Part 8 (2/2)
”Where else would I be?”
”Well, I heard from the Drinans that they'd prefer for you to stay elsewhere, because they are planning to litigate,” he observed sagely, as if this were big news.
”Listen, Mr. Long, I actually called about a slightly different question. The co-op board over here, they could make it difficult for a sale to go through when we try to sell this place, is that right?”
”They will have to approve the sale if or when it gets to that point, of course. I don't think it's anything you need to worry about now, though. You have a lot of hoops to jump through before that.”
”That's not what Lucy thinks. She's already had real estate agents coming through here, she thinks we're good to go.”
”Your sister is clearly someone who likes to move quickly; I noticed that when we met,” Long agreed. ”Nevertheless, I'm sure she doesn't expect this situation to resolve itself overnight. Probating even a simple will takes months, and this is far from simple. The courts have not yet probated Mr. Drinan's estate, and the deposition of that will bear directly on your situation.”
What he said made almost no sense to me, so I stuck with the subject at hand. ”Yeah, well, what about the co-op board?” I asked.
”Have they contacted you?”
”Is that what happens next?”
He paused for a moment, with that kindly concern. ”Tina-your sister indicated to me that you are employing other counsel. Are you aware of that?”
”No, she didn't mention that either. Sorry, Mr. Long, I didn't know, I'm so-uh, look, could you just tell me who's on the co-op board, and I'll take it from there?”
”Well, that information is included in the doc.u.mentation about the apartment, which I gave to your sister.”
”So you don't have it anymore?”
”Of course I have it. I represented Bill Drinan for thirty years, I have everything on file.”
”Could you give me those names?”
”You don't want to ask your sister for them?”
”Well, since I have you on the phone I thought it made more sense just to get them from you.” I did not want to get into a discussion of my problematic sister with this nice man, especially if he wasn't going to represent me anyway.
There was a little silence on the end of the line, and then he sighed. ”Let's see what we have. Here we are. There are twelve people on the board. It's a rotating board, of course, but this slate was elected last spring, so it should be current. Alice White, apartment 9A. Roger Masterson, 11B ...”
Twelve people to suck up to and make friends with. One of them was Len, which I did think he might have mentioned when he brought the subject up in the first place. I found that to be a worrisome oversight on his part, but I couldn't dismiss the commonsense idea that I should try to present a good face to the people in this fancy building and start pretending to the neighbors that I really did belong there. I thanked Stuart Long and hung up.
A couple days later I had a plan. I decided to start with the Whites because they were the closest, just one floor away.
”Hi, I'm looking for Mrs. White,” I told the edgy teenager who answered the door. Her plaid skirt and green cardigan looked terrible on her, as it would on any reasonably attractive person.
”Mooooom!” she yelled. ”There's some lady here!”
”Louise, don't shout, please,” shouted Mrs. White from two or three rooms away. Louise shrugged and walked away; I had no choice but to let myself in and watch her pa.s.s her mother in the hallway. Mrs. White was carrying a baby, and had a crying child glued to her leg. But she was wearing a really cute pink suit that looked terrific on her.
”Who is it?” she asked Louise, looking toward the other end of the apartment, as if I might be back there. I think she was confused for a moment about where the front door was.
”I don't know her name. I think it's that lady who moved in downstairs,” said curt Louise, not even bothering to pause as she answered the question.
”Oh, that's ridiculous,” said Mrs. White. ”You didn't ask her name?”
”It's Tina Finn!” I called, trying to be all friendly. ”My mother was married to Bill? My mother was Olivia? Did you know my mom?”
Mrs. White was too startled to answer this at first. She just stared at me. I took a step in and held up the bottle of wine, like a trophy. ”I wanted to come introduce myself and say h.e.l.lo. I'll be staying downstairs for now, so I wanted to say h.e.l.lo.” I was hoping this didn't come off as ridiculous and dopey as it sounded in my head. If it did, Mrs. White's manners were really just too good to let me know.
