Next Door

The old house was divided into two dwellings by a thin wall that passed on, with high fidelity, sounds from either side. On the north were the Leonards, on the south were the Hargers.

The Leonards husband, wife, and 8 year-old son had just moved in. And aware of the wall they argued in a friendly way as to whether or not the boy, Paul, was old enough to be left alone for the evening while his parents went to a “certain” movie. The why of their not wanting Paul to see certain movies, certain magazines, certain books, certain television shows was a mystery he respected.

“I’ll be all right, “ said Paul. He was very tall for his age and thin, and had a soft, sleepy, radiant sweetness engendered by his mother. “What could happen to me here? I’ll be fine.”