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Shit.I’d never caught him up on everything.
I would have invited him to the wedding if he’d been outside at all over the last few weeks. I thought about leaving a note, but when I peered into his mailbox, it was full.
Almost like he hadn’t been home.
“That’s Mr. Buford,” I said. “You go inside. I need to go talk to him.”
“Is everything okay?” Levi asked.
“Yeah, everything is fine. I just haven’t seen him in a while, and we have some things to catch up on.”
I didn’t give Levi the chance for any more questions. I ran over to Mr. Buford’s house.
“Who is that?” he asked suspiciously.
“Hey,” I said. “Nice day, right?”
“You’re dodging the question, kid.”
I winced. “Okay, but I just need to preface this by saying it all happened really fast and you were also mysteriously busy.”
“What happened?” he asked, frowning.
“I got married.”
His eyebrows rose. “Towho?That guy on your porch?”
I turned to my house and saw that Levi was still outside watching us.
Damn it. If only he’d listened.
“A guy from my childhood. He’s nice, and it was all kind of a whirlwind, really.”
“I bet,” he said. “Considering you were single last time I talked to you.”
“We were keeping it a secret, but then we decided it wasn’t worth it. You only live once, why wait?”
Mr. Buford’s eyes were still narrowed. “Is he good to you?”
“He’s very good to me.”
“And does this mean you’re moving?”
“After everything I went through to get this house, I’m not giving it up. He moved in with me.”
Mr. Buford smiled. “That’s what I was hoping for. I can’t lose my favorite neighbor.”
“And I can’t lose my favorite garden to weed. I swear, yours grows back so fast.”
“It’s those damn invasive species. They multiply. When I bought this place, there weren’t any. But someonehadto bring them here.”
“I’ll get rid of them for you.”
“This is why you’re my favorite neighbor,” he said with a smile. “Even if you get married and don’t let me know.”
“If you forgive me, I’ll forgive you for not telling me whereyouwere.”
“Mandated family vacation for my health,” he said. “My niece has been trying to be sure I don’t rot away in my house.”