by Gary Beck
"Don’t worry. I’ll tell him that a woman on an upper floor told me."
The next morning, Beth and Peter went to the second hearing at the fire marshal’s office and it was a bit different than the last one. The atmosphere was much tenser and the fire marshals wouldn’t allow the landlord to rant and carry on. The procedure was formal, almost solemn and the younger fire lieutenant made several announcements:
"The finding of the review board is that the fire was of suspicious origin. There is no evidence to indicate that it was caused by any carelessness on the part of the tenants."
Beth heaved a sigh of relief. "Then can we get back into our apartment for some of our things?"
"I don’t see why not. I’ll notify your local police precinct, so you won’t have any problems."
"Thank you, sir. We really appreciate that."
"What about my apartment?" The landlord bellowed, ignoring his lawyer’s efforts to silence him. "Who’s going to pay for that?"
The fire lieutenant looked at him coldly, "We don’t have any evidence of arson… yet. However, there was a report made to the police that a neighbor saw a man on the fire escape the night of the fire. I suggest that you satisfy your tenants needs, before the investigation turns up any new evidence."
Beth and Peter were delighted at the outcome. Not only were they officially cleared of any liability, but they might have gained some leverage for negotiations with the landlord. On their way out of the hearing the landlord stopped them. He had obviously consulted with his lawyer and his attitude had become very ingratiating.
"I’m sorry we had such an unpleasant disagreement, Mr. and Mrs. Harmon."
Peter was bitter about everything the landlord had done to them. "You mean you’re sorry you didn’t do a better job of burning us out."
The landlord flushed red and started to yell, but his lawyer grabbed his arm, restrained him and whispered in his ear until he calmed down. "Now I don’t want to argue with you, I just want to settle things in a friendly way."
Peter was suspicious, but asked, "What do you have in mind?"
"I’ll fix up your apartment and we forget anything that happened in the past."
"Let me speak to my wife for a minute."
"Take your time. I’ll wait."
Peter drew Beth aside, "What do you think, hon? Should we accept his offer?"
Beth thought quickly, "I don’t think so. You know what kind of animal he is. He must be desperate if he wants to settle things with us. Let’s let him sweat about it for a while. That’ll pay him back for what he did to us."
"Why, hon, I didn’t know you were vindictive."
"I’m not, but after what he put us through…."
"I know what you mean, Beth. Just remember that if the fire marshal doesn’t find any evidence that he’s responsible for the fire, the landlord can do what he wants."
"You’re right. I didn’t think of that. Do you have any ideas?"
"I’ve got a wild one."
"What? Tell me."
"We’ll have to start looking for an apartment in a few months, since our sub-let will be up. We can tell him to give us another apartment in the same building."
"That’s a great idea."
"I’m glad you like it. Hey. What if we tell him to get apartments for our friends in our building?"
Beth kissed him soundly, "Peter, sometimes you’re brilliant."
The landlord had been waiting impatiently and his lawyer kept looking at his watch. He called them, "Mr. and Mrs. Harmon. I don’t have all day. Can we get on with this?"
"Sure," Peter said. "You can start by giving us another rent-controlled apartment in the building."
The landlord glanced at the lawyer, who nodded yes. "I can do that."
"And we want apartments for three of our friends."
"What? Are you crazy?"
"Not at all. You owe us and this is how you make up for putting us in the homeless system."
"No way. I’ll get you an apartment, but not your friends. I didn’t put you in the homeless system. You could have done something else," he bellowed.
"We didn’t have a choice."
"Well that’s too bad. I’ll take care of you, but there’s nothing I can do for your friends."
Peter wouldn’t give in, "If you help our friends, we’ll forget about what you did to us and we won’t bring a civil suit against you."
The lawyer leaned over and whispered in his client’s ear, who kept shaking his head no, then said, "I’ll only give you an apartment. Take it or leave it."
"Why don’t you think about it overnight," Peter said. "I’ll call you tomorrow."
