Ikher woke up late the next day and after a quick brunch, went out to the little backyard shed. He collected his tools and examined the fence. Most of the pickets were loose, but all the posts were still firm in the ground, saving him from having to dig and replant.

Checking, leveling, and repairing the fence ran well into the afternoon. By the time he finished, Ikher was a sweaty mess. Throwing his things into the shed, he went inside the house, leaving a procession of nasty clothes in his wake as he made his way down the hallway and into the bathroom. After a rinse, he was in the bedroom getting dressed and decided to have a quick smoke before he figured out his evening plans.

As he pulled his stash out of the drawer, there was a knock at the door. Replacing the box, he walked down the hall to see a group of people clustered on his porch. Ikher snatched his dirty clothes off the floor and threw them into his bedroom.

“Hello, Ikher! Is this a bad time? We wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood,” Ada asked as he opened the door.

“Oh no. It’s fine. Come on in.” Ada was with her husband Georges, whom he had met yesterday. She introduced them as they came in: Jason, Kenneth, and Robin. As they filed in, Ikher worried they would smell weed on everything. He was shutting the door when a hand stopped it.

“Hold on neighbor,” protested a woman whose sparkling green eye shadow matched her off the shoulder shirt. Her lipstick, the same rich umber brown as her skin, would have been undetectable if it weren’t so shiny. She was his height with two huge ponytails of black curly hair coming from under a paper boy hat.

“Cute house. I’m Janine,” she said, extending her hand as she flashed him a generous smile. Ikher shook it, taking a quick glance at her more than ample figure. He motioned for her to come in and almost got caught watching her butt going past in her tight jeans.

With everyone in, Ikher went around opening the windows in the hopes the fresh air might blow out any lingering smell. He was also glad he had done the dishes when Ada pulled out a cake and began cutting it. As people mingled between bites, Ikher floated between them, making small talk and getting to know them before moving on to the next person.

Ada and Georges Pilkos owned the little blue and white two-level house on the left by the main road. As Ikher had discovered yesterday, Ada was a chatterbox, giving you her life story down to minute details. Georges, on the other hand, answered questions with only the bare minimum. They had married as teenagers and chosen to travel the world instead of having children.

They settled in Oak Grove fifteen years ago when Ada’s hips and back started acting up, rendering her unable to hike. She kept herself busy with soap operas. Georges toyed with ham radios. Ikher mentioned that his father had worked on radio equipment for the government, but to his dismay, Georges only gave him a nod of approval at the mention. When Janine grabbed Ada, Ikher excused himself to get another piece of cake.

Kenneth McPherson, plate in hand, met him at the table for seconds. Ken, married to Jason, lived in the modest tan two-story home to the right of Ikher’s. He was taller than Ikher but also broader and rounder. His short blond ivy league hair cut and close-trimmed beard worked well with his kind brown eyes, calm smile, and an even easier laugh. Ken taught world religion and literature courses at San Ranola State and was giving Ikher advice on how to teach when his husband joined them.

Jason Rosslyn was the same height as Ken but much thinner in a herringbone jacket that smelled of cigars. His squinty blue eyes staring down his long thin nose had the opposite effect of Ken’s warmth. The grey streaks at his temples gave Jason a sophisticated look, contrasted immediately by his arrogant way of speaking about being made a partner at his law firm.

As Jason went on at length about their home in Sun Valley and loft in New Liberty, Ken mentioned they were looking for a house sitter in the winter. That earned him a nasty glare from Jason. Noticing Robin Auffer off by himself, Ikher used him as an excuse to get away from the tense exchange about to happen.

Robin, wearing an unbuttoned plaid shirt over a plain t-shirt and worn jeans, was very tall, very skinny, and very nervous. A single father with joint custody of his daughter, Robin did something with computers that sounded important. Ikher guessed that’s how he afforded the largest house on the street: the two-story at the end corner, opposite Ada and Georges.

Ikher couldn’t guess Robin’s age. He looked... youngish. The dark circles under his eyes, pale skin, and unkept black hair could be a result of his computer work. He didn’t seem like he wanted to be there, with his constantly wandering gaze, but he wasn’t in a hurry to leave either.

“You okay man?” Ikher asked, making Robin blink at the question.

“Umm, yeah. I’ve got something on my mind, work stuff,” he said off-handed as he glanced out the window toward his house.

“Dude, if you have work, don’t let us keep you.” Robin did a double take before his entire body relaxed.

“Oh. Okay. Thanks! I guess I’ll go then.”

“All right. Good luck with your work. See you around!” Ikher said, showing Robin out. The street lights had come on, illuminating Robin’s near sprint to his corner lot. Ikher closed the door and leaned on the wall, getting into his second slice of cake when Janine appeared beside him.

“You smoke weed, huh?” she whispered, making Ikher’s eyes balloon. She had to cover her mouth so she didn’t laugh at him froze mid-chew. “Relax dude, I don’t care,” she said, chuckling as she gestured to everyone else. “Out of the others, Jason is the only snob about it, but he smokes those nasty cigars,” she grimaced. Ikher turned to her as he finished chewing, eliciting a chuckle.

“Guy, it’s all good,” she said, smacking his shoulder. “We’ll chat later. Where’s your bathroom?” He pointed down the hall and Ken, who had approached on his other side, saw him admiring her departure and chuckled.

“I see you’re fixing up the fence. That’ll ease Jason’s mind.” Ken said. “He’s been losing sleep over property values.”

“Yeah. Figured I might as well do what I can to make the place nice. The repairs are almost done. I just need to get some paint.”

