Page 27 of Lisa's Unexpected Valentine's Day

Rick did some calculations in his head. “Sounds like I might as well just finish off the batter then.”

He finished his plate while standing at the counter, so he could keep the iron full. But he liked the distance. It allowed him to watch how Maya and Lisa interacted.

The tension from earlier had vanished, and if Maya was upset that her friend had spied on them, she wasn’t showing any signs of it. They teased each other and laughed, almost like sisters, but they were very different in their behaviors.

Lisa had a quieter, more mature demeanor. She lacked the bubbly Middle energy that Maya always showed, but his wife’s teasing and playing didn’t seem to bother her at all. He hadn’t realized that anyone but him saw much of that side of Maya, but he was glad Lisa didn’t seem bothered by it.

He scraped the last of the batter out of the bowl, for one last waffle, before he brought up the topic that had been percolating in the back of his head all morning. “So, Lisa, I’d like to hear about your eviction and everything that led up to it. Maya explained some of what led to the emergency yesterday, but I’d like to know more.”

Suddenly the tension was back, and he was sorry to have killed the relaxed moment, but he needed information.

Lisa set her fork down and her smile slipped away. “Well, I haven’t worked since last year, so I missed paying my rent and—”

Rick shook his head. “No, let’s go all the way back. Maya mentioned something about how you lost your job. So, start with that.”

Lisa sighed. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter, does it? It was months ago.”

“It matters. Please, indulge me.” He gave her an encouraging smile. The one he used in court to help a witness relax.

“Okay, well, it started with my boss constantly hitting on me and trying to get me to go out with him. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer. When cuts came, well, I was the first to go. It really felt like it was because I told him I wouldn’t date at work, because he asked me out again immediately after.”

Rick frowned. “Dick move. Okay, then what?”

She fiddled with her fork, pushing the last uneaten bite of waffle around her plate. “Unemployment is backed up by months and I didn’t have a lot of savings. I was able to get a short-term job for the holidays, but when January came around, I didn’t have the money for rent.”

“So you only missed one month of rent?”

“Well, two because I didn’t have February’s either. Anyway I came home on the thirteenth to find all my stuff in bags on the curb and the locks changed.”

“Interesting. Was the sheriff there?”

“No, no one. There was just a notice on the door.”

“Were you served eviction papers? A ten-day demand?”

“Nope. Nothing like that. The landlord had been texting a lot, asking about the money, but I honestly thought he’d give me a little more time. I’ve been a good tenant until now.”

Rick popped the last waffle out, and unplugged the iron so it could cool, as he worked through the questions he needed to ask. “It sounds like an illegal eviction, judging by what you’ve said. The notice on your door, was it a court order?”

Lisa frowned and then shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess I should have taken it with me, but I was panicking about all my things on the sidewalk. My furniture was already gone, and I was afraid I was going to lose the rest.”

Maya had already heard the story, of course, and didn’t sound surprised by any of it. She couldn’t help chiming in with, “What an asshole,” anyway.

“Maya…” It was a fair assessment, and he had no problem with his adult wife swearing, but her headspace was obviously still leaning younger, so he corrected her.

“Sorry, Daddy.”

He slid the last waffle onto her plate, to keep her busy. “Lisa, normally you would receive a ten-day demand for breaking the terms of the lease. After that, you have ten days to pay up the rent or leave before it goes to court. And you should have received a subpoena giving you the right to fight the eviction in court. Are you sure you didn’t receive anything like that? Not even maybe in your mailbox?”

“No, definitely not. I check my mail every day. Other than texts I didn’t have any communication.”

Things like that made him angry. He’d gotten into law in the first place to help people, and any abuse of the system pissedhim off. He pulled open a drawer and snagged a notebook and a pen, dropping them in front of Lisa.

“I need you to write down your address, and the landlord’s information. Everything you have on him.” He paused, brows furrowed. “Actually while you’re at it, put down the info from the job you lost and your unemployment case number, if you know it.”

Lisa picked up the pen. Her eyes flicked to him and then back to the paper. “Um, are you sure you want to go to all the trouble? I mean, the bridge is kind of burned at this point anyway.”

“I’m sure, and I doubt it will be much trouble.”

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