Peter led Beth away with a growing feeling of elation. "Holy shit. I just came up with the idea to scare him. I never thought it was really possible…. I bet we can get him to give our friends apartments…"
"I wouldn’t get too many hopes up, hon. You know how tough he is."
"Yeah. But did you see his lawyer’s face when I mentioned a civil suit? I think I scared him."
"That doesn’t mean he’ll do it. We have to make sure that he gives us an apartment, so we can get out of that hotel."
"What about our friends?" Peter asked.
"We’ll do our best for them, but we have to look out for our family first."
"What about our obligation to them? We avoided those motels and got to the King Charles, thanks to them."
"I know that. Do you want to risk losing that apartment and being stuck in the Charles?"
"Only if you do, Beth."
"I don’t want our kids living in a place like that."
"Neither do I." She took a deep breath, "They’re the only friends we have."
"That’s right," he agreed. "I guess we have to stand by our friends."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
They stopped at the music store again and Beth went straight to the Steinway concert grand. She started a Debussy piece, but halfway through forgot the rest and switched to a Chopin Nocturne. The same salesman as last time showed up and Peter assured him that they were giving the instrument serious consideration. Beth finished playing and ran her hands caressingly over the piano, a passionate lover who must say farewell.
She looked at the salesman, "It’s got wonderful tone. I’m just not sure if we have room for it."
The salesman leaned forward confidingly, "Frankly, Miss, I don’t care if you buy it or not. It’s such a nice change for me to hear someone play classical music. All I hear day in and day out is rap, or heavy metal. I’m just about ready to get a job in the institute for the deaf. Come in and play whenever you like."
Beth felt great when they left the store. On the subway ride uptown, she held Peter’s arm tightly. She kissed him goodbye hard when she got off at 28th Street and he stayed on the train to go to work.
Beth felt so good that she almost found herself dancing on the street. After the terror of the fire that left them homeless, then the shock of the homeless system, things were beginning to look up. If they could make a deal with the landlord, they could have their own apartment and perhaps even get him to rent apartments to her friends. She thought about Peter’s loyalty to the group and she was proud of him. But another part of her knew that if she could get an apartment and her friends couldn’t, she would take it. She would do her best for her friends; that went without saying. She wanted them to live in the same building. They were good people. Each of them were very different, but they were all worthwhile. She thought of their basic bond, the dedication that each of them had for their children and she knew that they would do whatever was necessary to build a better life for them.
When Beth got to the hotel, she stopped at the social worker’s office and knocked, getting the usual non-response. Her anger at not being able to connect with someone who might help them had changed to an ironic acceptance of the ridiculous situation. She had taken to calling silly or comical comments through the door. Her mood was playful today and she stage whispered, "I know you’re in there. If yo
u don’t let me in, I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow the door down." She hit the door suddenly with a loud bang and she heard someone move inside, but then it was quiet again. "Remember… I’ll huff and I’ll puff…." She went upstairs quietly, hoping that the social worker would think she was still outside the door. Her little prank kept her smiling for the rest of the day. She suggested to Kiesha and Miss Lily that they stake out the social worker’s door Friday morning and catch her when she came to work.
That evening, while Miss Lily watched the children, the adults went downstairs and asked one of the many Mister Singhs to let them move to the fifth floor. He immediately refused.
"That is not possible. All rooms are taken."
"We know that most of the rooms are empty," Beth said.
"How do you know?"
"Some women on another floor told me."
"That is not so. All are taken."
"We’ve got to get off the seventh floor," Kiesha said.
"Why? The rooms are good. It is nice floor. No need to move."
"We can’t take it anymore," Hector insisted. "The music and fighting on the tenth floor is keeping us and the children awake."
"You stay on seventh floor. I’ll ask them be quiet."
Peter shook his head. "We need to move. What difference does it make to you if we’re on seven, or five?"
