The residents of Chestnut Close were slowly emerging from their houses to see the events unfold at number one. Two policemen stood at the end of the street, keeping the public away. Melody and her mum stood with their arms around each other on their step.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Mum. “Penny and Gordon? Penny and Gordon?”
Dad put his arm around Mum’s shoulder, and for a tiny fraction of a second I wanted to reach down and squeeze her hand, but I didn’t.
The turquoise-blue sky had turned a strange shade of purple as black clouds edged toward us. The neighborhood looked like it had been covered with a large, dark blanket. The heat wave was breaking at last.
Sue stood on her step, her arm linked in Jake’s. He didn’t look happy about it but he didn’t pull away. I met his eyes and he smiled at me, and I smiled back.
The door of number seven opened and Hannah and Mr. Jenkins walked to the end of their path, Hannah rubbing her stomach as usual. They stopped at their gate and Mr. Jenkins stood behind Hannah and circled his arms around her.
“Are you okay out here, Matthew?” said Mum, turning around to me. I nodded.
Over to our left Mr. Charles stood next to his rosebushes, the remaining flowers curled and faded. Casey was holding his hand, her eyes fixed on the house opposite; Melissa Dawson stood in the doorway with Teddy on her hip. Melody ran across the road to join me.
“How could we not have known, Matty? How could Teddy have been so close?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. She was only about ten inches away, so I took a tiny step to my left so I didn’t accidentally touch her.
“Look!” she said.
The door of number one opened and Gordon appeared wearing a pale blue shirt and beige trousers … and handcuffs. The policeman led him to a waiting car and Gordon looked up at us all watching him. He covered his face with his hands as the policeman eased him into the back.
As the car drove off I looked next door and saw that Melissa and Teddy had gone back inside.
“He looked so casual about it,” said Mum. “How could he be so unemotional after all they’ve done? All the pain they’ve caused?”
Dad didn’t say anything, just rubbed her arm.
A few seconds later, Penny appeared. She looked immaculate. A policewoman led her down the path, and Penny held her cuffed hands to one side as if they were a mere accessory. She didn’t look in our direction, but as she was about to get in the car, Mr. Charles called out to her.
“Why, Penny?” he said, choking on his words. “Why did you do this to us?”
She looked at him over the car roof, and then she slowly looked at all of our faces.
“I cared for him like a proper mother should,” she announced to us all. And then her gaze fixed on the little girl holding Mr. Charles’s hand.
“Didn’t I, Casey?”
After the police had gone we all let out sighs of relief.
“What did she mean? Did that little girl know?” Mum said.
Dad shrugged. “She’s just been arrested; she’d probably say anything.”
“I still can’t get over it. Penny?”
Dad snorted. “I’ve been telling you for years what a know-it-all she is, Sheila. She obviously thinks she’s better than everyone else.”
They went indoors discussing it and left me and Melody on our own outside. Lightning lit us up like a camera flash, and I whispered under my breath.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten …”
A low rumble thundered in the distance.
“Ten miles away!” said Melody, who had been listening to me counting.
“It’s two, actually,” I said. “You have to divide the seconds by five. Dad told me that once.”
Melody looked impressed.
“Storms are a lot closer than we realize then, eh?”
The thunder rumbled again and Melody squealed.
“I’ll see you later, Matty!” she said and she ran back to number three. Her mum was laughing and held out her arm, scooping her into the house. A few drops of rain began to fall, leaving dark, round circles on the pavement, and I looked around the empty cul-de-sac as the rain pounded onto the steaming concrete. Old Nina’s lamp was glowing brighter than ever in the gloom. And then her door opened.
She stood there, her tiny kitten snuggled up to her neck, and then she curled her finger, beckoning me over. Putting my hands in my pockets, I opened her gate using my elbow and walked slowly up to the large, black door. She had a pale dusting of pink powder on her cheeks and her eyes were a bright, vivid green. The kitten wriggled in her arms and she pecked a quick kiss on the top of its head. Her eyes darted around the street and she took a step toward me.
“I know you probably won’t … ,” she started, stopping to clear her throat before trying again. “I know you probably won’t take much notice of an old lady like me, but I’m going to say it anyway.”
Her face brightened as she smiled.
“I know you’ve been watching me, from that window up there?”
There was another flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder so deep my heart shuddered.
“I-I’m sorry,” I started, but she waved a hand at me to stop.
“No, no, no, don’t you worry about that. It’s nice to see everyone going about their lives each day, isn’t it? Why, I watch people myself sometimes when I’m feeling a little lonely. Life isn’t always easy, is it, Matthew?”
She stopped and her face became a blur as my eyes filled with tears. I hadn’t even realized she knew my name.
“I’ve had tough times myself, you know. Things certainly haven’t been a bunch of roses in my life, I can tell you.” She gave a little laugh but her eyes were sad. Looking toward her glowing orange lamp, she stopped for a moment and took a few breaths. I was soaked to the skin and my hair was plastered around my face and I just wanted to get home. I shifted around on my feet, and she quickly turned back to me and leaned forward, the tiny creases around her eyes wet with tears. Then, slowly reaching out, she held my wrist, squeezing it firmly in her hand. I wanted to pull back, but she fixed her eyes on me and I froze.
“Listen to me, Matthew. Listen to what I’m going to tell you and things will start to make a lot more sense.”
I waited; her forehead was furrowed and her hand gripped tighter.
“Don’t ever wait for a storm to pass. You’ve got to go out there and dance in the rain.”
Her eyes searched mine.
“Do you understand?” she said.
I thought for a moment, shivering, and then I nodded at her. Smiling, she dropped my arm and took a step back into the house. The large, black door closed behind her and I turned around and walked home.