Covet Thy Neighbor

today.”
    “She is? Where the hell’s she going?”
    “Her girlfriend’s got a house on the other side of town. They’re shackin’ up.” I put on my jacket and started toward the door. “Since we’re dead right now, I’m going to go see if she needs any help.”
    “Have fun. Don’t get wet.”
    “Yeah, right.” I stepped outside. Right next to the storefront was the doorway to the stairs leading up to my apartment. Up until today, the apartment across the hall from mine had been Robyn’s. As she got out of the U-Haul, landing with a splash in a small puddle, I shouted over the rain, “You’re really moving out? On a day like this?”
    “What can I do?” Robyn held her jacket over her head and trotted up to the sidewalk and out of the rain. She lowered her jacket and shook off some of the water. “My lease is up tomorrow, and I can’t change the weather.”
    “You sure it’s not a sign from God, telling you to stay here?”
    Robyn threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, right. I believe that about as much as you do.” She gave me a playfully condescending look. “Now, Seth. We’ve been over this, sweetheart. I still love you, but Krissy and I are moving in together.”
    I stomped dramatically on the wet pavement. “Fine. Fine . Just abandon me to whatever miscreants move into your apartment.”
    She patted my arm. “They’ll fit right in around here, won’t they?”
    “Hey!”
    She giggled. “Am I wrong?”
    “Bitch.”
    “Whatever.” Robyn elbowed me hard. “You’re such a brat.”
    I laughed. “Anyway, you need any help?”
    She shook her head. “There isn’t much left. We’re just down to the big stuff I couldn’t fit into my car. Krissy’s on her way, and she and I can handle that.”
    “You don’t need a big strong man to carry the heavy stuff?”
    “If I needed a big strong man, I’d come ask you who I should call.”
    “Ooh. Ooh. Robyn, I bleed.”
    She snickered. Then she plucked a white cat hair off my collar and flicked it away into the wind. “I am going to miss visiting Stanley, though.”
    “Well, you can always come see him,” I said. “Door’s always open for Stanley’s buddies.”
    “You can’t bring him over for a playdate with Jack and Sunny?”
    “Um, no.” I held up my hand and pointed at a couple of scratches. “Cats and car trips? Don’t mix? Remember?”
    “Oh, yeah.” She smothered a laugh. “Big tough man getting his butt kicked by a fluffy kitty. That’s so adorable.”
    I scratched my jaw with my middle finger.
    “Such a gentleman. Anyway, I— Oh! I forgot to mention. Al called last night, and I think someone’s coming to look at the place later this afternoon.”
    “Already?” I put a hand over my heart. “Well, I promise you I won’t move on quite as quickly as Al has. I’ll take some time to properly grieve and all that.”
    “Aww, you’re such a sweetheart.”
    “I’ll make sure to stand outside your new front door and serenade you with Justin Bieber tunes while—”
    “Krissy has a twelve-gauge.”
    “Never mind.”
    Robyn laughed. “Okay, I should get to work before Krissy gets here and drags me upstairs by the ear.”
    “I’d pay to see—”
    “Fuck you.” She nodded toward my shop. “Get back to work, you slacker.”
    “All right, all right. But drop by the shop once in a while, will you? Let me know you’re still alive?”
    “I will.” She hugged me tight. “Take care of yourself, sweetie.”
    “You too.”
    Robyn went upstairs to finish moving her things out of the soon-to-be vacant apartment, and I went back into my shop feeling just a little bummed out. Neighbors came and neighbors went, but after a string of really obnoxious ones, Robyn had been a refreshing change. We’d been good friends since about a week after she moved in.
    We’d stay in touch, of course—it wasn’t like Robyn was leaving the country or anything. It was her replacement who worried me. Much as I didn’t believe in karma or any of that superstitious bullshit, it wouldn’t have surprised me if the price for having a cool neighbor for the past three years was living across from a fucking psycho for the next three.
    We shall see.
    The U-Haul left, and the afternoon went on, getting progressively grayer and nastier by the hour. Fortunately, some bored and adventurous college students came in for ankle tattoos, which meant we had both cash flow and something to do. By five, I’d almost forgotten about impending