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Caroline hesitates as she walks up the street, looking around for the other women in the neighborhood, I suspect. I scan the area for Kimmy, knowing if she’s seeing someone alone that she’ll rush over to remedy that problem.

And just as I assumed, the second she sees Caroline slowly walking toward the party, she practically sprints over to her. I watch how the newest citizen of Park Circle reacts, and to my shock, Caroline seems genuinely happy to see Kimmy.

Marilyn joins them a second later, and from what I can tell, they all look like they’re the best of friends. For all Kimmy does to irritate me, to say nothing of how her husband feels about her, I can’t deny she is kind and welcoming in a way that makes anyone feel right at home here in our little cul-de-sac.

As I watch all this happening, Jared leans in next to me and nudges my right arm with his elbow. “She’s an interesting one, now isn’t she?” he says in a curious voice.

When I turn to look at him, he’s doing an eyebrow waggle as if to say he’s noticed the newest inhabitant of the neighborhood and approves of what he sees. For a split second, I wonder how his wife and his mistress would feel about him showing interest in Caroline, but if he’s willing to cheat on the woman he married, why wouldn’t he step out on the woman he’s two-timing her with?

“I guess,” I say as casually as possible, lying through my teeth. I haven’t thought of a thing other than Caroline Townsend since I couldn’t find out any more information on her the other day.

Unsatisfied by my apparent lack of interest, he turns to Tim and says, “Your wife seems to have taken to the new member of our little gang. ‘Fess up. What do you know about her?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harold perk up enough so he tears his attention away from that nearly empty bag of pretzels he’s been inhaling the entire time I’ve been out here. I hadn’t pegged him for a guy who’d be interested in anyone young enough to be his granddaughter. Maybe he isn’t just a boring and failed fisherman.

Tim shrugs before turning the hot dogs on the grill. Those pieces of meat he hovers over like a mother hen. I’m still curious to find out if his method of cooking steaks makes them any more tender than the way I’ve always done them.

“She’s young. Kimmy hasn’t said much about her since she’s been busy planning this party, but I think she might have mentioned she isn’t from around here originally.”

He stops for a long moment to stare up the ceiling of the tent, as if some detail about Caroline exists above his head. Finally, he continues, “Maybe New Jersey? Or maybe Maryland. I’m not sure.”

Maryland? Now that’s interesting. I wonder what part of Maryland?

I doubt Tim knows. Between working constantly, dealing with those four kids, and managing his marriage with that superior ability to stay patient with his wife, it’s highly unlikely he knows much of anything. I’m actually surprised he remembered even that tiny detail about Caroline being from somewhere else.

“Back in college, I knew a guy from Maryland. Where was that?” Jared says, thinking out loud. “Hagerstown?”

No one listens to him ruminate on this long-forgotten college buddy of his as the three women walk toward the tent. Caroline seems completely at home with Kimmy and Marilyn, almost as if they’ve known one another for their entire lives.

However, my gut tells me Miss Townsend doesn’t have a lot in common with an older woman dedicated to her roses and a mother with too many kids. I think she’s simply a very practiced social chameleon.

And how would I know? Well, I’m one, and those of us who have mastered the ability to blend in with the people around us can always tell when another chameleon is nearby.

The women walk into the tent, and suddenly, the space feels entirely too small, even though it’s only seven of us. Jared steps forward to introduce himself to the newcomer, but I hang back, preferring to observe for the moment.

“Welcome to our corner of the world,” he says to Caroline as he shakes her hand.

She smiles, appearing to be genuine in her happiness at meeting him. “Thanks. I appreciate that. I wasn’t sure I was going to come out today since I’m sure you all know one another for ages and I’m the new kid on the block, so to speak. But Kimmy and Marilyn have made me feel so welcome, and now you have too.”

Jared nods and then turns to look at me as she finishes speaking. “Not all of us. Adam here hasn’t been around us for that long. Just a few months more than you, actually.”

