Oh my God, what have I done?
I have lost my job, which means no food or roof over our heads. My breathing started to quicken, and I struggle for breath. This can’t happen, I need to get to the kids. Try to concentrate Emily. You can fall apart later. Breathe in, out, then in, out, then in.
Hold it together.
You are strong.
We will work this out.
Oh, who am I kidding? There is no ‘we’. I am on my own, just like always. My legs shaky, I start stuffing the few things in my locker into a bag. Not that I had much to pack. My mind was racing as fast as a race car at full throttle. I took one look around the room and headed for the door.
As I exited the locker room, there was Lilly giving my manager a piece of her mind, with Alesha backing her up. Lilly was the head strong one, but Alesha would never let her go into battle on her own.
I couldn’t deal with any more, so I took off out the side door and ran down the road to the school. By the time I entered the office at the school to get the kids, I was a sweaty mess. Again.
“Hi Patricia, sorry it took me a bit longer than I thought.” She looked me up and down. “Sorry, just give me two seconds to catch my breath then I will get you to grab the kids for me.”
Again, Patricia just glared at me. I am sure she was thinking I was a nut job, but I had given up caring today. I counted to ten and took a big breath, then relaxed a little and smiled. “Where is Sophia and Samuel, can I see them now?”
After getting the kids on the bus and home, I settled Sophia on the couch watching her favorite Disney movie Lilo and Stitch. She could quote it word for word. Come to think of it so could I.
Samuel set himself up next to her, just to be close so he could make sure she was okay.
I walked into the bathroom and turned on the tap to cover the tears and sobs that were now streaming down my cheeks. I couldn’t hold them in anymore. What the hell was I going to do? I knew this morning this day would turn to shit, and I was right, but I never dreamed it would be this bad. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
Unfortunately, whether I like it or not, life keeps throwing it at me anyway.
Chapter Three
Zach
I should have asked for a double shot of coffee this morning. Then again, maybe I should have asked for a dash of scotch to go with the coffee to get me through.
Today would be a tough day, they always were when you were telling people they needed to find a new home. Although we always tried to give the tenants plenty of notice, so they have time to find a replacement, there was always a few tenants that struggled for whatever reason. We had the correct paperwork in place. Bob Walter made sure all the eviction notices were correct, in order and that there was no way we could get caught up in legal action.
People become emotional when we are, effectively, kicking them out of their home. I can’t blame them at all. It was the worst part of my job. If Grant had his way, he would just have a messenger deliver them all, but I can’t do that. It isn’t right, and I believed we should do it personally.
Although, every time I turned up to start at a new site, I regretted not listening to Grant. Today was no exception. A lot of the tenants were not wealthy as the sites we were evicting them from were usually run down. The tenants lived there because they were cheap.
I am lucky in that I have never known what it was like to grow up in a home that was struggling for money. Don’t get me wrong, we were never rolling in money, but Dad worked hard and provided well for our family. We weren’t spoilt and had to get part-time work as kids to save for things that were luxuries.
“Good hard work never hurt anyone,” Dad used to say. Or, “You never get anywhere by sitting on your backside and holding your hand out.” His words were so true, and we had all grown up and learned to work just as hard as Dad and Mom to get what we wanted.
If you were to look at my sisters, you would think they were spoilt girls living off trust funds the way they looked and shopped. The truth be known, they worked just as hard as us boys and deserved every pair of shoes they wished to splurge on if that is what they chose.
I, on the other hand, had a few weaknesses that were much more expensive than shoes. I loved my house, and of course my cars. Both loved to suck me of money at every chance they got. But I didn’t regret any of it. As I stood in front of the Branch Street property with papers in hand, I knew how lucky I was. Having a safe and welcoming home to go to at night. Each night when I put my head on the pillow, I knew my home was mine and nobody could take it from me. Most of these people had never known that luxury.
I stood on the curb looking up at the apartment block with its crumbling brick walls and sad-looking roof. The garden had long been just a bed of weeds and looked like it’d been a very long time since it had seen any color. The path leading up to the first block was all cracked and uneven, but still holding together. Walking up the path, I went through the words in my mind of how I was going to deliver the news. I needed to show how genuinely upset we were about the eviction and how they were welcome to call our office for help to relocate. Grant hated that I offered that but I had a heart and could never just throw someone out and not care.
I decided to start at the back of the complex and work my way towards the road. I had forty-five of them to do and it would take me all afternoon, if everyone was home. Okay, take a deep breath and get started, Zach. The sooner you start, the sooner the pain will be over. The first door opened after I had given it a light tap to reveal an elderly man who walked hunched over with a limp. My heart sank, and I knew this afternoon was going to be hard.
At each door, as I went through the situation over and over, receiving mixed reactions. Most were shocked and not expecting it. Some were quiet, took the papers and closed the door. Others were far more vocal, ranging from yelling, to tears and even a punch being thrown with Mr. Espizido. He threatened me to get off his land or he would call the police. I didn’t want to correct him and state that I owned the land. That really wasn’t a threat. He was upset, and I understood that, so just apologized and backed away from his front door.
For a moment, I thought maybe I should have listened to Grant and had security with me. It just wasn’t in my nature to come in heavy handed. Grant tends to disagree and says it isn’t like that, it’s just to keep me safe if things got out of hand.
One of the last stops for me was one I wasn’t looking forward to. Apartment fifteen which is on the bottom floor in the second block, close to the front of the complex. It was where I had spotted the cute little boy and girl the other day when I was here taking photos. They looked the same age and were happily chatting on the front step when they saw me across the road.
A bit wary at first, they quietly just watched until I lowered the camera and smiled at them. Both of their faces lit up like sunshine as they waved back. They glanced back at the front door, obviously waiting for someone, and then turned to wave again. They giggled as they talked to each other while watching me with the camera. I didn’t want to scare them, so I kept moving into the complex to take the other photos I needed. I was in a hurry to get the last pictures and get back to the office. I didn’t want to be late for the family meeting and God help me if I turned up to the meeting not prepared. Not that most would have minded but Master Grant would crucify me for not being prepared.