NOTE: All of the characters in this story are over the age of 18.
*
I was visiting my cousin today because we were expecting to entertain two couples later on in the evening. It was not yet noon, and I was in the kitchen, loading all of our wine glasses and hors d'oeuvre trays into the dishwasher. Vicki, meanwhile, was out rummaging through a few party supply shops for things like balloons, streamers, and stuff like that. I had just closed the dishwasher and started the cycle when the doorbell rang.
Valerie and her husband Trey have been Vicki's neighbors for the last three or four years. They have always been very neighborly to my cousin and have been quite nice to me whenever we met. Here I was on a Friday morning at Vicki's house, and I was all alone.
I opened the door and saw Valerie, a short, cute lady with a nice body (slightly on the pudgy side) and short, curly brown hair. "This is a nice surprise," I said as I held the door open and stepped to the side. "Please, won't you come in?"
Valerie stepped inside the door and began looking around the room. "Uh, I came over to ask Vicki a question. Is she here?"
"No, but she should be back in just a few minutes, so come on in and have a seat. I don't think she will be very long. Would you care for a drink or anything?"
Valerie was a bit on the bashful side, and she walked in timidly to the chair.
Strange
, I thought. Valerie had always seemed comfortable around me, and it made me concerned that something might be wrong.
In an attempt to break the ice, I asked, "How are you and Trey getting along?"
"Huh?" I think the question caught Valerie off guard. "Oh, yeah--Trey and I are doing great. He is out of town this weekend, and you surprised me when you answered the door; I didn't know Vicki had company."
I sat down in the chair across from her. "Well, as I said, Vicki is out on some errands right now, but she should be back soon. You are more than welcome to wait, but if it's too personal, feel free to come back when Vicki is here, and I'll be glad to give you two some privacy."
"That's okay," Valerie replied. "I just had a question to ask, and since it kind of involves you, too, I guess I could ask you if you don't mind."
"It involves
me
?" Valerie certainly had my attention.
"Would you mind if I asked you a very personal question?" Valerie seemed to blush when she asked; I could tell this was something that had been on her mind for some time.
"If you feel comfortable asking me, I would be happy to try and answer the best way I can." Sensing how nervous Valerie was, I thought I would try and help calm her by leaning forward. Perhaps a display of interest in what she had to say would help her to relax a bit.
"This is something that truly is none of my business, so if you would rather not answer..."
"It's okay, Valerie," I said. "You may ask me anything you like, but I will make you a deal: if I am not comfortable answering your question, I will refer you to my cousin. Whether I answer or not, we will always remain friends. Is that fair enough?"
Valerie smiled and lowered her head a little, and, for the second time that morning, she blushed a little.
"Well," she began, "over the past year or so, I have noticed that you guys will have a few people over on Friday nights, but we never hear loud music. It just seemed a little odd that it was so quiet, and I was wondering... well...I was wondering..." Her voice trails off. I could tell she was feeling like she was overstepping her boundaries and being a truly nosy neighbor.
"I see," I said. "I assume that your husband also noticed?"
Valerie nodded her head.
"Valerie, I do not mind answering because you and Trey have always been great neighbors. Vicki and I often thought about inviting you two over on a Friday night with everyone else, but we did not know if you would like it or not."
Hearing this news caused Valerie to perk up a little. "You didn't know if we would like