The Baby next Door

"I am sure going to miss this place." Kate always loved the old house. Ever since we got married, and even before that, she always wanted this specific house. She said that it had the perfect environment for raising a family. Kate really did have a kind nature, putting the needs of others before her own. I felt terrible that it is because of me that she has to leave this place - I got a promotion at work, and it required me to move to the city, so that I am able to attend all the crucial meeting that were held by the Company. The location this house was way too far. "Yea, me too." I tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. I did love this house, but there was a few things i really disliked about it. For instance, there is this squeaking noise that emanated from the ceiling of my study. I tried ignoring it but it is practically impossible. Kate turned to me as we wish the house a final goodbye (and for some of us, good riddance.) We collected our bags and made way for the truck. As I loaded our final piece of luggage into the van, I noticed Kate was still a bit reluctant on leaving the house behind. I went over to her and tried my best to reassure her that everything would turn out to be okay. "Hey! Hey! Don't worry. Listen, at the new house, there is a big front yard, a pool, 4 bedrooms, a Jacuzzi. It is perfect for raising our family. You do not have to stress." Kate smiles, and I can only presume that I have done a good job at being a life - partner. Feeling pretty satisfied with my efforts this fine morning, I hopped in the driver's seat of the truck and started it's engine. I reversed out the driveway of the old house and began driving to our new life, which I had been anticipating for so long. To be completely honest here, I had never seen the house. I have never been to that area either. I decided that I could trust my Boss's words when he said, :"Miles listen, that house is the best house in the area. Believe me. It has everything you could ever need to live a good life." I thought to myself, :"It's perfect!" Now I knew for a fact that my wife preferred to be certain about everything, so I had to inquire, :"How are the neighbors?" "Ah, well, there isn't any." "Why?" "Neighbors am I right? Aha. They are noisy and there is no privacy with them around! Completely unnecessary. " I was a bit skeptical after he mentioned that but decided that this is one con in a haystack of pros. His nervous laugh only contributed to the doubt that had been planted in my mind, but then I realized that we could surely live with no neighbors. We had been driving for a few hours, when the fuel light on the dash board had lit up. Luckily, there was a gas station up ahead. It looked like nobody had been here in years. Since Kate was asleep, I decided that I should buy something for her from the convenience store - realizing that we both had not eaten since dawn. I locked the doors of the truck and quickly headed for the convenience store. I pushed open the door and a little bell rings from above the frame of the door. This alerted the owner of the store. Suddenly, a man emerged from the back of the store. He wore a Sombrero and had a mustache that put mine to shame. "Buenos dias mi amigo" he greeted. I did not know Spanish too well. So I just murmured back, "Hey." I felt like an i***t but, in my defense, I was in a rush. "So, what can I do you for my friend?" "Yea can I get two cups of tea and 4 doughnuts. "The doughnuts glimmered in the sunlight that shone through the old glass of the store. All of the glaze on them, made it look much more tempting than it actually was. "So, where you headed?" He stared at me, and anticipated a response. "Um. My wife and I are just moving into the Franklyn neighborhood." I was expecting a reaction from him, but just not the one he gave. The second I had mentioned where we were moving into the Franklyn neighborhood, his face went pale. His pursed his lips and squinted his eyes. His reaction worried me a bit more than it should have. Mainly because the neighborhood was already from the lack of neighbors, but his face was the "cherry on top." "The Franklyn neighborhood? Here, in Townsend?" I felt my brain begin to malfunction as I am question whether or not we are thinking of the same Neighborhood. "Y-Yes, the one here in Townsend." He chuckles to himself then says, :"Good luck with that." His words stunned me and I stood there completely shocked. "What do you mean - 'Good luck' ?" The man handed me my food and proceeded to the back of the store. He just ignored me. I realized that he was not coming back, so I took my Doughnuts and my tea and headed back to the truck. I opened the door and jumped into the drivers seat. When I had shut the door of the truck, the truck had shook. This had woken Kate up. "Ugh! Are we there yet?" I had forgotten that she was asleep, my mind was now occupied with finding out the reason as to what the man at the convenience store was talking about. "Oh, sorry. Um no. Well almost. You can go back to sleep, I will wake you up when we are there." I decided that it would be best to forget about it and focus on the drive ahead. "Well, I am awake now, rather stay awake and enjoy the rest of the ride with you!" Her smile brightened my day. I could feel my worries melting off. I chose not to worry her with my doubts and concerns, and just let her enjoy the rest of the ride there. After we had sipped down our tea and had eaten the doughnuts, we hit the road again. Once we had entered Townsend, Kate was blown away by the scenery - both man-made and natural. We were only a few blocks away from the new house and we began to notice that the amount of people in the area were rapidly decreasing. We finally arrived at the entrance to our new house. It was a gorgeous building. It mainly made out of marble and glass, which only added to the sophistication of it all. However, while Kate was enjoying the upgrade on the house, something still was not adding up - this house is stunning, but why was is so cheap. This only increased my worry. "Oh my word! Miles, it is glorious. You were right, we have nothing to worry about! This is absolutely perfect for our family!" Kate excitedly races to the front door. I slowly followed her in. As I reached to unlock the door, I noticed something - the door had already been unlocked. This could only mean one thing - someone was already here. As I pushed the open the door, we were surprised by who we saw.  