Category: Fan

Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.

No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.

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NEW APARTMENT – 3:40 p.m.

We’d settled on a place in Las Colinas. Sway and I liked the idea because it was just across from the gazebo.

I’d called and talked to a Julianna, who took some information and set up a time for a viewing. We arrived five minutes early.

The three of us entered the rental office. It was beautiful with a wall of running water, paintings, and two desks, one on each side of the room. The doors and windows were huge, exposing the exterior and surroundings.

“Andre?” The mature blonde with a broad smile walked towards us. She extended her hand. “Julianna.” We shook.

“Hi, Julianna. This is Sadie, and this is Cami.”

“Wow, you have some pretty little girlfriends, Andre. They are both lookers.”

“Thank you.”

“Okay, are we ready? I have a couple of options for you. I guess it will depend on whether you don’t mind stairs and if you’d like to see the sun rise or set.”

I looked to Sway and Cami. Sway decided. “Set.” Cami nodded in agreement.

“We’re facing west… What floor would you like…first, second, third…? You’d be able to see that sunset much better from up top.” Sway and Cami smiled. “Great, I only had the one.”

We all boarded a golf cart. Julianna sped across the driveways to a building at the edge of the complex.

We climbed the stairs and entered. Sway gasped. “This is nice!” She made a beeline for the kitchen. “I could do a lot with this!”

Cami followed Julianna to the bedrooms.

I walked to the balcony and stepped out. “Sway… Come see!”

“What, baby…? Ooh, there’s a view of the lake!”

“This is perfect. I want it.”

“Are you sure? Do you think we should keep looking?”

“No. I want this one.”

Cami and Julianna joined us. I looked to Cami. “What do you think? Do you like it?”

“You don’t have to ask me. I love it.”

I turned to Julianna. “This is the one.”

“Okay, let’s step inside and talk for a minute.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just have a few details to go over with you… Off the record.”

“What does that mean?”

“Based on your credit, which you don’t have yet, you don’t qualify. Not just for this apartment, but any apartment…complex that is. Of course, there are private owners who’ll rent to you…”

“Well, why are we even here, wasting our time, Julianna? You could have told me that over the phone, couldn’t you?”

“Hold on… Don’t get upset. I didn’t say I didn’t have a solution.”

“Are you wanting money?”

“Mr. Andre. Please give me a chance to explain…”

Sway took my arm, comforting me. “Let her talk, baby.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. My apologies.”

Juliana smiled. “It’s okay, I understand. Believe me, I do… What I’m going to need… And I would never try to bribe you or anyone, okay? I don’t get down like that.”

I chuckled. “Okay.”

“I’m a professional and I’m very good at what I do. So, what I’m going to need from you is a deposit and your first month’s rent. That’s going to be on the books. Not to me, Mr. Andre.”

“I can handle that.”

“Next. Do you have a bank account?”

“Yeah, I have my checking and a savings.”

“Do you have at least three times the rent in your account?”

“What does that come to?” I studied in my head. “Six thousand?”

“About.”

“I have that for sure.”

“Now here’s the tough one… Are you employed at the moment?”

“No…”

Sway cut in, “I am… We are. Cami and I.”

“Where do you work?”

“Big John’s…”

“DFW?”

“Yeah.”

“You too, Cami?”

“I just started.”

“As beautiful as you two are, I had a feeling you were both dancers.”

I interrupted, firming my voice, “Like, I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be… Are we being insulted here? I can’t tell.”

“Not at all. I used to dance myself. For years.”

“Oh.”

“So, Sadie, all I need is a letter from your job saying that you make at least sixty-five hundred to seven thousand a month… And you’re going to have to be on the lease.

“I’m assuming you two are the power couple.” She looked to Cami. “And you’re the new addition to the family.”

Creole Gaudet

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Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.

No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.

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HOME – 12:24 p.m.

Cami was seated at the desk when we entered. She’d lifted her head off her propped palm. The Bachendorf’s bag, hung by the straps from her dangling fingertips. “Did I do something wrong, daddy?”

“Oh, no, Cami… Not at all.”

“You’re mad or disappointed in me.”

I took a seat at the foot of the bed. I leaned, placing my hand on her knee. “May I try to explain?”

Cami nodded.

“Let me first say that it has nothing at all to do with you personally. It’s all on me… I have this suspicion… Call me crazy. Sway thinks I’m going overboard or something, I don’t know…”

“About the virus?”

“She told you?”

“I asked about all the food and stuff.”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Cami looked to Sway. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know about that kind of…”

“Okay, don’t worry about it. The point I was trying to get across to Sway is that…”

“I spent too much, didn’t I? I should have asked. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Whoa… Cami, don’t get upset. Please. I get it… Look, that was my initial thought. I won’t lie. I felt it was foolish. But when Sway talked to me and told me how much it meant to you, I got it.

“But you have to realize, my brain right now is stuck in survival mode. I have to be sure we have enough food and money to make it if we have to stay in and wait it out.

“And yes. I may totally be overreacting. But what harm is it? Why not be prepared? If they say it’s all over and that the virus is contained or gone or whatever, we can keep living like we’re living, right?”

Sway cut in. “Okay… How about you try on the watch?”

I turned to her. “You’re almost as excited about it as I am.”

“I want my daddy with some bling.”

“Okay, let’s see what we got.”

Cami handed me the bag. I looked into it, removing the box. “You know, this bag is as nice as… We can save that for something later.”

“He didn’t even see it, Cami.”

I searched. “What? See what?”

Sway laughed. “Look in the bag, man, there’s a card.”

“Oh, shit! Well, which one do I do first? The card or the watch?”

“The card, baby.”

“I’m not used to gifts…” I set the box onto my lap and removed it from the envelope. I opened it. I paused, looking at Cami and then to Sway.

“Read it out loud. I want to hear.”

“She didn’t show it to you? It’s blank, Sway. There’s nothing on it.”

I looked to Cami. “Andre… Daddy…there is no card that can express how much these couple of days have meant to me.

“Please accept this gift as a token of my appreciation. You…and Sway will forever be in my heart.” She looked to Sway. “I still can’t believe what you guys have done for me.”

“Now you see, Cami, and you too, Sway, those words mean more than anything that money can buy.”

Sway countered. “Andre! Will you please try on the motherfucking watch?!”

“Okay, woman! Shit!” I held it in my hand, looking to Cami. “And as long as you’re here with us, I will do everything in my power to protect you…even if I have to put my life or my freedom on the line.

“And I know I speak for Sway when I say this, but you’re welcome here with us for as long as you want.”

“I’ve never been wanted anywhere.”

“Well, you are now. Consider this, and wherever we go from here, your home.”

“Thank you.”

“Speaking of home… Don’t forget, we’re going apartment hunting today. I’ve been online and I’ve already marked some places that I think you both will like.”

Sway cut in. “Okay, now you’re just fucking with me. Baby, can you please open the box and try on the watch?”

I raised the lid. “This looks better than it did in the store.”

Cami was filled with anxiousness. “It’s the one you wanted, right, daddy? The saleslady said it was the one you tried on. The same one…”

“It’s exactly what I wanted, Cami. It’s perfect.” I released the clasp, sliding my wrist into the opening. I snapped it closed.

“She set the time, the date, and everything.”

“It looks beautiful on you. Just that one accessory changes the whole look, doesn’t it, Cami?”

“Bet.”

“Stand up, baby.”

I rose to my feet. I looked in the mirror, posing my arm in different positions. “It does look good. It’s a big come-up.” I rested my hands in the tops of my pockets. “Yeah… Look at that… Look at that man with that Rolex. A real Rolex.”

Creole Gaudet

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