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“Thanks.” Eli met her halfway, stepping around the gaps in the porch. “And be careful out here. It’s kind of an obstacle course.”
“This is amazing. I can’t believe how much you’ve already gotten done. Can you imagine how pretty it will be when I have a chance to redo the flowers out front?”
Before he could respond, the next-door neighbor, Susan, marched across the yard like she was going to war. Granted, she normally looked like someone had pissed in her cereal, and today, she appeared no more cheerful, her face pulled into an expression of discontent. Though it wasn’t freezing by any means, she was wearing a huge puffy coat, and her orange hair had been permed within an inch of its life. That might be new, both the perm and the color. He couldn’t recall if she’d looked this way before.
“How much longer do you plan on keeping up this racket?” the woman demanded, addressing Henry Dale.
The older man shrugged. “Until the weather breaks, we lose daylight, or the work is done. Hard telling what will come first.”
“The good lord knows I have tried to be polite. Welcomingeven! But you refuse to extend me the same courtesy.” Susan stepped closer to glare at Iris.
What’s wrong with this woman anyway?
“I don’t understand the problem,” Iris said. “You threatened me about contacting the city, and now that we’re fixing the porch—like you wanted—you’re mad about that too?”
“It’s just good manners to advise close neighbors when you’re starting a renovation project. Yes, I advised you to fix the porch, and you kicked me out of your house without even tasting the casserole I made. You obviously have no intention of being a good neighbor! As evinced by the way you do whatever the hell you want regardless of how it impacts the rest of the neighborhood.”
An older woman across the street happened to be getting her mail. Eli didn’t know her name, but he sighed as she came to the end of her driveway. If she ganged up on Iris too, he honestly didn’t know how he’d keep himself in check. If he slipped away and shifted silently, they’d never know it was him dive-bombing Susan as an angry hawk. In that case, they couldn’t charge him for assault either.
The older woman frowned. “That’s enough, Susan! You drove Gertie to an early grave with your nagging. Don’t start with her little niece now too.”
Hearing the other neighbor lend some support allowed Eli to keep quiet.
I’m just her housemate. I don’t have the right to step in.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Crap.
At least all the neighbors don’t hate me.Having said her piece, the woman across the street went back inside, leaving Iris to stare at Susan Calhoun, whose new hairstyle didn’t suit her even slightly.
“I can tell you weren’t raised right,” Susan said.
Oh, Delphine would love that. Maybe I could introduce them to each other.
Yet Iris tried to stay civil since escalation would only make things worse. She’d already lost her temper with this woman once. No benefit in doubling down. “Look, I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. We won’t be working on the porch late into the night or anything, so it shouldn’t disturb your sleep.”
The woman scowled. Lines on her face made it clear this was her usual expression. Then she let out an exaggerated sigh. “I should have known that anyone who’s related to Crazy Gertie couldn’t be normal.”
Iris narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
Susan had gotten a free pass the first day they met, but Iris had no intention of letting anyone trash-talk her auntie.
Susan didn’t take the warning in Iris’s sudden shift in posture. “We’ve discussed this before. It’s nothing new. Gertrude Van Doren had a bunch of screws loose, bats in her belfry. Do I need to go on?”
“Don’t talk about her that way! Actually, don’t talk aboutanyonethat way. That’s incredibly hateful. And hurtful.” Iris’s palm itched to deliver a slap, but that would just get her hauled in by the police. Again.
“Fantastic. You’re one of those. No wonder.”
Iris spoke through clenched teeth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re trying to police my thoughts and actions. This is a free country. I can say what I want! I wonder how you ended up so sensitive yet so rude at the same time. You don’t even know basic manners and you’re lecturingme?”
“Seems to me you’re the rude one,” Henry Dale said quietly. “Miz Collins apologized when you came looking for a scrap. And now you’re disrespecting her deceased auntie. Does that seem like good manners to you, ma’am? Truly?”
Susan clamped her mouth shut, seeming at a loss for words. She aimed another hateful look at the house that didn’t live up to her standards. In contrast, Susan’s place was immaculate with no peeling paint; she’d chosen pale-yellow siding, and fake navy shutters framed the windows. Her hedges were geometric, and though it was autumn, everything about her property still somehow maintained a clean silhouette.
Finally, she said in a grudging tone, “I suppose I could have overreacted about not being apprised of your schedule for the repair work.”
