The Run Around

by Bernadette Franklin

  “Assuming I’m not moving, I can handle a weekend appointment to help them. Tomorrow, I’ll have a better idea of how long it will take to do a complete audit. If it takes longer than expected, I’ll handle their audit on the weekends as well. A month of extra work isn’t a problem. I can get settled afterwards.”

  “I don’t want to stress you too much.”

  “You’re certainly paying me well enough to deal with the stress, Garret.”

  He chuckled. “We have noticed well-paid employees tend to perform better and are more willing to deal with the shitstorms when they roll on it.”

  “Is anyone paid well enough to handle a shitstorm?”

  “I’m assuming plumbers. That’s part of their daily job, isn’t it?”

  I shuddered. “With that in mind, I don’t think plumbers are paid enough.”

  “Same with the guys who clean the sewers or septic tanks. Wondering how they get into that sort of work keeps me up at night. I can’t even imagine what it’s like doing maintenance on a sewer line.”

  “I’m starting to think I’m going to need a puppy to help me sleep at night now.”

  “I have a cat and a dog, and they own my bed. They allow me to sleep on it sometimes, but only if I serve as their bed warmer and offer them affection. Should I fail to pet them sufficiently, they try to sleep on my face. My dog is a golden retriever, and she really might suffocate me one of these days.”

  “Do you ever bring your dog to work?”

  “I’ll bring her tomorrow, and I’ll ask my sister if she would mind me taking one of the puppies off her hands for tomorrow. She breeds Korean Jindos, and she has a litter that’ll be going on sale soon. They’re not all that popular here, but they’re loyal, smart, and classify as guard dogs. They’re pretty active, but they love interacting with people and animals. They’re really trainable. I’ll probably get a Jindo after Keekee passes away. Keekee is pretty old.”

  “Your dog is named Keekee?”

  “My daughter named her, and she wasn’t quite clear on the differences between cats and dogs when we brought Keekee home.”

  “Keekee as in kitty?”

  “Yep. She now knows better, but she’ll call the cat our puppy just to screw with me and my wife. Lindy is now a teenager, and she’s determined to drive us mad.”

  Huh. Garret was a lot older than he looked. “Obviously, I need to take lessons on how to judge someone’s age by their appearance, as I never would have imagined you are old enough to have a teenaged daughter.”

  “Good genes. My wife enjoys my youthful appearance. I also enjoy telling our friends how I got caught by a cougar.”

  I bit my lip so I wouldn’t laugh. “It sounds like you have a lovely wife. I’d love to meet the puppy, but I was figuring I’d adopt from a shelter.”

  “I’ll let my sister know. She volunteers at the local shelters, and if she can find a good animal, she’d be happy to help you out. What are you looking for in a dog?”

  “He or she must love other dogs, as I have planned dates with a friend’s dog. I’d also like to bring my dog to the office. I’ll need to be trained on how to be a good dog owner, though. My friend’s dog is named Annabel Lee, and she’s big, white, and fluffy, so I want my dog to be able to get along well with her.”

  “I’m absolutely positive she could help you out with that. I’ll talk to her, and if she has a suitable puppy to keep you company tomorrow, I’ll bring it in.”

  Good paycheck, easy access to dogs, and a flexible boss made my new job ideal, but I couldn’t help but wonder what ugliness the beautiful veneer hid. I’d learned that lesson well enough from Amy.

  Beautiful things often hid thorns, and only a fool would fully trust in picture-perfect opportunities. It hadn’t stopped me from being a fool and taking the dive into my new work, but only time would tell the truth. To hide my worries, I grinned. “That sounds great.”

  “The rest of the office is going to love you tomorrow, because knowing my sister? She’ll send the entire pack in with me, hoping to find good homes for everybody. As far as breeders go, she’s a weird one.”

  “She is? How so?”

