April's Glow Read Free

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    â€˜Good, and that’s all I’m saying. I forbid you to think about business stuff till tomorrow.’ Belinda ushered April towards the door. ‘Go get drunk.’
    Ain’t gonna happen. April never had more than one or two drinks at a time, and only a few times a month, if that. She kept silent. She hadn’t discussed her father’s alcoholism with her employee; there was no reason to. They’d become like friends since she hired her four months ago, as they weren’t exactly shy, making it easy to get to know each other. But some things were best kept private.
    April stepped out onto the sun-speckled sidewalk, the aromas whooshing away like they’d been sucked into a vacuum. She walked up the road, around a few corners, and into her street. As she neared her house, she noticed a white ute parked outside the house next door, and several boxes piled up on the front porch.
    So the new neighbour is finally here.
    She slowed down, seeing if she could get a glimpse of the person. But the door was shut and the curtains drawn. She hesitated before walking towards her front steps, wondering if she should knock on the door and welcome them to the street.
    Why not?
    Impulsivity was her strong point. She blamed it on being an Aries. Not that she really believed in all that horoscope stuff.
    Oh, hang on. I should bring a gift or something. She should have brought a candle from her store. Maybe she could go grab one from her house. April lifted the bag she was carrying. Or …
    She withdrew the fruit-and-nut chocolate her aunt had given her, and always gave her, for some reason. Bless her little mistaken soul. April didn’t have the heart to let her know the truth after all these years. Somehow she thought that April liked it. But really, if one was going to have chocolate why would one spoil it with such healthy things as fruit and nuts? Yep, she could give it to the neighbour. Maybe they liked healthy chocolate.
    April wandered up the pebbled pathway and onto the porch, vaguely aware of the scent of paint; the weatherboard panels had recently been painted an eggshell colour by the previous owners before selling the property. Her sense of smell had heightened since starting up the candle business; assessing various aromas was now part of her job.
    She knocked on the door and waited, the chocolate in her hand. Hopefully they didn’t think she was going to give them the gift bag with her own presents. She really liked the Belgian chocolates and swirly patterned scarf her mother had given her. And hopefully they wouldn’t be able to tell that the fruit-and-nut chocolate was a reject gift.
    Who would answer the door? Probably a lonely old man, a widower, and maybe he would hook up with Nancy Dillinger on the other side of April’s house and have a love affair. It would give Nancy something to do apart from peering through her curtains. Or perhaps the neighbour was another medical professional like Sylvia Greene who lived two houses up, and they would walk to work together and discuss difficult cases. But it was probably an old man, the ute looked like it had seen its fair share of use, and more and more elderly people were moving to the town these days.
    She thought she heard footsteps, but then only silence.
    Should she knock again? Maybe the old man was hard of hearing.
    Nah. She left the chocolates on the doorstep and scribbled a note on a scrap of paper from her bag— Welcome to the neighbourhood. From Number 3. She added a smiley face.
    When she went inside her house, she patted Romeo, her grey tabby cat, refilled his food bowl in the laundry, then peered out the kitchen window. The neighbour’s kitchen window was directly opposite, but the venetian blinds were closed. On the back deck was a reclining timber chair that hadn’t been there before. One chair, not two. Most likely a single occupant, as she’d thought. Wind chimes hung from the deck ceiling,