The Landlord

That evening, Amanda filled her boyfriend in on the landlord’s earlier visit. “I thought you said I wouldn’t have to see him?” “Well, it’s to be expected that a landlord might come around more in the beginning to see how his new tenants are getting settled in.” “Yeah, but I swear I saw that creepy look again. I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with the dude. I have no idea what it is, but something’s not right.” “Aw, don’t worry. Now that you let him know we’re settling in nicely, that should be the last of him for a while. Unless anything breaks in here, there isn’t any reason for him to come around regularly.” “That’s true. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love this place, and I love that we’re together now. It’s just that he really puts the creep in creepy.” Marcus sat down on the bed next to Amanda and took her hand in his. “We’re not going to be here forever. This is just a stepping stone. Sooner or later, we’ll get our own place.” Yeah, but not fast enough, she added to herself. She didn’t want to complain too much and seem ungrateful. Instead, she simply smiled and kissed Marcus. “So how is your dad doing?” “His back is better. Just strained a muscle. The doctor advised him to take a few days off.” “Does that mean you’re going to fill in for him?” Marcus nodded. “Going to be leaving earlier the next few days and getting in later.” Exactly what Amanda didn’t want to hear, because the more time she spent alone in the apartment, the more she felt vulnerable. But not wanting to sound selfish or insensitive, she didn’t voice her concerns. They soon settled into the apartment comfortably, and life went on. They enjoyed their routine, although they wished they could see a little more of each other. They got along extraordinarily well, especially for a young couple. When a couple of weeks passed without any sign of the landlord, Amanda was beginning to relax and become more hopeful that she would seldom see him, if ever, since Marcus agreed to be the one to drop off the rent unless she absolutely had to. “At least if the first falls on a day that’s more convenient for you than for me to drop it off, you’ll at least be in a public office. But maybe you won’t even see him then. Maybe he’ll have someone in the office working for him, and you won’t have to deal with him directly,” Marcus told her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They had been there for three weeks when Amanda was home alone one afternoon. Her patient that day was spending a few hours in physical therapy, so she decided to stop home for lunch. She sat at the kitchen table, which was by the door. She had just taken the last bite of her turkey sandwich when she saw a shadow pass by the translucent curtains in the window next to the door, and then there was a loud knock. Amanda’s heart sped up a little, and a moment of hesitation overcame her. Should she ignore whoever it was? But what if it was the landlord? If it was, she couldn’t ignore him with her car parked outside. If she did, he might become suspicious and suspect they were trying to hide something. “Who is it?” Amanda called out. “Landlord,” came the answer. Amanda’s heart sank before it sped up even faster. No way she could ignore the door now. Taking a deep breath, she stepped over to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. “Yes?” Right off the bat, the landlord looked at her with that crazy expression. They stared at each other, and it was several seconds before the landlord spoke. “I was just downstairs in the apartment below getting it ready for someone who wants to take a look at it when I noticed another stain on the ceiling in the bathroom I’ve never seen before, and just wanted to know if you’ve noticed any leaks in the bathroom?” “Nope, not at all,” said Amanda. “That’s good. Mind if I have a quick look anyway?” She most certainly did, but how did you say no to your landlord? Instead, she swung the door open all the way, legs a bit shaky. “Sure. Marcus will be in any second to double check with, but I’m sure if he noticed anything, he would have told me.” Without a word, the landlord rounded the corner and walked down the short hall to the bathroom. For some reason, she preferred to stay by the door rather than follow him deeper into the apartment. She took another deep breath, willing her heart to slow down, telling herself she was being unreasonably silly and paranoid. He was the landlord, for God’s sake. Why would he want to harm one of his tenants? Footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs, and when Amanda looked out the door, she found a woman in her thirties heading up toward her. The woman had short black hair and the same piercing, icy blue eyes as the landlord. She was of average size and wore a purple sweatshirt with jeans and black sneakers. “Hey,” she said with a faint smile. “My dad up here?” “If your dad is the landlord, yes, he is.” Just then, the landlord came back from inspecting the bathroom, and Amanda asked if everything was okay. “Yeah,” he said with a nod. Then, looking annoyed, he turned to his daughter. “What’s up?” “Mom needs you to call Mr. Barnes’s office.” “Now?” The daughter nodded. “She said whatever he wanted sounds pretty urgent.” Oh, thank God! Amanda thought to herself, already feeling herself begin to relax, and wanting to hug whoever Mr. Barnes was. “Perfect timing,” she said. “I’ve got to go pick my patient up from physical therapy.” The landlord glanced at her, still seeming a bit disappointed but normal-looking nonetheless. “Okay then. Let me know if there are any problems.” “Oh, we will. Have a nice day.” Amanda breathed a huge sigh of relief as the two descended the stairs. Then she Skyped a quick message about the visit to Marcus before leaving the apartment. Now maybe she could stop seeing the creepy guy.