Chez Stinky (29 page)

When she came home, Joel was downstairs in one of the bedrooms, which he was slowly transitioning into an office. He had pushed the bed off to one side and found an old folding table that he set up along the opposite wall. Magazines and papers were starting to multiply in the space. When Kat walked into the room, he looked up from his piles of paper and calculator. “Hi. Did you get a post office box this time?”

Kat waved her shiny new key in the air. “Yes! Ethel was on fire this morning. I can get mail like a real Alpine Grove resident now.” She leaned over the table and looked at the papers. “So what are you doing?”

“More math.”

“Eww.”

“It’s a good thing I have a high-end calculator.”

“That bad?”

Joel pointed at the number at the bottom of the page. “Yes.”

“That’s disturbing.”

“Construction, or in this case
re
construction, is expensive.”

“So it seems. Speaking of money, or the lack of it, I’m going to need to go back to my apartment and get some stuff. Like my bills, which are probably piling up in my mailbox there. Would you be willing to take care of the dogs and cats here?”

“I can do that. Even Murphee is starting to get used to me, I think.”

“She’s an extremely discriminating feline. If you feed her, that helps a lot, too.”

Kat went back upstairs to make a few phone calls. She made an appointment with her apartment manager and left a message with Maria to let her know she’d be back in town for a couple of days.

As Kat was packing, Joel walked into the bedroom and leaned on the doorway. “How long are you going to be gone?”

“It depends. I made an appointment with my apartment manager. The place is going condo, so they are throwing me out in three months anyway, but I need to try to get out of my lease early, since I need that rent money for other things. Like a roof. I’m not sure how that will go. Whether or not they let me move, I need to make a bunch of calls to turn off everything. I don’t want to be paying for electricity and phone if I’m not there. I also need to work on getting my stuff moved. Or maybe selling some of it. We’ll see. I’m not sure how long all that will take, but I’m guessing I should be back in a couple of days.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll call you when I get to my apartment. Last time I went home without Murphee, I found out that being in my place without her around feels weird. Bad, in fact. I guess I’m really a dyed-in-the-wool cat lady now.”

Joel crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked glum. “I’m going to miss you.”

Kat looked up from her packing and smiled. “That’s good to hear. I’m going to miss you too. Like I said, my little apartment is a pretty lonely place these days.” She looked back down at her suitcase.

With three strides of his long legs, Joel was across the room. He took the underwear that Kat was holding in her hand and threw it into the suitcase. He caressed her chin, moved his hand across her neck and wound his fingers into her hair, gently tugging her head back, so he could kiss her thoroughly.

Kat closed her eyes as her body melted into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, clasping her hands behind his neck. “Okay, I’d like to restate that. I’m
really
going to miss you. A lot.”

Joel smiled. “Just making sure you don’t forget about me while you’re off in the Big City.”

“I think that’s extremely unlikely.”

Chapter 10

F
ar from forgetting about Joel, Kat spent most of the drive to her apartment mooning over him. Sometimes she was such a
girl
. But it was a beautiful day and she rolled down the car windows and sang along with even the most egregiously sappy songs on the radio.

She opened the door to the apartment and once again was surprised at how empty it felt. Her little apartment that once was so cozy now just seemed lonely without Murphee. She looked around at her furniture. Giving it up wasn’t going to be any great loss. Selling it wasn’t going to net her much money, either.

The plan was to meet Maria after she got off work, but first Kat had to deal with Jean Hartland, the manager of her apartment building. Jean was one of those people who was so efficient and businesslike that she often seemed rude. Kat wasn’t looking forward to the meeting. She changed her clothes and washed her face, which made her feel a bit better, so she could brave Ms. Hartland’s disdainful gaze.

Kat walked across the parking lot, passing by what she thought of as the “Murphee Dumpster.” Was Murphee okay back at Chez Stinky? Was Joel? At this point, the tables had flipped. This apartment complex wasn’t her home anymore. Chez Stinky was home now. Even walking through the courtyard here felt different and foreign, although she’d done it a hundred times before.

The sounds of a rousing game of Marco Polo came from the pool area. That was something she definitely would not miss. The sound of a leaf blower droned monotonously and the hum of cars on the highway were a continuous background noise. How had she never noticed that before? She missed the peaceful quiet of the forest and the joy of watching dogs romping among the trees.

Arriving at the apartment manager’s office, she walked in and found Jean sitting at her desk with a furious expression on her face. Kat paused for a moment before saying, “Hello. I’m Kat Stevens. I have an appointment. Is this a bad time?”

Jean jumped up out of her chair and slammed her palm on the desk. “The owner of Choice Management should be shot!”

Kat backed toward the door. “Maybe I should come back another time?”

Jean smoothed the front of her flowery dress, sat back down and crossed her fingers in front of her, and placed her hands on the desk. “I’m sorry about that. I’m having a bit of a problem with management. Who are you again?”

“My name is Kat Stevens. I live in Apartment 152.”

“Oh. Yes, you’re right on time.”

“I was hoping I could talk to you about my apartment. I got a message from you a couple of weeks ago that it is being converted to a condominium. I’d like to move out now and get my deposits back.”

“We are offering tenants advantageous financing to purchase their units.”

“Thank you, but I’m not interested. I can be moved before the first of the month.”

“I shall need to inspect your unit. Let me get your paperwork.” She whirled around in her chair and began rummaging through a lateral file cabinet behind her desk. “What is your unit again?”

Kat looked around at the posters on the wall. Some of the scenic photos looked like they might have been taken in Alpine Grove. “I’m in 152.”

Jean pulled a folder out of the cabinet, slapped it on the desk and opened it up. “Hmm. It appears you don’t have any pets.”

“I have a cat.”

