Seventh Heaven by Alice; Hoffman

when he had that creepy feeling along the base of his neck, and he’d stood by and watched as the boys ran into the shadows. Long after Stevie had climbed back through his bedroom window and Nora had scrubbed the garage door clean, Hennessy was still watching her house.
    He thought about her more often than he imagined possible. He made himself sick thinking about her; it got so that he couldn’t eat anything but old men’s food or his stomach would turn. Cottage cheese and white bread, butterscotch pudding and rice. He was trying desperately not to think about her the first Saturday in November when he ran into Jim Wineman and Sam Romero at the hardware store. They often met here, searching the aisles for lighter fluid and snow chains. Today Hennessy had come for a new saw because Ellen wanted shelves built behind the washer and dryer.
    â€œPutting up the shelves today?” Jim Wineman said.
    Hennessy realized that Jim had probably known what he was going to do this weekend before he did. Ellen had told Lynne and Lynne had told Jim, and now here Hennessy was, buying the saw and doing just what they all knew he’d be doing. For a while they stood in the auto-parts aisle, debating what was the best side-view mirror for Sam’s Studebaker, and they all stopped talking when Nora Silk walked past them with a set of screwdrivers. There was a saw, just like the one Hennessy had picked out, under her arm.
    â€œGet a load of that,” Sam Romero said.
    Instead of wearing a skirt, as their wives would have, Nora had on black pants and black leather boots; her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore silver earrings shaped like stars.
    â€œI’ll bet she’s dying for it,” Jim Wineman said.
    â€œWhat?” Hennessy said.
    Billy was following his mother, dragging the baby behind him. He looked at Hennessy and their eyes met, but Billy quickly looked away. He had on some kind of woolen cape that was tucked into his jacket and flapped after him like the broken wing of a bird.
    â€œDivorced,” Jim Wineman said. “You know what I mean.”
    Jim Wineman and Sam Romero looked after Nora sadly. “Jesus,” they both said.
    â€œI’ve got to work on my shelves,” Hennessy told them. He left them in Auto Parts and followed Nora to the checkout counter. There was a lump in his throat.
    â€œOh, hi,” Nora said when she saw him. She had the counter filled with screwdrivers and fuses and a dust mop. The baby was sitting on the counter pulling at the saw. “Don’t touch,” Nora told him.
    â€œYou don’t need to buy that,” Hennessy said. “I’m getting one just like it. You can borrow mine.”
    â€œIsn’t that sweet,” Nora said to Billy.
    Billy shrugged and turned his attention to a tray of batteries.
    â€œI keep telling him how important good neighbors are,” Nora said. “In fact, I’ve been meaning to call your wife.”
    Billy and Hennessy both froze.
    â€œMy wife?” Hennessy said.
    â€œI want to invite Stevie over. We live right across the street. They could become great friends. Maybe even best friends.”
    Hennessy noticed that Billy was growing fainter. It was as if he were retreating inside his clothes or as if—and this was probably just a trick of the fluorescent lighting above them—he were disappearing.
    â€œDon’t ring up that saw,” Hennessy said to the cashier who was totaling Nora’s bill.
    Nora took out her wallet and reached for a ten-dollar bill. Her nails were amazingly red. She turned to Hennessy and looked right at him. “So what do you think?” she asked.
    Hennessy stepped back, surprised.
    â€œAbout the boys.”
    Nora took her package off the counter and handed Billy the mop. She scooted James aside so that Hennessy could be rung up.
    â€œWell,” Hennessy said carefully. “I think boys will be boys.”
    Nora thought this over.