December 19, 2001 Tampa, Florida

Tina smiled and let out a deep cleansing breath. For the first time in a very long time she was spending time completely alone. At first she didn’t even know what to do with herself. She thought of cleaning the house or getting Christmas things together but in the back of her mind she knew she should take advantage of the time and just spend it on herself. So she had taken a long bath and was now curled up on the couch with a book that she had been meaning to read for months.

She hadn’t been expecting the alone time. Nick had been in Orlando for a few days in meetings with the record company. He had left on Monday and wasn’t supposed to return until the weekend, but it was Wednesday and he was back before lunch with no explanation. With Christmas just around the corner he loaded the kids into the car to take them to do some shopping and then pick out a Christmas tree. Tina was more than happy to not accompany them if only for the fact that she never got to spend time without the kids.

Glancing up Tina smiled at the string of popcorn that was hanging across the window, remembering making the festive decorations with Parker. She used the term ‘making’ very loosely since she did all the work while the boy ate handfuls of cold popcorn.

Movement beyond the garland caught her eye and Tina stood up to peek out the window at the house across the street. There had been moving trucks outside for the better part of the day and Tina had been hoping to get a look at the new tenants. Their house was just a bit higher than the other side of the street so Tina could see clear over the security fence to the other houses which had turned her into a bit of a Nosey Nancy. She couldn't really help it though, there just wasn't a whole lot else to do beyond spying on the neighbours sometimes, especially when the kids were asleep or when she was doing something monotonous like folding laundry.

Tina watched as three movers carried out pieces of what appeared to be a large wooden wall unit. They were followed by a woman who was standing just off to the side with her hands on her hips, watching their performance. Even from across the street Tina could tell by looking at her that she was rich. She was slender with auburn red hair hanging long and shiny down her back. A few sparkly bangles adorned her dainty wrist and even in a form fitting white t-shirt and a pair of jeans she exuded confidence. Tina looked down at her attire; a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt of Nick’s that was a little too small for him now. She sighed, wishing that she was one of those women that could shop in boutiques and look fabulous. It wasn’t as though the clothes wouldn’t fit her, she usually fluctuated between a size 6 and 8, but she was lacking a few of the finer points; confidence to wear the clothes, and money.

Nick had money but she didn’t have money. He paid for food and kept a roof over her head, he would pay for anything the kids needed but he was fairly protective of his cash when it came to doling it out. When it came to spending it on himself it was a different story. He would buy himself the same shirt in every different colour but would never think to ask if she needed anything new. She didn’t blame him either, it was his money rightfully, and she never asked for anything.

She had completely digressed from her original train of thought, and upon looking back out the window to see what the moving men were up to Tina was shocked to find the woman in the front yard staring right back at her. She gasped and ducked behind the curtain but it was undeniable, there was eye contact, she had to have seen her staring. Cursing under her breath Tina mentally kicked herself for being so nosey. The woman surely thought she was some kind of creeper, watching people out the window with binoculars or a telescope.

She ran her hands through her hair and shook her head, laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. She could have played it off, waved at the woman instead of ducking out of sight. It was her fault that she looked crazy.

“This is why I shouldn’t be left unattended,” Tina joked, heading back to the couch to pick her book back up where she’d left off. She was just leaning back on the couch when a buzzer interrupted the silence. Tina gasped; it was the front gate bell. She tossed the book and quickly moved to the window, seeing the woman from across the street now standing at the gate.

Tina didn’t know what to do. Nick would not be okay with her letting a stranger into the house but she couldn’t just ignore it. The woman knew she was home, she’d seen her in the window. She could pretend that she was just the maid but she didn’t want to start things off on the wrong foot with the new neighbour, either.

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, still at a loss. Often times there were fans that figured out which house was Nick’s and lingered around the gate, pressing the buzzer in the hopes that he would come to the door and invite them in for lunch or something equally as unlikely. Because of that Nick had given her strict instructions that no one came in the house that they didn’t know unless he was there to okay it.

The gate buzzed again and Tina continued to hesitate. She didn’t know when Nick and the kids would be back and the last thing she needed was to unknowingly invite someone inside that may or may not be a rabid Backstreet Boys fan.

Still, she finally moved to the door pressing the talkback, “Hello?”

“Hi there,” a cheerful voice replied, “I saw you in the window and thought I would come over and introduce myself. I’m your new neighbour.”

She sounded harmless, Tina thought. Surely it was just a simple gesture from a friendly new neighbour. Considering that Tina could count the number of friends she had in Tampa on one hand, including her boyfriend, children and parents, she figured she would take the risk.

“Come on up,” Tina said through the talkback before hitting the button to open the gate.

She swung open the heavy front door and watched as the same woman she’d seen through the window walked up the driveway. She had a friendly smile on her face and she gave a quick wave as she approached.

“Hi!” the other woman greeted happily and Tina started to feel at ease. Now that she got a good look at her the woman was easily in her late 30’s or early 40’s judging by the light smattering of wrinkles, and just an overall look of life experience.

“I’m Tina,” she greeted, stepping out of the house. She extended her hand for a handshake and it was accepted quickly the two of them sizing each other up.

“I saw you in the window and figured you must be curious why someone would be moving in so close to Christmas so I thought I would come introduce myself. I’m Max.”

Tina grinned, “So nice to meet you. Please come in for a second. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I would love some water, if you have some,” Max joked.

“I’m sure I could find some,” Tina laughed and started walking towards the kitchen.

Max followed her through the house and Tina could see the woman glancing around, taking things in.

“Are your parents home?” Max asked once they were standing at the kitchen island and Tina gave her a quizzical look.

Suddenly she realized that the woman must think this was her family home. She definitely looked too young to have a house on her own, let alone one of this size so she could understand the confusion.

Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable Tina smiled, “They’re not actually, they’ll be back later tonight.”

“I think I saw them when I was here filling out paperwork,” Max explained, taking a tall glass of ice water out of Tina’s hand.

“They just live in the guest house out back,” Tina explained, pointing out the floor to ceiling windows in the kitchen to the home that could just be seen off in the distance.

“Oh...” Max trailed off, taking a moment to take a sip of water, “I guess I should apologize. I only pegged you for maybe 25 so I thought you lived at home, that this was your parent’s home.”

Tina smiled softly, “22 actually, but it’s okay I can see how you would think that. This is actually my boyfriend’s house.”

Just then, as if he knew someone was talking about him, Tina heard the familiar sound of the garage door opening and closing signalling Nick’s return.

“That’s him there,” she continued to smile but inside she was a bundle of nerves, worried about what he would say when he walked into the kitchen to see a stranger in the house.