Waiting for us inside the house was Mike, my Boss. "Miles! Welcome to your new home. I am thrilled that you are finally here! See, what did I tell you? Perfect for raising a family" I smiled and shook my head in agreement because, indeed the house was magnificent, but I still felt something was flying over our heads and we were not realizing it. "Would you like a tour of your new home?" We were shown the main aspects if the house and it did have everything we were promised - a beautiful garden and a stunning view but the questions still stand - what was wrong with it? Why was it so cheap? Why were there little to no neighbors? These questions remain unanswered and it could not stop bothering me. The thought of the Mexican man and the convenience store back at the gas station seemed to inhabit his every thought -'Good luck with that.' What exactly did he mean by that? I was interrupted from my thinking session by the sound of shrieking. It sounded like Kate! I rushed over to her and tried to follow the sound of her voice. I eventually found her. "What's wrong? Are you alright?!" She stares at me and - smiles? "Look what I found!" Kate points to a chest of clothes. Not just any clothes, baby clothes. I turn to Mike and made a gesture, asking him if he did this. "Uh, me? Oh YES, me! Yes I did this - You are welcome." "But Mike, why did you d-." Before i am granted the opportunity to complete asking my question, Mike gets a phone call and exits the room. This just adds to the mountain of questions that seem to be left unanswered. Meanwhile, Kate seems to be enjoying the gift of adorable baby rompers and hats. Not exactly the pinnacle of house warming gifts but better than nothing. I leave Kate to let her excitement run wild, while I went to explore the rest of the house. I kept feeling uneasy and troubled. How ironic, if you told me that a measly twenty - four hours after leaving the old house, I would be the one who is not excited to be at the new house and Kate is the one who can't contain the excitement. "Hey Miles, sorry man, phone calls are through the roof today!" I stared at Mike and realized that Kate is not here and it was the perfect opportunity to get some of my questions answered. "Hey Mike, be honest with me here bud, whats is wrong with this house?" It was in that moment that I witnessed Mike's brain explode. I witnessed this man give up on life. After pulling himself together, he said, :"What do you mean? Like I have already said, it is basically perfect for you Miles." I could sense he was trying to get himself off the hook. "Okay, then explain to me a few things here. Firstly, why is the house so cheap? Secondly, why do we not have many neighbors. And let us be honest with each other Mike, you never bought us those gifts! And if you actually did buy us those gifts, it is a lame house - warming gift." "Wow okay, I thought Kate was the cautious one. Alright listen, there is a perfectly good explanation as to why you may think there is something wrong with the house - the owners of this place had it on the market for 5 years now and no one had made an offer. Eventually I caught wind of it and came to have a look. Over the course of those 5 years, the house lost value rapidly. Maintenance of the place became problematic. This all resulted in the price to drop. So I made a deal with the owner, I spruce the place up and he knocks off quarter of the price. Secondly,  there are not many neighbors because,  indeed this is an expensive neighborhood, not many can afford it here. Lastly I did buy those gifts and I thought you would love them!" Once again before I am given the opportunity to give my response, Mike storms off to his car. He starts the car in an aggressive manner and speeds off. Now I know what you are probably thinking, Mike's story checks out, but there was something going on. I return to the inside of the house and I am met by Kate, who is now in the kitchen - fascinated by all the cutlery the kitchen had to offer. "We should invite the neighbors over for dinner," shouted Katy from the kitchen. I laugh and say, :"Hehe, good one babe!" She swings around and looks me dead in the eye. It took me a minute before realizing what I said. It was then that I remembered that I had not told her that we do not have neighbors. "Look babe, according to Mike, not many people can afford to live here. So we do not have much neighbors. I am sorry. Hey, we could invite Mike over for dinner." I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was livid. I already knew I was sleeping on the couch tonight. "Oh yea... Mike." She did not sound excited about that at all. For the rest of the afternoon, we unpacked the trucks and got the most important things out first - Like the beds and couches. Eventually, once we had finished off-loading the truck, it was already nightfall. I had a shower and went down for dinner. To my surprise, Mike was not there. Kate had made a delicious back - leg steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Out of exhaustion, we ate most of our dinner in silence. We finished off the evening with a soothing cup of tea. After dinner, I finally decided to crawl into bed. I was too tired to think about anything else besides sleep. My eye-lids were fighting to stay open as it is.  I walk into our bedroom and find Kate already sound asleep. I sneak in the bed and almost immediately fall asleep. I relax myself and finally drift of to the peaceful land of slumber.