Suddenly, all eyes turn toward me, making this the most uncomfortable moment in a long time. I force a smile and nod to agree with his statement, even as I wish I was back at my house and not surrounded by my neighbors.

Kimmy speaks up when I don’t say anything, unable to let the pregnant pause grow any bigger. “Oh, yes! Adam is sort of new to the cul-de-sac too, Caroline. He was just saying to me the other day that he had never been introduced to you, so let me do the honors.”

She takes a step toward me, pulling Caroline along with her as she says, “Caroline Townsend, this is Adam Prentiss. He lives in the house at the end of the road. Adam, this is Caroline.”

I quickly force myself to push down the awkwardness I feel at this moment to pay attention to how Caroline reacts toward me. After the other day when she looked downright unhappy to see me in the window, I wonder if she’ll feel any better about meeting me today.

Her smile spreads across her face as she sticks out her hand to shake mine. “Nice to meet you! I’m glad I’m not the only newbie here.”

I watch her expression for any hint of her true feelings about me, but she seems genuinely happy to meet me. Maybe the way she looked the other day was something entirely unrelated to me.

“Nice to meet you too.”

Then, as if something frightens her, she yanks her hand away from mine and says, “Oh, my God! I forgot my potluck. I’ll be right back.”

Everyone around me laughs and tells her it’s fine as she hurries out from under the tent and runs down the street to her house. I notice she’s got very toned legs as she’s trotting down the sidewalk. Maybe she’s a runner. I’m sure that would make Jared happy.

I see him watch her as I am and wonder if he plans to make her mistress number two. This guy should move to Utah and take up polygamy.

“Damn, Caroline should come running with me some morning. From what I see, she could definitely keep up.”

Marilyn and Kimmy give each other sideways glances full of disapproval, but their husbands laugh and slap Jared on the back like he’s done something worthy of praise. For my part, I can’t help but wish his wife would show up right now so I could see him scramble to come up with a reason why he’s ogling the new neighbor.

Caroline returns a minute later with a tray of lemon bars that smell delightful. The fresh scent of citrus fills my nose, making my mouth water. Not normally a man with a sweet tooth, I practically drool over the dessert as she sets it down on the table near Harold.

“That looks delicious.”

My compliment surprises her, and she turns to look at me wide-eyed. “Thank you. It was my mother’s favorite dessert. It seemed perfect for a beautiful, sunny summer day like today.”

A memory about someone whose mother made lemon bars one time flashes through my mind, but it’s gone a second later. I don’t know anyone who ever made them, though. I must be confused. Probably something from a TV show I once watched. That’s the problem with having such a great memory. Every tiny detail, no matter how insignificant, stays in my brain.

That must be it.

After four hours of interacting with my neighbors, I feel like I could sleep for a week. It could be the heat, but more likely, the issue is having to smile so much at so many things I don’t give a damn about and pretending to care about conversations more than cataloging details about people.

No one else seems as wrung out by all this forced friendliness, though. Somehow, even though the temperature has climbed into the nineties, all those around me are happy and laughing. They could be pretending, but if they are, I have to applaud them for incredible performances.

All this time, I’ve tried to slyly focus on Caroline in the hopes of learning something more about her. What I’ve found out is next to nothing, and I’m starting to get frustrated. How can someone spend an afternoon around people and not give away a single useful detail about themselves? All I’ve learned is she loves citrus fruits, which is why she adores those lemon bars.

I have to give her credit. No one I’ve ever come across in all my time studying people says so little while talking so much. If I wasn’t so frustrated, I’d be impressed.

What I am at the moment is bored as I’m forced to listen to Jared extoll the virtues of running as if he’s discussing it like it’s a religion or philosophy. No one else seems to be listening, except for Caroline, who I now know is a runner but hasn’t been very good about getting back into it since she moved here.

God, if something doesn’t happen to make this little neighborhood get-together worth my time today, I’m going to be pissed.

