[1:2] Lavender Valley

Stunned, you got up let him shepherd you to the door as he shrugged on his blazer. You would have just walked on through had he not shot you an impatient little flip of the hand and a flaring of his eyes behind his thick designer frames. 

Something in you snapped.

“You know what Mr. Harmon, every week we put up with your absolute nonsense because most of the time you’re just a nuisance. You’re just this irritating thing we have to deal with so we can get paid. But…but…jesus. Get fucked you fucking ghoul!”

You were in the parking lot before the heat faded from your ears and you could think again. Your phone was already buzzing with Harmon sending a volley of texts. You were positive what they said. Harmon would never put up with insubordination, his insecure and tenuous hold on his moderate amount of power wouldn’t let him. 

You got in your car/home and threw your phone on the passenger seat. Wasting no time you zipped out of the parking lot with a squeal of the tires and put that horrible boss and that horrible office behind you. 

It was going to be okay. It was going to be okay. 

Breathe. 

You drove for a few hours, leaving the city for some fresh air and some quiet. Your blood was still boiling and you just needed the evening to think. You stopped in a roadside park, forced down a fast food burger and made a plan. You told yourself tomorrow you’d find a place, any place, and it would be temporary. Just until you got a new job. This was just a minor setback. It was going to be okay.

Absurd security deposits, no-show landlords, exorbitant rent, and run down slums were all you could find. You crisscrossed the city going from place to place, touring one roach infested hell to the next. You had a kink in your back from sleeping in your car and it was preferable to the places you were looking at. Then, after two excruciatingly long months, you finally had a little bit of luck. 

Lavender Valley was absolutely perfect. It was a quiet little complex just outside the city, with a wooded park on one side and lake access on the other. It was close enough to the highway so a commute wouldn’t be too bad but far enough away to feel like you were almost in the country. There were no roaches, the security deposit wasn’t crazy, the rent was reasonable and the pipes looked intact.  

You were sure you weren’t going to get the place but desperation and maybe a lingering scrap of hope made you throw yourself into rejection again. 

Maybe you were getting to like the abuse? 

Instead of the polite but terse rejection the pleasant and bubbly apartment manager, Mrs. Primm was pleased she could help you get back on your feet. She said she had a good feeling about you as she handed you the keys to your new apartment. No follow up questions. No references needed. No wild conditions tacked on at the end. She seemed genuinely happy to help.

You could have cried and not just from the rather intense scent of her perfume. 

You shut the door into your apartment and exhaled for the first time in what felt like years. You had no furniture, no bed except an air mattress, and only a few bags that had been bouncing around your car but you had a kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms. And enough rent to stay here for two months before it got to be a problem. 

A few days later…

The mail comes around three in the afternoon. By then you’ve had breakfast and lunch and did your few hours of job searching. There weren't any bites yet but you had hope a few of those would respond. Then you went downstairs to get your mail. 

Every inch of Lavender Valley was immaculately kept up and designed. From the pink lilies growing in the vestibules of the complex wings to the vintage looking padded benches that made up common areas. The walls were painted a soft salmon, the floors a white faux marble Greecian pattern and all the doors to the apartments were a rich purple color. 

“Woah, woah, woah,” the man said as you came down the stairs. He was already at the mailboxes having just collected his haul. He had a wide smile on his oddly round face and looked at you with a strange kind of wonderment that didn’t fade as you approached. 

“Do my eyes deceive me? Is there actually another dude living here? I’m not the only one living here?” 

He set his mail down and extended his hand excitedly, “Hey man, I’m Josh down in B17. You must be the new tenant the women were all gossipin’ about. How are you? How are you liking the place? You settling in alright?”

You shake his hand, introduce yourself and say you’re settling in great. The two of you have a nice chat down at the mailboxes. You learn that he sells accounting software, he’s single, around your age and he’s kind of a nut for sports and he just moved in from out of state. He’s funny and boisterous. The kind of guy who laughs at his own jokes and will slap you in the arm to punctuate a punchline. After a few minutes of chit chat he says, 

“Listen, I gotta jump but if you’re not doing anything later you want to swing by for the game? I’ll grab some beer and pizza? Eh? Sounds pretty good right?”

1.) Take him up on his offer and head over to watch the game with him later on.

2. ) He’s a lot to handle right now. Rain check. Tell him you have some things you have to do. Maybe next time?