"We don’t let welfare residents tell us what to do."
Peter tried to be reasonable, "We’re not telling you what to do. We need a quieter floor."
"Sorry. No can do."
Beth had been listening patiently, "We can complain to the homeless commissioner, and call the police every time there’s noise."
He looked at them malevolently. "I just remembered there are some empty rooms on five. I’ll give you keys."
They looked at the rooms, which turned out to be a little larger and in better condition than those on the seventh floor. The set-up was similar, and they divided the rooms the same way. They ate dinner, then Miss Lily watched the children and they moved her room first. Once she was set in her new room, they moved the rest of them one at a time. It didn’t take long to move their meager belongings, then everyone thoroughly cleaned and scoured their rooms until they were satisfied. The children inspected each other’s rooms and compared them, debating the merits.
Pablo summed it up for them. "I think it’s nicer here and we’re further away from those crazy kids on the tenth floor."
Raheen agreed, "It’s cool." The boys got involved in an X-man game and the girls had their dolls test the new sleeping arrangements. Apparently, the children were undisturbed by the move and Beth couldn’t help thinking how acceptant they were in a world of insecurity.
When all the cleaning was finished, Miss Lily made coffee for everyone and they chatted about the new accommodations. "I think we’ll be much better off here. I’m looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep for a change," Miss Lily said. Everyone cheerfully agreed.
Just then Ephraim stuck his head out of his room, "How are you folks doin’?"
Peter greeted him gratefully, "Good, Ephraim. Thanks for telling us about these rooms. It should be much quieter here."
"Glad to help."
"This is my wife Beth and my friends Kiesha, Hector and Miss Lily."
"Pleased to meet you all." They shook hands all around, as one by one the group thanked him.
"Would you like to join us for a cup of coffee?" Miss Lily asked.
"Don’t mind if I do."
Peter asked Ephraim to tell the group some of the things that he had mentioned earlier about the hotel. Everyone was indignant when he told them that the city was paying 250 dollars a day per room.
Hector fumed, "That’s crazy. We could live in luxury housing for that money. What a fucked-up system. There’s got to be plenty of apartments available in nice neighborhoods for what they’re paying that would solve most of the homeless problems, especially for families."
Ephraim shook his head, "You don’t understand, young fella. Then all the poor people want better housin’ and the government don’t want that."
Kiesha didn’t understand, "Why not. Wouldn’t that be good for everyone?"
"It be good for the poor, but them middle class folks don’t want minorities in their neighborhoods, livin as good as they do at government expense." Beth wasn’t sure if she agreed, but when all the others nodded, she didn’t say anything.
The conversation about the cost of the room went on for a while. During the first lull, Beth asked, "Tell us about those mothers we see with their kids. They all look so scared."
"They are. Most of them are victims of violence and even their kids have been battered. Their men beat them, and all the courts did was issue a order of protection."
Kiesha snorted, "I know how much that’s worth. After your boyfriend kills you and your kids, the police arrest him and maybe he goes to jail. That does you a lot of good."
"That’s the way it is," Ephraim explained. "Half the time the city removes kids from violent homes, without even findin’ out who be doing the batterin’. The mother still gets beaten and she loses her kids to boot."
Kiesha nodded. "Women don’t get an even break when there’s abuse and children are involved. The mothers are always accused of neglect, because they allow domestic violence. Yeah. Right. How are they supposed to protect themselves, get guns and shoot the men?"
Ephraim shrugged, "It don’t do the woman no good to go to jail and their kids be placed in foster care… I’ve gotta go. My granddaughter gets nervous when I’m gone too long."
They all said goodnight to Ephraim. After he went inside, Miss Lily said, "I think that man knows what he’s talkin’ about. He could be a good neighbor."
Beth nodded, "I like him… There’s something I want to tell you. Our landlord offered us an apartment to settle any claims we may have about the fire in our apartment."
Miss Lily beamed, "I’m glad for you, chile. The sooner you get your kids out of here the better."
