The Man Next Door

The man next door. He is retired from government work and lives on his pension. He's a loner. When I talk to him, or when he talks to me, I feel a connection. He has invited me into his place several times. It is neat and orderly, everything in it's place. The TV is the center of the room, he has another one on the dinner table and one in his room. He reads a lot, big books. He has always been nice to me.

In our block he is supposedly a child m****ter, or worse, a serial killer. In his place I have never seen anything that would make you think that. He is a loner. My mother works as a social worker and her hours are four to midnight. After I get home from school I get lonely. I go next door, I take something I cooked, and I have dinner with him. When we eat dinner like that, the televisions are all turned off.