driving James to and from school every day. If you’d like me to pick up Janie, I’d be glad to.”
    There is a God,
thought Eliza. If nothing else, it was reassuring to know she would have a backup if for some reason Janie’s grandparents, or later, Mrs. Garcia, couldn’t pick her up after school. Eliza planned to drop Janie off herself in the mornings before she headed into Manhattan. She was tempted to ask Susan if she was interested in forming a carpool, but she thought better of it for the moment. She wanted to get Janie quietly settled in the new house and the new school before she made any commitments.
    At the water’s edge, James was pulling off his green-and-white-striped T-shirt, ready to jump.
    â€œIf you have to get back, James can stay and take a swim,” Eliza offered. “It would be great for Janie to make a first new friend.”
    â€œGosh, you’ve got so much to do,” Susan cocked her head to the side skeptically. “You don’t need another child to watch.”
    Eliza looked at Katharine and Paul. “No problem at all,” chimed Paul.
    â€œAll right, if you’re sure about this. James can swim in his sport shorts and I’ll be back in half an hour to pick him up.”
    Eliza escorted Susan across the grass toward the front of the house. “I’d invite you in for a tour, but there isn’t much to see yet.”
    Susan’s smiling mouth fell at the corners. “I know the house very well already,” she sighed. “The Richardses were such wonderful people. I miss them so. We moved into our house three years ago on Good Friday, of all days. The house was a mess, boxes all over the place, I was pregnant with Kimberly and I had promised James we would dye Easter eggs. Even though he was only two, he was so excited about it. But when I went to turn on the stove for the first time, it didn’t work so I couldn’t boil the eggs. James cried and cried.”
    The two women stopped in the driveway as Susan finished her story.
    â€œBut the funniest, dearest thing happened. On Easter morning, the doorbell rang. It was Mrs. Richards, welcoming us and carrying a basket of colored eggs she had dyed and decorated. Of course she had no idea that the stove was on the fritz, it was just a coincidence that she brought those