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Bradley rushed to the window, slid it open, and turned his face away from the blast of cold air that rushed in. His skin adapted quickly, anticipation sending heat coursing through his veins.

“Devra?” he shouted over the fence. “What’s going on?” Looking down at the patches of dead brown grass poking out from the snow, he saw a scattering of peanuts and one apple on the ground. “Did you just throw an apple at my window?”

“Take your screen out,” she replied, her voice high with excitement. “I have something for you.”

His brow creased, but he followed her instructions, pushing in the spring-loaded clips and popping the screen out from its frame.

“Here.” She tossed him a carabiner attached to a rope.

He stared down at it. “What’s this?”

“Secure it somewhere on your side.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“All right. Guess I can’t argue with that explanation.” Bradley looked around, chugged his kitchen table a few feet closer, and attached the carabiner to one of the sturdy metal legs.

“Now throw the free end of the rope back over,” she commanded.

“I don’t—” he started, but then it dawned on him what they were doing, what they were creating. A childlike excitement peaked inside him. “Hang tight, little darling,” he said in a Southern accent, while he arranged his end of the rope so he could lasso it over to her.

“Okay, now, hold on one second.” She lowered a basket out of her window, which dangled from one side of the rope-pulley system they’d strung up. She began tugging on the other side of the rope, which slid the basket closer to him.

“This is awesome,” Bradley shouted. As the basket slowly traversed the distance between them, his anticipation grew, a lightness spreading. He was a kid again, eager to discover what treats might await him on Easter morning, concerned only about securing his next chocolate fix. Once the basket reached his side, he pulled out the Tupperware and looked inside. “What’s all this?”

“My housewarming gift to you. A thank you for the cookies. A thank you for being kind. A thank you for being…Well, you get it. Anyway, there’s an O-ring in there for your kitchen sink. Our houses had the same designer, so it’s probably only a matter of time before yours goes too. There’s also an assortment of batteries. Nine-volts for the smoke detectors because there are three of them and they all started dying on me within the same month. There’s also double- and triple-As, just in case, but it’s really the nine-volts no one thinks to have on hand. And trust me, when those smoke detectors start beeping every three minutes in the middle of the night, you’ll be glad for the extra batteries. There’s also a chestnut varnish for our cabinets, a set of screws for the handles, and even a replacement handle for when one falls off and you put it aside to deal with later only to discover it’s mysteriously disappeared, although maybe that kind of thing only happens to me…Oh my god, listen to me rambling away. I sound like—”

“Me?”

They shared a laugh.

Bradley looked down, admiring the collection of practical goodies, the sight of the generic packaging hitting him surprisingly close to the centre of his chest, because a gift held more meaning when it came from a person who didn’t give frivolously.

“This is amazing, Devra.” He slowly raised his head. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a big deal.” She shrugged, but her flushed face betrayed her effort. “I buy things in multiples whenever I can to avoid the stores.” Glancing down, she scratched the back of her neck. “Actually, now that I think about it, it’s a pretty lousy gift considering you work at a hardware store.”

“No, this is great, truly. Like you said, now I have everything I need ready to go for when I need it. And it sounds like I’m going to need it. Don’t tell me I moved into a dud house?”

“It’s structurally sound. I love this house, really. It just has a few quirks.”

“I don’t mind a few quirks.”

A hush. A moment. A fleeting few seconds when she met his gaze.

“Anyway.” She nibbled the tip of her thumbnail. “Just my way of saying thanks and, I guess, a belated welcome to the neighbourhood.”

“Happy to be here.”

“So, um, that’s it. You can pass back my carabiner now.”

“What? We aren’t going to leave it up?” This was too much fun and had too much potential to waste on a single delivery.

“If we don’t take it down, the windows won’t close properly. We won’t be able to put the screens back in.”

“True. But for everything we won’t be able to do, we will be able to send over bagels in the morning and deliver each other secret messages.”