As if the big man himself heard my silent plea, out of the corner of my eye I see Jared’s morning running partner walk up to the tent dressed in a pair of tiny black shorts and a tank top with Atlantic City written across the chest in blue and pink glitter. She seems like an odd fit next to the older Marilyn in her pink pedal pushers and oversized white T-shirt and Kimmy, who even with her white sundress with its flirty purple flowers looks like she always does. Matronly. And when compared to Caroline, this woman seems downright trashy.

“Everyone, this is Sara. Sara, this is the cul-de-sac,” Jared says with a broad smile, far too pleased with himself for something or another.

Sara waves like a timid small child, keeping her hand close to her face so there’s no choice but to notice her appearance. She’s not bad looking, per se. She has nice brown eyes and long eyelashes. But the rest of her face looks like each feature belonged to someone else before they ended up on her head. The result gives her a slightly mishappen and out of place look like some of those super skinny supermodels who seem to have giant heads and tiny little bodies.

“Hi Sara!” Kimmy gushes, and I can’t tell if she’s sincere or not. “Welcome to the Dog Days of Summer party!”

Her husband elbows her upper arm and laughs. “I thought it was an extravaganza.”

For the first time, she gives him a nasty side-eyed look, and for a moment, she isn’t her usual chipper self. She recovers quickly, though, and pastes that smile of hers onto her face. No having actual feelings for that one.

Taking Sara by the hand, she guides her over to the table with all the food. “Yes, yes, it is an extravaganza as my husband said. Now eat up. We have a ton of food, and you’re more than welcome to it. I need to run into the house to get more ice, but please, enjoy yourself.”

And with that, Kimmy hurries off toward her house, but I notice she turns back to look at the tent with hurt in her eyes before she disappears through the front door. I can’t help but be a little surprised. I hadn’t imagined she had any emotions other than overwhelmingly happy with adults and frustrated with those boys of hers.

Then the party takes a turn into even more exciting times when Suzanne pulls into her driveway. I quickly look over at Jared and see he hadn’t expected this.

A tense feeling comes over the group of us, and when I glance around the tent, I see everyone else is wondering something similar to what I’m thinking. Does Suzanne know her husband is sleeping with Sara, and if she does, is she going to make a scene?

Suzanne waves over to us and smiles before calling out, “Sorry I’m late! I’ll be right over.”

Dressed in her usual dark business suit and four-inch heels, she trots up her front sidewalk and into her house as everyone seems to take a collective deep breath. If Jared can get Sara away quickly enough, we might avoid what I think is an inevitable ugly moment for our charming little neighborhood.

Oddly enough, Jared doesn’t make a move to do anything. He simply stands in the same spot near the grill where he’s been since he joined the party and drinks his beer. When I look around at the rest of my neighbors, everyone else seems confused by his inaction too.

Perhaps he’s eager to finally have his wife find out, but does he really want that confrontation to happen at the Dog Days of Summer Extravaganza? Nothing like a public airing of your dirty laundry.

Finally, Tim leans over toward him and clicks his metal tongs. “Nice to see Suzanne was able to show up, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. She spends too much time at that office of hers, so I’m glad she’s here.”

There’s not a hint of irony in his voice as he says that, although I can’t understand how he can so blindly miss what everyone else can see. Something tells me he’s not going to be so happy in a few minutes.

I hear Suzanne slam their front door and turn to see her marching over toward where we’re standing under the tent with a look of determination on her face. As much as I want to leave the party right now, I don’t move. Holding my breath, I wait for her to see Sara standing over near my bowl of tortilla chips stuffing her face like she isn’t some obsessive runner every morning.

Then again, she really isn’t, is she?

Suzanne steps under the tent and glares at her husband. A strong woman, she doesn’t seem capable to controlling her rage at this moment.

“Exactly what the hell is going on here?” she snaps at him, and suddenly, every ugly scenario I’ve played out in my mind begins to come true.