“If you’d like slate grey, we have several cans left over from our kitchen remodel.”

“Oh yeah, that could work. How much?”

“Nothing. I just want them gone.”

“Oh wow, really?. Bet,” Ikher said, with a grin, giving Ken a fist bump.

“You’re very welcome,” Ken said, chuckling at the exchange. “Swing by when you’re ready and they’re yours,” he said before glancing back at his husband and sighing. “I think we're heading home. Jason has the ‘I’m ready to go’ look.”

After Ken and Jason made their goodbyes, Georges was attempting to usher Ada out. She had become engrossed with Janine again. After a few moments, she patted Janine on the shoulder and whispered something to her before turning to Ikher.

“Good night and welcome, Ikher!” Ada waved, descending the steps with help from her husband. Ikher watched the older couple shuffle up the sidewalk. Once they had reached their stairs, he turned to find Janine watching him.

“Aren’t you a boy scout?” she shook her head. “Those two climbed Kilimanjaro and some other big ass mountains. They’ll be fine on flat sidewalks,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Aight neighbor, you gonna offer me some green and I’ll give you some inside information in exchange?”

“Ha! Sure!” he said, walking back to the bedroom to grab his stash box. Back on the couch, he laid everything on the coffee table and began rolling. Janine picked up the bag and smelled it.

“Damn that’s sweet. Where do you get your stuff?” she asked.

“I got a guy,” he shrugged, licking the papers. Janine took the blunt from him and lit it. Ikher stole another glance while she was taking her first drag. Her extravagant style drew the eye and helped accentuate her curves. She had the slightest smile at the corner of her mouth as she finished her pull.

“All right so, Ada and Georges are exactly what they look like, old retirees,” she said, grinning as she threw an arm on the back of his couch, daring him to look. “Careful though, she’ll talk you to death. I thought Georges was deaf at first, but he’s just REALLY patient.” After taking another hit, she shook her head before looking at the blunt and then to him.

“Did you lace this with something? My face is tingling,” she squinted at him, sitting forward. Ikher shook his head.

“Nah. It’s just weed.”

“Damn, this is fucking me up,” she wheezed before she started coughing. She pounded her chest and passed it to him. Taking deep breaths, Janine leaned back, rubbing her temples. “Can I have some water?”

“Yeah sure,” Ikher said, sticking the blunt in his mouth as he hopped up and went over to the sink.

“Where was I?” she asked, downing half the glass he brought her.

“Georges being patient?”

“Oh yeah, they’re simple. Now Ken and Jason. Ken’s dope. Super chill guy. He and I have smoked a couple times when Jason’s been out of town. Jason’s an arrogant dick. He hasn’t said more than ten words to me since they started living here.”

“He was talkative with me,” Ikher shrugged as he passed to her.

“That’s cause you’re a cute young guy,” she said, waving his comment away. “You need to be careful though, Jason’s super jealous. They had a big ass fight in their yard one time when Ken talked with the mailman for too long.” She shook her head. “I don’t see what Ken sees in him,” she said before holding her breath as she fought off a cough. “He could do so much better,” she exhaled after a moment.

“Now Robin. He’s squirrely as hell. Moved in here with his wife and son about a year ago,” she said, handing him the blunt and finishing her water. “He bought them that big ass house trying to be the Partridge family, but wifey left him and took junior with her.”

“Damn, for real?" Ikher said between puffs.

“Yep. So now he’s stuck paying for the house, alimony, AND child support,” she said, counting things out on her fingers. “Plus, his dumb ass tried to fix some plumbing a couple months ago and flooded the place. So yeah, I’d be a tweaker too if all my cash was running out the door."

Janine laid back and stared at the ceiling for a bit. “Okay, this is some good shit. Where d’you get this from again?” she asked, rolling her head to look at him as she patted his shoulder.

“If I tell you, I’d have to kill you,” Ikher smiled, making her laugh.

“Fine, keep your mystery dealer. Just means I’ll be back over for more,” she said, waving off the blunt when he offered.

“You forgot someone,” Ikher said as he took another pull. She squinted, looking out into the living room, thinking. He poked her in the arm. “You. We have two married couples and a tweaker computer guy. What do you do?” he asked, offering the blunt again.

“Nothing major. I can’t work, or I lose my disability,” she said, taking a small pull before descending into a coughing fit.

“What happened?” he asked, rubbing her back. She took a few deep breaths and passed back to him.

“I was a delivery driver for United Parcel. I fucked my back up at the warehouse and now I can’t lift anything heavy. I get around, but if I work a regular job, then the disability goes away.”

“So, you don’t work at all?”

“Disability just barely covers everything, so I do odd jobs here and there to fill in the gaps. Under the table stuff.”

“Really? What kind?”

“If I tell you, then I’d have to kill you,” she winked. He laughed and held out the blunt, but she waved it away. “Nah, I’m good. Your shit has me in space as it is.” She stood up and stretched. “Gonna walk my ass back home and sleep this off. Mind if I take some cake to go?”

“Knock yourself out,” he said with a hand wave. She grabbed a plate and dumped a decent sized slice onto it.

“Thanks, neighbor. I’ll bring your plate back and we can discuss your history then,” she smiled, opening the door.

“Sounds like a plan,” he replied, getting up to see her out. Janine walked over to the white ranch with grey trim to the left of Ikher’s house. Their properties shared the dirt pathway into the park behind their homes. Halfway there, she turned around and caught him watching. She laughed and waved.