"Thanks, Miss Lily, but there’s something else. We told him that he had to give our friends apartments in the same building."
Kiesha’s mouth dropped open, "You mean that, missy? You really want us to stay together?"
"Of course. You’re good people. I’m proud to have you for friends."
Hector was moved, "That’s real nice of you, Beth. You and Peter have helped us get out of a nightmare. I owe you and the rest of you."
Miss Lily nodded, "It’s good that we like and respect each other, but if you gets an apartment and you can’t get them for us, you take yours and get your kids out of here."
The discussion broke up shortly after that and they went to their rooms. Beth and Peter tidied their room and put the children to bed. Although they still hadn’t procured a cot for Andy, he was comfortable on an inflatable air mattress that Beth had found at the thrift shop for two dollars. There was also more space between the bed and the walls, so they could move around without stepping on Andy or hurdling over Jen. They were still compressed in a tiny area, but at least they weren’t skinless and boneless sardines, packed together for greater economy. Once the children fell asleep, they talked about the day’s events. The prospect of getting their own apartment was exciting. They decided that they would do their best to get the landlord to give apartments to their friends, but if he refused, they would take one for the good of the children. They went into the bathroom and made love behind the closed door, like adolescents hiding from parents, giggling and shushing each other. They slept well that night and didn’t even notice when the concert started.
After a good night’s sleep, Peter and Hector went to work and Kiesha went to school, while Beth and Miss Lily took care of the children. On Friday it was a little warmer and the women took the children to the playground after school. They were still the only families using the facility. The girls had lost their traditional female inhibitions and romped on the jungle gym as freely as the boys. At one-point Jennif
er took a break and sat with Beth, who asked her what school was like. Jennifer told her that even though most of the kids had accepted them, they still sat together in the lunchroom and played together in the schoolyard.
"The other kids are nice, except for one sneaky boy who teases Pablo when he’s near the teacher. But we’re special friends and we look out for each other. This girl in my class, Melissa, said she wanted to be my friend and I said okay, but I told her that Latoya was my best friend and she always comes first." Jennifer ran back to play, leaving the mothers who had been listening intently glowing with pride.
Peter and Hector had their first day off on Saturday and they did a lot of little chores in the rooms, including putting padlocks on the doors. When the women were ready to take the children to the park, Beth knocked on Ephraim’s door. When he cautiously answered, she invited his granddaughter, Precious, to go to the park with them. She could hear a mumbling discussion, then Ephraim told her that Precious didn’t want to go.
"We’ll look out for her if anybody bothers her. It’ll be good for her to get outside for a while."
There was another mumbling discussion and Ephraim came back to the door. "I told her the oreos would protect her and she’s getting’ ready."
"What are the oreos?"
"You, Kiesha and Miss Lily. That’s what some of the women here call you, because you’re two chocolates and a vanilla, stickin’ together."
Beth laughed, "Wait’ll I tell the others."
Precious came out and she was a slim, shy, child-woman, a doe ready to flee at the slightest threat. She attached herself to Miss Lily and stayed welded to her side for the rest of the day.
Sunday was a special treat for everyone. The children had been talking about the Empire State building ever since they saw it. Miss Lily informed them that as a reward for their good behavior they were all going to the observation deck, where they’d be able to see the entire city and part of New Jersey. Hector gave the children a local geography lesson on the way and when they got to the observation deck he pointed out various places. The adults listened just as attentively and enjoyed the view as much as the children. Everyone contributed quarters to the coin operated binoculars and each child got to look at either the George Washington Bridge, or the World Trade Center for the brief minute until the shutter clicked closed. There weren’t many tourists on a cold February afternoon and the children ran to look at each different view of the city, yelling and cavorting, without disturbing anyone. When the children had their fill of gaping at wonderland, they went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant on Third Avenue and 28th Street, a wild extravagance that almost made them feel like consumers again.
