Knock Knock, it's me. Meg Wallitzer, the novelist who lives next door?

Listen, I just came by to borrow a cup of sugar.

Because neighbors still do that, right?

Also, neighbors might know more about you than you think.

Stay with me for selected shorts as we delve into the minds of those strangers who are the

closest people to us, geographically speaking at least. You're listening to Selected Shorts

where our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time.

What do we really know about our neighbors?

I mean, sure, we could just as soon level that question at our best friends, family, or partners. But neighbors are unique among these other

intimate connections in that they have access to our lives simply due to their proximity.

By and large, we don't choose them and we're not related. They're just strangers

on the other side of the fence or wall who found themselves living in our neighborhood, or maybe

we found ourselves in theirs. But neighbors can pick up on a lot. With only a little effort,

they might know what hours we keep, who we invite over late at night, or how many times a week we're

having pizza delivered. And yes, last week was tough, so we did require six large pies on three

separate occasions. If we don't find ways to forge a trusting relationship with these proximate

strangers, or at least observe a kind of mutual, silent respect, things could get very tricky, very quickly.

So on today's show, fiction about neighbors, the unpredictable lives of people who know very little about you, and somehow also a whole lot.

And listen, this is selected shorts, and we're talking about short story writers here. So trust me when I say

today's show is not about sewing division or discord. One story is about what it means to live

next to a famous person as they get older. The other is about a secret world that was hiding

in plain sight. Our first story is by Tess Gallagher.

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