That's What Neighbors Are For!

Max looked through his refrigerator to make sure he had all the ingredients for making his favorite meatballs. He peeked into the onion saver; yes, that looked like enough. He stirred the sauce that was simmering on the stove and had just pulled the panko breadcrumbs from the cabinet when he heard a loud thumping in the stairwell outside his door.

Max opened the door to see a petite brunette woman struggling with three overstuffed clothing bags. He reached for one of the bags and said, “Here, please let me give you a hand.”

“Thank you… shit!” The bag slipped out of her hand before he could grab it.

He retrieved the bag and asked, “Where would you like me to put this?”

She motioned him into the apartment across the hall with her head. “All the clothes are going on my bed for now. I’ll deal with them later.”

He followed her to the bedroom, laid the bag on the bed, and helped her with another. He noted the jumble of boxes and bags. “Well, I’ll just head back to my…”

“Hi, I’m Kari, I guess we’re going to be neighbors!” She grinned at him, her white teeth flashing. She had a really cute smile. “What’s your name?”

“Hi. I’m, uh, Max. Max Allen.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Max! How long have you been in your apartment?”

Max peered at her. She seemed friendly enough, and he shed some of his wariness. “I’ve been two years in the one across the hall. I was in a smaller place downstairs for a year before that.”

“Well, if you keep renewing your lease I guess that this isn’t a complete shithole building!”

“No,” said Max. “It’s pretty nice and convenient, for me at least. Do you have more things to bring up?”

“I think I can make it in two more trips.” Her expressive brown eyes studied Max. “Maybe just one trip if you have some time to help me?”

“Sure... sure, I can help you.”

“Thanks! I can tell already that you’re going to be a great neighbor.”

Max got lost for a minute in those brown orbs. He saw the sheen of sweat on her forehead and the strands of dark hair that had escaped her messy bun. She was wearing a cotton long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The shirt was unbuttoned to reveal a sleeveless white t-shirt underneath.

“It’s really warm for May. I don’t want to turn the AC on already, but if it doesn’t cool down tonight I may not have a choice.”

Kari went down the stairs in front of Max. He tried but failed miserably to keep his eyes off of her toned butt and slim legs in her denim cutoffs.

Sighing, Max shrugged and followed Kari through the lobby door to her rental van. He recalled what a pain in the ass moving was for a single person. He helped her unload the last of her things and bring them upstairs.

“Thanks a lot, Max! I was kind of running out of gas there, and I really appreciate the help. I hired a couple of guys to move the furniture, but I figured I could handle the rest myself. I guess I underestimated the effort.”

“Moving is a lot of work,” said Max, nodding. “If you need help with anything else, just knock.”

She smiled at him. “That’s really nice of you, thanks.”

Max went back to his apartment, shaking his head. Great, now he would have a cute neighbor to torment him. As if his dating life wasn’t kicking his ass already. He was feeling that dreaded friend zone vibe lurking in the air.

Max debated with himself. Did he really want to give this a shot? He grimaced. She has to be exhausted, just take her some dinner you dork. Let her get to know you. He filled a foil pan and took it across the hall.

Max knocked hesitantly on Kari’s door – no answer. He knocked again, more firmly. This time the door swung open and once again he was staring into Kari’s big brown eyes. He saw she was wearing some cute glasses now. “Hey! Sorry, I was hanging clothes in the closet.” She looked down at the foil covered pan. “What’s this?”

“It’s, um, a housewarming dinner.”

“What the fuck, Max? You didn’t go out and get me something to eat, did you? I was just trying to decide on a pizza place to order from.”

“The only pizza place around here worth calling is Baldinelli’s. Forget about all the franchises. Anyway, I made myself some meatballs and marinara sauce and I kind of made a lot, so, well, I hope you’re not a vegetarian.” He felt flushed and knew he was talking too fast, but her eyes just got bigger as a smile lit up her face.

“You brought me homemade meatballs, the day I moved in? What are you, like my fairy godfather?”

He laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair. “No, I’m your neighbor, and that’s what neighbors are for.”