”Of course!” she said, trying to unpeel the kid from her s.h.i.+n and take a few steps toward me in the foyer. ”Yes, I did see you the other day, didn't I? Downstairs in the lobby, I think-sweetie, let go of my leg, Mommy needs to say h.e.l.lo to the lady.”
”Tina,” I repeated.
”Yes, Tina, it is-lovely-to meet you,” she agreed, reaching a bit to shake my hand. I took the last few steps in to make it easier for her, at which point the kid on the floor lost her footing and started to go down.
”Katherine, be careful-Katherine-oh, thank you, thanks,” Mrs. White said, as I scooped the child up.
”Wow. That's your name, Katherine?” I asked the kid. ”You're so pretty.” At which point the baby started to wail.
”Now, now, Katherine, don't bother the lady,” Mrs. White instructed the kid, who was now glued to me. ”Thank you for the wine.”
”She's not bothering me,” I offered, ignoring her not so subtle hint that I should leave. I had made it through the door, which was farther than I ever thought I'd get, and I wasn't going to give ground so quickly. As the baby got going, wailing and writhing with that peculiar rage that comes out of nowhere to really little kids, Mrs. White was suddenly helpless.
”Barbie-Barbie-oh, for heaven's sake, sweetie. Barbie!” She turned to me. ”I'll be right back.” And she scooted off with the baby, down one of those endless hallways, leaving me and Katherine staring at each other.
”Do you want to see my toys?” Katherine asked.
”Sure,” I said, following her down another hallway to a room so far back in the building I would have gotten lost if I had to try and find it by myself. There was a comfortable daybed covered with a pink-and-yellow bedspread, and on the wall behind it was an enormous quilt cross-st.i.tched with little pictures for the different letters of the alphabet. The walls were yellow and the rug had a big rainbow on it. Itty-bitty wooden and plastic people were clumped in small groupings everywhere, like they were having discreet parties in every corner of the room. Some were standing around toy plastic playground sets or, in one corner, beside a little wooden castle.
”Wow,” I said, flopping on the daybed casually so I could sneak a glance out the window. It looked out on an alley I had never seen before, which convinced me that there was another room in my own apartment that I had not yet found. ”Is this your room? It's so cute.”
”This is my bed, and these are my animals,” Katherine said, pulling about seventy stuffed animals out from behind the sweet little trundle bed that sat tidily in the opposite corner. ”This is Blackie. This is Lulu. This is Betty.”
I climbed down to the floor to get a closer look at the dogs and cats and rabbits and bears and ponies and ducks and sheep and llamas pouring out from behind the bed. We were deep into some game that had to do with animals living in the forest when one of the teenagers finally found us. It was not Louise, the one I had met at the door, but a slightly younger one who seemed even more unhappy about wearing that hideous school uniform. Her hair drooped all over her head as if she couldn't be bothered with it, which was a shame, because it was that great dark blond color with streaks of red that only teenagers get to have, and only for a little while. She had pretty gray eyes, but they were narrowed together under suspicious eyebrows. The kid definitely needed a makeover.
”Who the f.u.c.k are you?” she asked, a tad hostile, from the doorway.
”You said the f word, you owe me a dollar,” Katherine announced without looking up.
”f.u.c.k f.u.c.k f.u.c.k. f.u.c.k,” the hostile teen replied.
”Jennifer!” Katherine gasped, truly appalled by this outrageous breach of decorum.
”It's better for you, now I owe you a five,” Jennifer announced as she picked the kid up and kissed her, then set her back down in the middle of her animals with a move that was both careless and careful at the same time. ”Are you the person who moved into 8A?” she asked, flopping on the daybed.
”Yeah, my name is Tina,” I started.
”I know your name,” she announced, utterly bored. At least she was acting bored, but I know plenty about teenage girls, having been one, and I was well aware that she was completely desperate for information about me and the empty apartment beneath our feet.
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