Page 129 of Always Us

There’s no elevator and Sara’s on the third floor. So she has to carry Caleb and all her stuff up three flights of stairs? If she had groceries, she’d have to make three or four trips.

The staircase up to her apartment is dark and narrow and the paint’s peeling off the walls. It also smells really bad, like a musty, moldy smell.

When Sara answers the door, she doesn’t act surprised that we didn’t buzz first. I guess the people in her building just let everyone in. Again, not safe.

She hugs me. “I can’t thank you enough. And Garret came, too.” She smiles at him. “Thank you. Both of you. Come inside.” We walk in and I see Caleb in his crib. “I just put Caleb down for his nap. He might sleep the whole time you’re here, unless my neighbors come home. They can get kind of loud and it always wakes Caleb up.”

She grabs her purse and her keys. “I’m sorry I asked you guys to do this on such short notice. It’s just that this could be a really good job and Alex is out of town at a conference. I didn’t have anyone else to watch Caleb.”

“Sara, don’t worry about it.” Garret walks her to the door. “We got this. Go meet your new boss.”

She laughs. “You’re way more confident in me than I am. I’m sure he won’t hire me.”

“You can’t think that way. You have to go in there thinking you’ll get the job.”

“Okay. I’ll try. Bye!” She closes the door and Garret locks it behind her. Then he turns around and inspects her apartment.

I can tell he’s thinking the same thing I am. It’s bad. Really bad. I see why she didn’t want me coming over here. It’s not like it’s messy or dirty. She tries to keep it clean. But the walls are cracked and the paint is peeling. The electrical outlets are exposed, meaning they don’t even have those covers that get screwed into the wall. There’s some kind of wire hanging from the ceiling. And the ceiling has water spots all over it and black mold growing on it.

This place is not safe, for Caleb or for Sara. It’s even worse than where I grew up.

It’s a studio apartment so it’s just one room with a twin mattress on the floor and Caleb’s crib next to it. There isn’t room for any other furniture. There’s a tiny TV in the corner sitting on a yellow milk crate and a few boxes of clothes lined up against the wall.

I go over and look in the bathroom. There’s a toilet, a tiny sink, and a shower. It’s such a small space you can barely close the door.

“Jade, check this out.”

I walk out of the bathroom and see Garret in the kitchen. He’s at the sink and has the water turned on. Instead of being clear, the water is a yellowish-brown color. “I hope she doesn’t drink this shit or give it to Caleb.”

I meet him over there. “I don’t think she does.” I hold up a gallon jug of bottled water that was sitting on the floor. “But she has to shower in that water.”

There’s a rusty stove next to the sink but I doubt it works. An old microwave sits next to it on the counter.

“She can’t live here.” Garret shuts the water off.

“I know. It’s horrible, but where is she supposed to go?”

“We’ll get her a place. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just needs to be safe.”

“She won’t take our money.”

“Then we’ll give it to her anonymously.” He takes a few steps, which puts him in the living room. Yeah, it’s that small of a place.

“She’ll use the money for food and bottled water and diapers. She won’t use it for an apartment.”

“We’ll give her enough money so she can get that stuff and a new apartment.” He scans the walls and the wire hanging down from the ceiling. “This is fucked up. Nobody should live like this. Guys in prison live better than this. I’m going to find out who owns this building and report him. He’s gotta be breaking some kind of laws. You can’t even drink the water. And I’m sure there’s a law saying he has to fix shit like that.” He points to the hanging wire.

“How are we going to give her money without her knowing it’s from us?”

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.” He shakes his head. “Why the hell isn’t Alex letting her stay at his place?”

“Alex has tried to convince her to stay at his place but she won’t do it. She said she doesn’t want Alex thinking she’s trying to move in, or that she’s using him for a free place to stay.”

“No wonder you two are friends. She’s just as stubborn as you.” Garret goes to the window and tries to close it but it won’t shut. It’s broken. “Jade, you can’t even close this thing. Some guy could climb the fire escape and come right in through the window.”

“She doesn’t have anything to steal.”

“She’s got a baby. People want babies, Jade.”

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