“Well, you’re amazing! I’d ask you in, but as you can see the place is an unmitigated disaster.”

“That’s okay. I know how hard it is to get everything organized after moving in. Well, I’ll leave you to your dinner and unpacking. But if you, um, need help with moving furniture or anything, just knock.”

Kari smiled broadly. “I will! And thanks again for being so thoughtful!” She pulled out her phone. “Max, can I have your number? I don’t know anyone else in the building.”

Max chuckled. “Actually I don’t know really anybody else either, except for the super. Oh, and the Schulz’s, they’ve been here forever.” They exchanged numbers, then he gave her a nervous wave and let himself out. “I’ll see you around, Kari.” She’s pretty friendly!

“I hope so!”

Kari got a plate and served herself some of the meatballs. She heated up a day old baguette and sat down. Wow, these are amazing! This guy can cook, and he’s really friendly. What a great person to have for my neighbor.

Max had a tough week at work. His new resolution to ask at least one woman out each week went on hold, as he simply didn’t have the time to socialize. Crisis after crisis landed on his desk. By Friday he was frazzled and worn out. He collapsed on the sofa with some Thai takeout and scrolled aimlessly through Netflix.

As Max put his leftover Pad Thai in the fridge he heard a soft tapping on the door. He opened it to see Kari’s cheerful face.

“Hi, neighbor! Do you have a few minutes?”

“Oh, hi, Kari. Sure, do you want to come in?”

“I was hoping you could come over for a bit. I’m having a problem with my Bluetooth speaker.” She peered closely at him. “Are you okay, Max? You look really tired.”

“I’ve had kind of a rough week.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! We can do this some other time...”

Max scratched his head. “No, no, that’s okay. I usually can get Bluetooth devices to behave. Hey, shall I bring over a couple of beers?”

Kari’s face lit up. “Sure, thanks!” She opened the door to her apartment and waved him in.

Max sat at Kari’s table and puzzled through the interface on her iPad. “Okay, I’m going to try deleting the speaker and re-pairing it with your iPad.”

Max deleted the speaker, then shut down the iPad. He rebooted it, then searched for and found the speaker under Bluetooth devices. He put in the pairing code and turned to Kari. “Try it now.”

Kari took the iPad and tried to play a song. The speaker came to life.

“Holy shit,” said Max, a surprised look on his face. “Is that Genesis?”

Kari giggled. “I’m surprised you recognize it. My parents, especially my dad, were really into Prog Rock.”

Max shook his head. “Hardly anybody listens to this really sophisticated stuff anymore.”

She playfully punched his shoulder. “Hey, I’m somebody! And so are you!”

They sipped their beers. Max was drumming on the table in time to the music. “Firth of Fifth” faded out, and he looked up to meet Kari’s gaze. “Max, I’ve been kind of wondering... why haven’t I met your girlfriend yet?”

Max stared at her, puzzled. “I, um, don’t have a girlfriend.”

Now Kari looked surprised. She said quietly, “You could have fooled me.”

Max shook his head. “I’ve made myself a resolution to meet more women this year, but lately they just don’t work out for anything more than one or two dates. Mostly one, because I’ve dealt with an amazing string of losers. And it’s been like three weeks since I lined anything up. I can’t remember the last time I brought someone home. So you saw a girl here? What did she look like?”

“She was cute, about my height, dark hair, bangs, a pretty nice rack. You were hugging her downstairs.”

“Kari, that’s my younger sister Emily.”

“Oh!” Kari turned pink.

“Yeah, I’m not quite desperate enough yet to date my sister. But she does tolerate me enough to come by once in a while. I’ll introduce you if you’re around next time she’s over.”

Kari laughed. “I should have guessed she was family, you guys do look a lot alike.”

Max finished his beer. Kari looked at him and spoke softly. “Thanks for helping me out, Max. Yet again. But you look exhausted, maybe you should just go to bed. We can hang out on Sunday if you like.”

Max nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry, I am pretty tired. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

She closed the door behind him and went to brush her teeth and take out her contact lenses. She gave a small sigh. He’s such a nice guy...