  “She doesn’t care who buys her dogs as long as they’re going to good homes. If you don’t plan to show them, she’ll take care of having them fixed, and if you do plan to show them, she’ll help coach you on how to do it. The shows only allow intact dogs. She keeps the best of the dogs to continue her bloodlines, but she tries to get dogs in from Korea to partner with hers to keep the bloodlines as true and healthy as possible. Since there aren’t as many Jindos in America as there are golden retrievers or other popular breeds, it can be hard. Only mainland dogs can be exported out of Korea. They’re pretty territorial, but my sister works hard to train them to be territorial under direction. It can make owning one a challenge, but they’re a fun breed. My sister is one of the few registered breeders in the United States, and she only has them because her husband is Korean, and he imported his dog when he moved here. It’s really interesting trying to prevent inbreeding with their dogs because there are so few of them in the United States. Unless showing, all of her males are fixed except one, and the males are sent to live with a reputable breeder to prevent accidental breeding. Usually, they’re fixed.”

  I recognized an enthusiast when I saw one, and I found it fascinating my boss had a passion for his sister’s work. “That’s amazing.”

  “I think so, too. I thought it was really weird she wanted to breed dogs, but once I met her dogs, I couldn’t help but fall in love with them. I’ll probably take one of her males after Keekee passes and show him in case another breeder with a different bloodline shows up in the United States and wants to cross lines with my sister’s. Intact males are a handful to handle, but it’s worth it to preserve the breed here. They aren’t shown at the most prestigious shows, but that’s how these things go. These dogs aren’t good around cats or kittens, though. They have a reputation with small animals.”

  I grimaced. “They like to hunt them?”

  “They are hunting dogs. It’s in their nature. But as long as you’re aware of the dog’s limitations and strengths, they’re fantastic animals. But they’re considered primitive. I tell potential owners if they can’t handle a husky, they probably can’t handle a Jindo.”

  “I’d feel pretty terrible if my dog killed some small animal,” I admitted.

  “And that’s okay. A Jindo probably isn’t for you, then. My sister can keep an eye out at the shelter for a good dog that’ll fit better with you. I’ll still bring in one of the puppies for a meet and greet. It’ll be fun, and it’ll make your workday nicer. You have viewings tonight, right?”

  “I do.” I checked my phone, which informed me I needed to leave within ten minutes to get out the door in time. “We’re checking out five units tonight, as far as I know. There was the possibility of more if the agent could find anything.”

  “Keep me in the loop. As soon as you have a signed lease and move-in date, we’ll arrange for the movers to bring your stuff to your new home.”

  “Thanks, Garret.”

  “Glad to help. Drive safe and let me know how it goes.”

  I took that as my cue to leave, exchanged pleasantries, and headed off to the next leg of my adventure into New York City and everything it had to offer.

  Ten

  That was a cockroach, wasn’t it?

  My real estate agent, Margaret Donner, met me outside of her office a thirty-minute drive from work thanks to traffic. All things considered, it might have been faster to walk. Rather than contain or straighten her hair like many black women did in professional environments, she styled hers in an afro, and I appreciated her lack of conformity to society’s standards. I held out my hand, offered a smile, and said, “I’m Hope. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I love your hair. It suits you.”

  She grinned in return, giving me a firm handshake. “I like what you’ve done with your car. Garret tells me you’re from the land of polit
icians?”

  “Unfortunately. Give me the bad news first. How bad is the rent going to be?”

  “It’ll be bad but affordable. As affordable as Manhattan gets, that is. I have a selection of apartments to visit today in the same area. I haven’t been to the first we’re going to before, but it is the cheapest of the lot. I don’t have high hopes for it, truth be told. The pictures were misleading.”

  “Misleading? How were they misleading?”

