Page 29 of Passion

“I’m listening.”

“She moved into her own apartment. She didn’t even tell you because it’s literally a death trap. It’s in this horrible neighborhood. There are live wires hanging from the ceiling, bars on the windows, cracks in the walls. But the worst part is that the landlord won’t fix a damn thing. If you talk to her, you can get through to her. She needs to come back to my place and stay where it’s safe.”

When my speech was finished, I hoped she’d agree. I waited with bated breath, fingers crossed the pendulum would swing in my direction.

“Well, you are right on one count, sir. My daughter doesn’t need to be living in that condition. If I had known, I’d have sent for her sooner. Thank you for communicating this dire situation she’s in. I will handle it from here.”

“So, you’ll tell her to come back to my place?”

“No. I’ll do no such thing.” She huffed out a sigh. “What don’t you understand about this? You are no good for Vera. Men like you are horrible. Women should never have to suffer the likes of some wealthy businessman who throws his money around to get what he wants. You are done manipulating her. She will come home to Hawaii to live with me, and you’ll never see her again. Not if I have anything to do with it.”

She hung up, and I was gutted. I didn’t know why I thought that might work. She really did hate me for no reason. I raked my hand through my hair and growled out my frustration. I had to convince Vera that her apartment wasn’t safe, and I had to do it before Lorna showed up.

23

VERA

I’d been busy all week trying to get my place in order. I still didn’t have a bed, so I was sleeping on an air mattress in the corner of the room, but my dresser had arrived and I’d put away my clothing and organized my kitchen too. It was finally starting to feel like home. Even the morning sickness was getting easier to deal with. I found a home remedy of peppermint oil and candies, and that made the nausea at least tolerable. I no longer heaved my entire meal into the trashcan every time I ate, so it was working.

I sat on the air mattress watching videos on my phone, snacking on crackers, when someone knocked at my door. The only people who knew where I lived were Midge and Lucas, and both of them would have called before they came over. I hadn’t actually talked to Lucas in a few days, which was a bit sad, but maybe he was busy.

I slid off the bed and strolled to the door. Through the peephole I could see it was my landlord, and I wondered what he could possibly want. It wasn’t time for me to pay rent yet. It had only been a week and a few days. I hadn’t called him or requested any assistance, so maybe I forgot to fill out paperwork or something essential.

I fluffed my hair and swung the door open, only to see him scowl. “Hi, Mr. Kline, how are you?”

“I’m not happy, Ms. Davids.” Older men could go one of two ways. Either they were the sweet man who offered compliments and wise advice, or they were the grumpy old guy who screamed “get off my lawn” at little children. His look told me he was the latter.

“Oh, no. Did something happen?” I wondered at the cause of his unease, though I had no clue what it had to do with me. I chewed my lip nervously.

“Yes, something happened.” This wasn’t a personal call. He did not enter my flat. He just stood there glaring at me. “One of your friends keeps calling the office demanding that I fix things in your apartment. Now, I made it perfectly clear that you were getting this place as-is. The rental agreement said as much, and we orally agreed on that when you signed the papers too. You can feel free to make improvements if you want, but don’t have your friends calling me all hours of the night to complain. Got it?”

My mind raced. I hadn’t had anyone calling him to request repairs. Midge and Lucas had both voiced their concerns, but they were the only two in my life who knew where I was. My mother didn’t even know yet.

“If you don’t mind me asking, who was it?” I had my suspicions.

“That fancy rich tech guy. You tell him to stop calling me and harassing me or I’m calling the police.” Mr. Kline started to walk away then turned and said, “You make sure this stuff stops because if it doesn’t, you’re out. I’ll have one of your neighbors complain of loud noise and I’ll have no choice but to evict you.” He walked toward the stairs, and I shut the door, now furious.

I’d never called Lucas’s number so fast. He had no right interfering. I told him he could mention something to the landlord if he wanted, but to pressure the man or try to coerce him was ridiculous.

“Hey, Vera, I’m so glad you called. How are you doing? You feeling better now?” Lucas was happy. It made me feel bad for being so upset with him for a split second until I remembered just how angry I was.

“Luke, we need to talk.” The line was silent, crackling with the anger I felt. “My landlord just threatened to evict me because you keep calling him and berating him for my living conditions.”

“Vera, I stopped by the day I was there, and I called him once. I wasn’t berating him. I asked him to consider the conditions and make repairs. That’s all.”

I paced the floor, feeling my body getting worked up. I knew if I wasn’t careful, I’d get too emotional and start throwing up. Strange, how it wasn’t just foods or smells that triggered my sickness, but emotions too.

“You understand? You can’t throw your money at problems in my life and fix them. And you can’t manipulate me into coming back to your house because you do nice things for me. That isn’t how a real relationship works. You are not my father. You’re not my boyfriend. You’re not anything to me.”

As soon as I said the words, I felt the sting they left on his heart as if I had slapped myself across the face. I wanted to immediately apologize, but my lip was trembling. I could feel the dry heaves coming again.

“You don’t mean that.” His voice was calm. Too calm. I was enraged that he didn’t even get angry enough to fight with me over this. I deserved his respect and he should be giving it to me.

“I do mean that.”

“Vera, I’m going to hang up now, and I’m going to call you tomorrow when you’re calmer. I’m sorry I upset you. I never meant to hurt you or make you feel like I was meddling. I love?—”

I hung up.

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