Jean looked up. “You never paid the pet deposit.”

Kat cringed inwardly. Oops. Volunteering that little bit of information about Murph had been a tactical error. “I found a kitten next to the Dumpster in front of my apartment and I took her in.”

“You should have told us that you have an animal in your unit.”

“I didn’t really think about it at the time.”

Jean offered a brittle, insincere smile. “I am definitely going to need to take a look at this unit myself and evaluate. You are liable for any damage. If I find anything, the repair costs will come out of your deposit.”

“You won’t find any damage. And the cat isn’t there anymore. She has already moved out.”

“We’ll see about that. When can you hand in your keys?”

“I need to move my stuff out. I should be able to do that soon. I need to talk to a friend who has a truck, first.”

“Make sure you don’t block any of the parking spaces when you move. The new association has strict rules about that!”

Feeling like a fourth-grader who had just been sent to the principal’s office and reprimanded for bad behavior, Kat left the office. The odds of her getting her deposit back were low. If Jean found even one dust smudge, she’d cry “damage!” and get the whole place painted. The cost would almost certainly come out of Kat’s deposit, so she could kiss that money goodbye.

Kat went back to her apartment, made a few calls to utility companies, and got ready to go out with Maria. Maria wanted to try out a new hot spot and Kat had agreed to meet her there for happy hour.

After fighting traffic for an hour, a hot and annoyed Kat walked into the Fern Oasis. Maria waved from the bar and Kat walked through an archway of ferns.

Grazing a fern frond with her head, Maria jumped up and stretched out her arms for a hug. “Hey, girlfriend! I missed you. Watch out for that pot. That fern isn’t a friendly one.”

“I’m not sure I’ve seen this many ferns in one place before.”

“They’re trying to revive the fern bar concept, but I think they might be overdoing it.”

“I don’t think it’s been long enough. If you’re not nostalgic for something, it’s not ready to be resuscitated.”

Maria grinned. “Do you want a Lemon Drop? They’re kinda good and it’s happy hour, so they’re cheap!”

“That sounds like cough medicine. What’s in it?”

“Lemon juice, sugar, and alcohol. You know you want one.”

Kat settled onto a bar stool and put her hands on the bar. “All right, lay it on me.”

Maria turned and looked at Kat appraisingly. “You look different.”

“Nope. Still me.”

“No way. Something’s different. You look happier. More relaxed. You’re getting some aren’t you?”

Kat raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, attempting to look prim. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Maria poked her in the ribs. “You know you do. I heard that the sexy engineer is living in your house.”

“How do you know that? I didn’t think the Alpine Grove gossip grapevine reached all the way here.”

“I met with Larry for drinks the other night.”

“Here?”

“Well, not
here
. We went to an Italian restaurant near my place. That man knows his Italian food.”

Kat grinned widely and turned to face her friend. “Oh my God, you went out with
Larry
? What was he doing here in the city?”

“He had some court thing. Or some legal thing. I don’t know. But he remembered me and looked me up. I can be pretty memorable, you know.”

The bartender came by with the Lemon Drops and placed them on the bar. Kat reached out and took a sip. “That’s revolting and good at the same time.”

“Wait ‘til you’ve had more than one. They grow on you.”

“Like a fungus. How many have you had?”

Maria giggled. “Only one before this one. But I’m pretty sure the bartender thinks I’m cute. I think he put in extra hooch. I feel gooood. So good, so good.”

“You knew that you would, now.”

Maria raised her drink in a toast, “Whoa! Here’s to James Brown!”

Kat clinked her glass with Maria’s. “So tell me about your date. Do you like Larry?”

“I do! He’s cute! Well, cute in a buttoned-up, lawyer-type way. But after the Italian food, I took him out drinking and dancing and he really loosened up.”

“That’s amazing. Did he tell you he asked me out? I think I hurt his feelings.”

“No, he didn’t mention that. He said lots of nice things about me, though. I like that in a man. We didn’t talk about you much. Just that the engineer’s house got torched. I guess that was big news. Oh yeah—one other thing. He talked to some guy about your Aunt Abigail’s will. Larry says the guy could get the house.”

Kat almost choked on her drink. She put it down and stared at Maria. “What? I thought I was inheriting it? Who else is there?”

“You’ll have to ask Larry. He starts talking legal stuff and I kinda tune out. After he tells me I’m pretty, I tune back in. All that legal talk is kinda relaxing, actually. ‘The first party did this, then the second party did that.’ He’s got a nice voice. It’s like listening to talk radio.”

“Why didn’t he tell me about this?”

“He’s doing some legal thing. I’m not sure. But wait, you threw me off and didn’t answer my question. Is the sexy engineer sleeping in your bed or not?”

Kat grinned. “Yes.”

Maria raised her glass in a toast again. “Well, here’s to sex! It’s about time you got some action. You were starting to get cranky.”

“I was not.”

“I’m just saying it’s been awhile.”

“I can’t argue with that. It was worth waiting for. Or I guess more accurately, he was worth waiting for.”

Maria smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Oh really? He’s
that
good.”

“At the risk of sounding like a lovesick teenager, yes.”

“Well, let’s face it—you deserve it after that last loser.”

Kat sighed. “Let’s not go there. I need to ask you a favor. Can you sell my furniture for me? I’ll give you a commission. I need to get back to Alpine Grove, but I have to move out by the first. There’s already plenty of furniture at my aunt’s house and my stuff is junk, anyway. It’s even more junky than my aunt’s junk, which is pretty sad. What if I gave you twenty percent of whatever you sell?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Deal. I’ll put the ads in the paper and give you the key to my apartment. Sell whatever you can. There’s a kind of ugly sofa, tiny table, chairs, bed. The usual.”