Free Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen Page B

looked drawn onto his shirt. She suddenly smiled in wonder. It was the man from the news, the one who worked at Valentine’s. It must not have been a live shot, after all. It must have been recorded earlier, for him to get here so quickly.
    She watched him walk by her house, his steps slow but not labored as he ascended the hill. He was so thin he looked like he weighed nothing, like he was floating. He walked a few doors past her own, then turned into a yard with a For Sale sign in it. He took a key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and walked in.
    That was why he seemed so familiar. He lived here. She didn’t know her neighbors as well as she should have, but she knew most by sight. This old man, Mr. Reginald Donbeet, had not been here long.
    She thought about him coming home after his last day at work. Was he alone? Was he sad? This wasn’t a coincidence. This was a sign. She was meant to check on him.
    The adult in her, the one who didn’t believe in signs anymore, knew that she just wanted to get out of the house. She wanted to stop waiting for Matt, and this was a better way to pass the time than standing in front of the window. She glanced at her phone once again, then walked out the front door, the screen slapping shut behind her.
    It was cooler outside than it was in the house. She lifted her dark hair off her neck as she walked up the street to the old man’s house. It was the first time she’d ever done this. She normally didn’t like to bother her neighbors. They all seemed so busy, with full lives, so full they couldn’t accommodate another thing without ripping at the seams. She approached his door and knocked. The yard was overgrown and the blinds were drawn. The place looked abandoned, but she was sure this was where he had gone. As she waited, she tied her hair into a knot. But without anything to secure it, she felt it falling as the door opened.
    Mr. Reginald Donbeet had pale skin and light blue eyes and soft-looking, effeminate features that made her want to pat his cheeks. They were about the same height, which surprised her. He looked taller on television.
    “Hi,” she said, suddenly nervous. It made her laugh. “I’m Kate Pheris. I live down the street, there.” She pointed to her pink brick house with the old white shutters her mother had picked out years ago. “I saw you on the news. I knew you looked familiar. Since Valentine’s is closing, I figured you might have some time on your hands. I wanted to invite you to dinner sometime.”
    He smiled. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m leaving this evening. The moving van should be here any minute.” He stepped back from the door. She felt the blast of cold air from his air conditioner first, then she saw the stacks of cardboard boxes filling the living room.
    “Oh. I’m sorry.”
    “Whatever for? Come in,” he said, with a dramatic wave of his arm, like a magician. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve seen you in your yard with your daughter. She has quite an imagination, that one. And you act as if you believe everything she dreams up. I think you must be a good mother. And, of course, I knew your husband, years ago.”
    Once inside, her sweat chilled on her skin, making her shiver. Kate stopped and turned. “You know Matt?”
    Mr. Donbeet closed the door behind him. “ Knew him. When he was younger, I chose his ties for him. As I did for his father, and his father before him. I knew all the Buckhead boys.”
    Kate crossed her arms over her chest. “I bet you were surprised to see him living here.”
    Mr. Donbeet smiled, like he knew a secret. “No, not really. You see, I knew his mother, too.”
    And with that, any awkwardness she felt fell away. Her mother-in-law was a force to be reckoned with. She controlled everything around her with an iron fist wrapped in a perfect white glove. It was the reason Matt had cut all ties with her. He said that he could never do anything right by her. That she never appreciated him.