  “There is no picture of the bathroom, the kitchen pictures are taken at odd angles, which implies there is something they don’t want prospective renters to see, and there’s a lot of missing information on the unit. It’s a new listing, so sometimes information gets missed, but the price was good, the neighborhood is pretty safe, and it’s somewhat close to your work, so I thought it would be a good candidate to look at. My favorite is the second unit we’ll be looking at, which is in walking distance of your work, has an underground garage, good security, and a good view. I’ve been told it’s small, but it’s tolerable for one person. That said, the landlord didn’t tell me the square footage, and his definition of small doesn’t necessarily match mine. It allows pets. Garret had mentioned you might wish an animal but don’t have one yet.”

  “That’s right. I’m thinking about a dog.”

  “I don’t know if the other units I want to show you today allow dogs, but we’ll find out when we talk with the leasing office. Some do, some don’t. They change the rules all of the time. And some that don’t necessarily allow dogs will if the price is right.”

  “And the ones that do are going to charge me a fortune in deposits and a monthly rate to have one,” I muttered.

  “That’s usually how it goes. I’m hoping that if I show you a good spread of apartments, you’ll be able to set your expectations for the rest of the viewings. I’ve found most people new to the area get a shock when seeing the apartments for the first time. Most are small and expensive. The penthouses that are showcased in the movies cost millions and are hard to get a hold of. The economy matters, though. A few went up for sale recently, though one sold in a matter of hours.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “When it’s on the top floor of one of Manhattan’s premier buildings, it is. The last time it was on the market, it lasted less than a day.”

  Wow. “Well, I don’t have millions to spend on a home, so I guess show me what else Manhattan has to offer.”

  On the drive to the first apartment complex, Margaret regaled me with cautionary tales of the city, including the classic warning to be aware of yellow ice on the sidewalks, a common enough problem near my old place. According to her, it would be more of a problem in Manhattan, especially as there tended to be a lot of dog owners who would take their pooches to the nearest place with grass available.

  “Watching where you walk seems to be important here,” I said, chuckling at the thought something as mundane as walking down the street could be a shoe hazard. “I’ve heard things about the subway. Terrible things.”

  “Once, a dude in a speedo decided to make himself sandwiches on the Q. A client wanted to see what the commute to his potential house would be, so we did a run to his work and back. Don’t ask what he did with the sandwich. I’m scarred for life from that one.”

  “Did the incident show up in newspapers like the New Yorker version of Florida Man?”

  “If only. No, he just decided the best place for his sandwich was in his speedo.”

  I opened my mouth and blinked, unable to think of a single reason why someone would make a sandwich only to stuff it in his underwear. “Did your client buy the house?”

  “Yes, but he swore he would drive to work, and that was only after having to take the L to test what his commute would be if he picked his second choice. The L is a disaster of a ride on a good day, and it’s in dire need of an overhaul. There’s been talks about shutting it down and repairing it, but every time they go to do it, people freak out because they need the L to get to work, and there aren’t enough busses to cover the load. When they do shut it down, it’ll be for two years, and it’ll make traffic that much worse. It’s bad enough.”

  “So, you’re basically telling me I probably want to pick a place close to work.”

  “If you can afford it, and I were in your shoes, I would pick the more expensive place close to work. If you don’t mind a bit of a hike, all of these places are close to your work or a short bus ride away. All the complexes have a bus stop nearby, and there’s one right outside of your office building.”

  I could work with that. “Anything else I should know?”

  “Read the lease carefully. Every landlord does things a little differently, and there are some clauses that’ll drive you insane—or cost you a fortune if you try to break your lease early. One client didn’t listen to me when I warned her she’d have a huge bill if she terminated the lease, and she had to pay out almost ten thousand to the landlord. She tried to take it to court, and she lost, too. Leases are legally binding, and landlords will take you for everything you own when they can. So, you have to play smarter than them. If you’re aware and willing to pay the fines for leaving early, that’s one thing.”

  “That’s good to know. I was up for renewal when I left anyway, so I just notified my landlord and packed my bags.”

  “That’s how it should be for everyone, but real estate here can be brutal.”

  “It sounds like it.”

