This is part two of Anna’s first Short Story Tuesday Submission. If you have yet to read part one, click here to read.

His chilling, dead-like eyes could stop any beating heart. Mr. Beckingham had a look that could kill aimed right at my window. I froze in place with our eyes glued to one another, observing every move. Speechless, he held a tight grip on the small wooden box, but I couldn’t begin to see what was inside. “Lawrence!” My ears perked up when Mom’s voice echoed through the hall to my open bedroom door. I inhaled a breath to calm the storm rising within me and recentered my attention on the window once more. Mr. Beckingham disappeared; no wooden box, no small hole dug, nothing. “Lawerence! If I have to say your name one more time-”

“Okay, Mom! I’m coming,” I answered her back, anxious to get downstairs in time to help. I moved away from the window, hurrying to the door when Dad passed my bedroom door. He didn’t say a word to me as he continued his way down the stairs with the sound of the heavy front door opening. One foot about to trip the other, I rushed down the stairs with my hand held out to grab hold of the doorknob. The fresh wind blew across my face once I opened the door to see my childhood neighborhood. Parked right out front was the SUV, just a few feet away from the front entrance. “Hey, Mom, whose SUV is that?” I wanted to look inside, to peek through the dusty windows and see if I could figure it out, but instead I made my way to Mom, who struggled to grab all the groceries at once with both arms. She wobbled on her feet, unbalanced with the weight about to knock her over.

I took the bags from her arms, “Uh, I think it’s Mr. Beckingham’s? I’m not sure- oh, thank you,” she let out a sigh of relief. “Can you get these for me, please?” she asked, pointing at the remainder of the bags in the backseat.

“Yeah, sure. Where did Dad go?” I asked out of curiosity, realizing he vanished without another sound. Mom shrugged her shoulders, not fully in the conversation, as I took the bags up from the backseat. I took more than I could handle with my palms coated in sweat, and the milk slipped through my fingertips towards the ground. Mom and I gasped at the milk busting on the ground, splashing everywhere. “Mom, I-”

“Well, hello there, strangers,” A deep, male voice made its way to our ears from the opposite side of the fence. I focused my gaze, spotting Mr. Beckingham in full view with a grin across his face, standing across the wooden fence that separated our house from his. “I haven’t seen you in a while, Nancy. How are you doing?” He asked Mom while leaning over the fence. Mom left what we were doing to chat instead.

She gave him a gentle smile, “Oh hi John- I’m doing well. You know how it is, kids, husband, work, college… How have you been?” he appeared different than I’ve seen him in the past, or maybe that’s become of earlier through my bedroom window was enough to change the rhythm of my beating heart once he’s around.

“Oh, you know how it is, the usual… How are you, Lawerence?” Mr. Beckingham looked at me this time, his eyes lighter and more alive. I kept hold of the bags in my hands, waiting for the opportunity to answer and be done.

“I’m good…” He nodded with a smile, and I gave one back, weaker.

Mom’s face lit up suddenly, “Today was the first day of university for the twins. I can’t believe how fast they’re growing up,” she fiddled with the car’s door seal.

“Wow, really? That’s great. How is Stella doing? I haven’t seen her in a while as well,” Mr. Beckingham asked, searching the driveway for her yellow all-too-known vehicle.

“She’s doing great! Oh, that reminds me- Lawerence was telling me earlier about his Spanish class,”

“Mom, stop,” I interrupted her. She frowned at me in confusion, yet the look of annoyance was hidden in her eyes. “I… never mind. Continue…” I tucked my tail behind my body and tried to turn invisible by the glare of horror.

“…As I was saying. Lawerence was telling me that Mallory is in his Spanish class- I had no idea you had a daughter?”

Mr. Beckingham looked taken aback but didn’t lose sight of his facial expressions. “Is that so…” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah… I have a daughter now. When my wife passed away earlier this year, I decided to adopt a daughter a few months after.” Mom covered her mouth to hide her joy.

I couldn’t wrap my head around his reasoning: “Why did you wait to adopt after your wife passed away?” I blurted out.

Mom slapped my arm, still holding the groceries, “Lawrence! Apologize right now. That was rude of you to say. The conversation seemed to drag on, but I nodded in agreement to hurry along. I cleared my throat, but before I got the words out, he interrupted.

“There’s no need; there’s nothing wrong with asking questions. How else will you learn?” Mom and I kept quiet. “I can bring her out here for you to meet, Nancy,” he said, turning back to his front door. I couldn’t believe this was about to happen, just as I couldn’t believe my eyes at the sight of Mr. Beckingham grabbing a hold of Mallory’s shirt in the far distance. The window next to the door had been enough to give the view of them an aggressive yet calm expression. Mom wasn’t paying attention; she had other plans to shut the car door and have everything ready to be taken inside.

When out popped Mallory, Mom’s smile expanded 10 times more. “Nancy, Lawrence, this is Mallory. She’s a little shy, but she’s a great daughter to have,” he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Hi, Mallory, I’m Nancy, Lawrence’s mom. It’s nice to meet you!” she said with such happiness.

Mallory smiled back at her, “It’s nice to meet you,” she said so casually.

Now it was my turn, “Hey Mallory, isn’t it cool that we’re neighbors and also in the same class?” I attempted to be humorous, but when she didn’t say a word to me, I was left baffled.

Mr. Beckingham laughed awkwardly, and Mom joined in, not wanting it to become an uncomfortable situation. I wanted to know what Mallory’s problem with me was and why her brown eyes appeared dazed. “Well… I think it’s about time we head back inside. Tell them by Mallory… it was nice to see you two again, have a good evening,” Mr. Beckingham led her back to the door across the yard. Mom waved at them both with a smile, and he nudged me to wave back. “Oh, and Lawerence, be nice to your mother. After all, she’s a lovely lady,” he said one last final saying before closing the door behind them. Mom blushed at his compliment, and for a second, my mind got the best of me.

“Well… she seemed lovely. Mr. Beckingham seems happy too, don’t you think so?” Mom said, pondering. “Ah, the groceries are ruined at time point… call your father and sister and tell them we’re having pizza tonight. I’m going inside,” she said, taking in the last bit of bags she had been holding this entire time…