The Family Outside the Window

 Rosa Marie sat before her bedroom window staring out into the night sky. It brought her joy being able to observe the world outside from the comfort of her armchair. She wasn't one for interacting with the community with all its social dos and don'ts. No, instead she preferred to sit back and watch where she knew she was safe.

 As the sound of a clock striking midnight resounded from somewhere within the walls, Rosa Marie yawned and stretched. Before she could rise, however, a pair of headlights turned onto her street, their beam drawing her immediate attention back to the window. She watched, transfixed as a moving van glided silently into the drive across the street from her. She grew excited as she realized the residence that had stood empty for months would now be inhabited once again.

 She strained to see whom would appear from the moving van, but their faces were shrouded in darkness. Maybe her new neighbors would be a family much like the previous home's occupants. Rosa Marie quite loved watching married couples, especially because they tended to hold so many secrets.

 Take the Carter family for example; they lived across the street for five years, but in all that time Mr. Carter never knew his wife was having an affair when he left for work every morning. But Rosa Marie knew, because she had waited and watched diligently as Mrs. Carter's boyfriend snuck over after her husband had gone. This new family and their secrets would remain to be seen.

 Rosa Marie could hardly sleep that night, the anticipation of what awaited her across the street palpable. She dreamed what this new family could be like. Adulterers like Mrs. Carter? Fugitives hiding from the police for an international crime committed? Or maybe a loving and well-rounded suburban family? Rosa Marie drifted asleep with the possibilities whirling in her brain.

 The next morning Rosa Marie was up and ready before dawn at her place by the window. She woke extra early in case her new neighbors were early risers. She leaned forward, barely blinking as the front door opened and a middle-aged man materialized some time later, a furniture dolly wheeled before him. Seconds later a woman Rose Marie presumed to be his wife joined him, her auburn hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail as she languidly helped him unpack.

 Over the next few hours Rose Marie watched the couple carry belongings into their new home, their process painstakingly slow. Eventually, two young children came outside to assist their exhausted parents.

 When the hour hit noon, the family paused to take a break, the mother handing out cups of lemonade and wrapped sandwiches all around. Rose Marie could imagine the taste of the delectable drink on her tongue as she stared at the children guzzling theirs like no tomorrow.

 The children looked to be about ten and eight, with the oldest being a lanky blond girl and the youngest a chubby brunette boy. They wore perpetual smiles on their faces despite the exertion of the morning.

 It took almost a week for the family to completely move in, and in that time Rosa Marie sat diligently in her armchair. She came to know the family as the Wilsons, since calling them "they" or "them" simply wouldn't do. There was Frank and his wife Laura, and their two kids little Vanessa and Timothy. She watched the family on mute, as sound could not penetrate through her window, but that was just fine to Rosa Marie.

 It soon became apparent the Wilsons were the outdoorsy type: Mr. Wilson worked in the garage while his wife tended to the garden, the children running amuck in the yard. When one of the children strayed too close to the street, Mrs. Wilson would turn and rep remand them for their reckless actions.

 As the days went on, Rosa Marie continued to watch the Wilsons come and go, none of them ever looking her way. Each morning Laura drove the kids to school, lunch boxes and backpacks held aloft as they scrambled into the family's red SUV. Frank spent his days building furniture in the garage, and Rosa Marie wondered if he kept or sold every piece. When Laura would return childless for the day, she'd grab that week's project and knitting needles and sway on the porch swing until the day grew too hot to bare. After school, Vanessa and Timothy road bikes or played ball until the sun went down when Laura called them in for dinner.

 Her favorites were the holidays, when the family posed for pictures on the front lawn, smiles and laughs all around. Snow piled up, creating a winter wonderland for the Wilson children at Christmas as they gleefully conducted snowball fights. Frank and Laura sometimes took part, with Frank pelting the children whom squealed in delight. Laura toted a video camera around, capturing every single magical moment of her children's lives. But all too soon the holidays were over, and Vanessa and Timothy returned to school, their glum expressions visible even from this distance.

 School let out for the summer, and Rosa Marie learned the children's schedules in order to never miss a moment. Friends occasionally came and went, and in time Laura brought home a puppy for the kids to play with. The canine was a tiny thing, with floppy ears and a constantly wagging tail. Rosa Marie called it Max.

 The children sprouted as the months and eventually years passed, the once adorable kids blooming into remarkable young teenagers's. Vanessa was a beauty with her long hair and big blue eyes, and Timothy had lost his baby fat as he grew into his adolescent body. It wasn't long before the Wilson children brought home suitors much to their father's dismay.

 Vanessa was regularly sought after by a young man with black hair and striking good looks, the jersey he always wore telling Rosa Marie he was a jock type. Timothy had many lady friends come and go, their hearts broken if their endless tears on the front lawn were any indication.

 In time Vanessa earned her driver's license, and off she would go partying and doing who knew what once the weekend rolled by. Timothy played football with Frank, and when he returned from school one day with a jersey of his own, it was one of the proudest days of Rosa Marie's life.

 Timothy wasn't the only sporty member of the family: Vanessa bounced between gymnastics and cheerleading. She practiced her routines in the lawn between nights out with her friends and weekends spent with her boyfriend Rosa Marie called Jackson.