  It took Margaret twenty minutes to find a parking spot several blocks away from the apartment, which I viewed as a bad sign. “Does this place include indoor parking?”

  “If you want to pay three hundred a month for it, yes.”

  I winced at the amount. “I’ll definitely want to see the parking spot before I sign anything on that one.”

  “Smart woman. The next unit I’m going to show you is more reasonable; the first spot comes included with your rent, and you can get a second for two hundred a month extra. The garage has security there at all times, so your car will be safe. There’s a guard at the gate, and someone checks on the vehicles every hour. Your rent is expensive, but the landlords make sure the building is secure.”

  I could work with that. “What’s the downside for the second place?”

  “The price. This is the cheapest I could find, the next one is among one of the more expensive units on my list. I wanted to show you both ends of the spectrum.”

  “This is going to be an adventure, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  Whoever owned the disconcertingly old brick-faced apartment complex liked cranking the heat, and an old, rusted indoor waterfall transformed the lobby into a sauna. Within three steps of entering the building, I sweated.

  Then, because my day was out to kill me, a cockroach smacked into my face. The flying demon bug smacked into the wall next, and without missing a beat, Margaret put an end to the winged menace with one smack of her briefcase, which she cleaned with a tissue. “Heat and humidity spell palmetto bugs, and it seems this landlord is keeping some as pets. Lovely.”

  “That was a cockroach, wasn’t it?”

  “Yep.”

  “It flew.”

  “Yep.”

  “As I’m not usually a quitter, I will see this apartment, but there’s no way in hell I’m renting something with lobby cockroaches.”

  “I can’t say I blame you. I’ve seen worse. Unfortunately. The leasing office should be this way.” Margaret gestured to a glass door at the other end of the lobby.

  “Does it make me less of a person if I’m afraid of what we’ll find in the unit?”

  “As I’m afraid of what we’ll find in the unit, not at all.”

  That was something. We went into the leasing office, where we were greeted by an older man in worn jeans and a t-shirt that had seen better days. I assumed the landlord wasn’t paying the guy jack shit for his work. As a general rule, I tried to be kind to those who were underpaid for what they did. It wasn’t their
fault they weren’t valued, and why would anyone give their best when they weren’t valued? I bet he couldn’t afford to pay much for business clothes. Hell, I hated having to pay for business clothes. My agent introduced herself, and without much more than a nod, the man retrieved a set of keys and waved for us to follow him.

  I wanted to go back to my hotel and hide, but I refused to be beaten by a scary apartment building.

  Instead of taking the elevator, the leasing office employee guided us up three flights of stairs, which creaked in places and showed signs of crumbling in others. At the rate my heartbeat was going, I wouldn’t need to exercise for a week.

  Under no circumstances would I run away.

  The leasing office employee grunted, opened a battered door at the end of a hallway in dire need of a coat of paint, and gave the keys to Margaret. “Bring them back when you’re finished.”

  Margaret nodded, and he left without a single care in the world. At the rate my mouth hung open, a cockroach might fly into it. I snapped my teeth together at that thought. “I’m scared,” I confessed.

  “Me, too. It’s never a good sign when they leave the keys with me and run away. That means there’s something horrible inside.”

  I straightened my back, lifted my chin, and pushed the door open. The carpeted main area seemed sane enough, with the window boasting a view of the neighboring building. I worried the tan would become white with a good washing, but I could hire someone to fix that disaster if I could bear the thought of being ambushed by flying cockroaches whenever I came home, which I couldn’t.

  “Too cheap to replace the carpet after a tenant left,” Margaret observed, sticking her foot into the apartment far enough to toe the carpet. “I’m not even sure what color it’s supposed to be.”

  I drew in a deep breath, wrinkled my nose at a rather musky odor, and took the dive, stepping through the door to discover what other horrors waited for me. To my immediate right, a bathroom invaded the kitchen, and the toilet, standing out in the open not far from the stove and refrigerator, stunned me so much I pointed at it, unable to say a word.