 Gradually Vanessa and Timothy stayed out later and later past their curfew, coming and going with a group of delinquents whom were clearly a bad influence on them. Rosa Marie did not approve, and she was certain their parents did not either. But teens being teens, nobody would be able to tell them otherwise. Not even when Vanessa came home drunk, her boyfriend sneaking the two of them in long after her parents had gone to bed. When Jackson never emerged, Rosa Marie grimaced at the images that raced through her brain. Timothy was no better; he made no move to hide the fact he was getting high with the guys, no matter how much Frank and Laura grounded him or took away his car keys.

 One night Vanessa came home two hours past the hour, makeup smeared from the tears erupting from pain-filled eyes. Jackson stood beside her, his posture rigid as she reached for him. He pushed her away, saying something that caused her to burst into fresh sobs. She appeared to be pleading with him, but he wouldn't listen as he started for his vehicle. Vanessa chased after him, but he merely shook his head.

 Lights came on in the front room, and Timothy opened the door just as Vanessa and Jackson were exchanging what looked like heated words from the expressions on their countenances. Vanessa turned to motion for her brother to leave them be, but he charged on ahead, his murderous gaze fixed on Jackson. He yelled something at him before lunging for the bigger man.

 Rosa Marie held her breath, her eyes darting to the house where lights came on upstairs, and shadows raced past the windows. She glanced back down to see Vanessa was screaming something at her brother as she tried to rip him off her ex, simultaneously shaking her head in Jackson's direction. The two boys grappled for a moment until Timothy socked Jackson in the mouth. Before Jackson could return the sentiment, however, Frank Wilson came outside, baseball bat in hand. When Jackson saw this his eyes widened, and he hopped in his vehicle and sped away.

 Instead of being grateful to her brother, Vanessa slapped him much to his and Frank's astonishment. She raced past the two of them, Max at her side as she came up the porch, but she shoved the poor canine roughly aside.

 The Wilson daughter didn't emerge at all from the house that weekend, but Timothy came and went as normal. When Monday reared up, forcing the heartbroken teen out of her confinement, Rosa Marie was surprised to see Vanessa had drastically altered her appearance. The teen had dyed her blond locks raven black, and her dark pants and sweater were a far cry from her usual vibrant tops and frilly skirts.

 The semester came to an end, bleeding into summer when the Wilsons packed for their annual family camping trip. The teens no longer displayed an unbridled enthusiasm as they once did as children, but went along with the tradition anyway. Max, whom showed enough excitement for the siblings combined, eagerly leapt in the backseat where he hung his head out the window. The teens grudgingly climbed in the SUV, plugging into their tablets as they ignored their surroundings. Frank and Laura conversed amongst themselves, and their expressions were tense when they got into the car.

 At the end of the summer the Wilsons were all smiles, and Rosa Marie saw a hint of the family she'd seen when they moved in years ago. She smiled at the thought things would go back to the way they had been, but it was nothing more than wishful thinking. Vanessa met someone else, and even Timothy seemed to have found a girlfriend he couldn't get enough of. Rosa Marie called them Daniel and Jessica respectively.

 The following year Max passed away, and the family were all tears as they buried the beloved family pet beneath an oak at the edge of the yard. Rosa Marie too wept for the family's loss, for Max had touched her heart just as he did the Wilson's. Before long Vanessa was packing and headed off for college, Timothy trailing after a couple years later. Then all that were left of the Wilsons were two aging but proud parents.

 Frank and Laura spent their days going out with friends or each other, relishing in their newfound freedom, but they couldn't fool Rosa Marie. When the kids visited for the holidays and spring break, it became evident just how much they missed their babies and longed for the days they lived at home. Everyone were a huge ball of snot and tears when it came time for the goodbyes, and Rosa Marie found herself moping in the wake of the sibling's departure.

 When Vanessa came home the next summer, she and Daniel announced their engagement and were wed there under the oak where Max had been laid to rest. Vanessa was gorgeous in her white dress, and Rosa Marie was relieved to see her beautiful blond tresses no longer harbored a hint of black. Timothy was dashing in his tie and suit, and Jessica was equally done up for the occasion. Frank and Laura sobbed tears of joy as they watched their baby girl officially begin her new life.

 Rosa Marie was happy for the beautiful young woman, but like her parents, found it hard to let her go. She found it no easier when Timothy and Jessica announced their engagement and moved away after the birth of their son.

 In the end, it was only Frank and Laura whom remained, with the intermittent visit from Vanessa and Timothy. Being busy with their new families, they didn't make it home as often, and most holidays and birthdays went uncelebrated.

 Rosa Marie sniffled as she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. Watching the Wilson family was bittersweet, but she wouldn't trade it for anything. She leaned back in her seat, reminiscing over the Wilson family's lives so far.

***

 "Rosa Marie, it's time for your breakfast, sweetie," said a female nurse as she entered the room.

 Nurse Suellen smiled as she pushed a cart of food into Rosa Marie's bedroom. She paused beside her, but the older woman paid her no mind as she gazed at the window before her. Even when Suellen set a plate on the small table next to her, Rosa Marie didn't notice as she continued to stare.

 "Honestly," the nurse began, setting out Rosa Marie's pills. "I don't understand what you can poss ibly find so intriguing; that window has been boarded up for years."