A possible place to stay for now

Dan drove to the bank while she got on the phone with their insurance company. Laura had access to her account information on her phone luckily, but it was going to cost them more data. The song and dance of going through robotic questions and answers made her jittery. She kissed Dan on the cheek as she parked and settled back in her seat to try to get some answers.

"... you're kidding me?" Laura sniffed. "How can our homeowner's insurance not cover this!" She only just then realized her son had gotten back into the car.

Dan froze, halfway in the process of starting the car. "Are you kidding?" he echoed, looking at her with wide eyes.

Laura waved him off as she listened to whatever the person from the insurance company was saying. "This was a disaster! It should be covered. No, I'd like to speak to a manager." The agent explained that there was really nothing they could do. Laura just stared at the phone and answered the woman's questions automatically. Her brain just didn't want to work. How could the insurance company do nothing for them? "What does that mean for us?" she asked. The agent apologized again. "Nothing? You can do nothing?" she said calmly but wanted to scream her frustation.

"That... I can't believe I trusted a stupid insurance company," Laura said in a soft voice as she hung up the phone. A small sob escaped her lips. Everything she'd worked for was slipping through her hands. She'd worked so hard. Dan pulled into a parking lot and parked the car. He hugged her. The dam of emotions broke through, and she cried silently on his shirt.

"This... is the place," Dan said into the silence twenty minutes later. The two-story converted cotton mill, renovated for low-income housing, looked worse for wear. Fifty years ago or more, the mill might have had a fresh coat of paint, now, it looked closer to an abandoned building than a housing option. "Do we go in?" he asked.

"We might as well," Laura answered with a sigh.

While the exterior of the building looked like the place might fall in on itself, the main hallway of the ground floor looked clean and maintained. Bright lights from industrial lamps lit the off-white walls and sky blue concrete flooring. The office, written on a laminated sheet of paper attached to the wall, was the first door on the left from the entrance.

"Hello?" Dan called, as he knocked on the wooden door. The small, spartan workspace had one large counter with a computer against the far wall. An older man with a handlebar mustache looked up from a stack of documents on the high counter.

"Afternoon," he greeted with a smile. Laura noticed the man's crisp shirt and matching tie. When he spoke, she saw he was missing teeth on the right side of his mouth.

"Good afternoon," Laura said with a smile as she stepped up to the counter. "I... have an acquaintance that recommended us here. She said you might have an apartment we could rent."

The older man's eyebrows raised as he looked first Laura over and then Dan. "I might have something," he hedged. The man's eyes flashed for a moment before he locked eyed with her.

"We just lost our home yesterday. A sinkhole," Laura continued.

The man's eyebrow went up. "Oh, hey, I heard about that on the news. Sinkhole opened up across town. About the size of a football field, someone said. Went down into some old garbage dump or something that the developers covered up."

Laura and Dan exchanged looks. It was news to them.

"We... hadn't heard that," Dan admitted.

"You'll be needing a place then? I don't hold much with the government. Do what they require and nothing more. However, no hard **** or crazy orgy parties are allowed. No pets, human or otherwise are allowed either. I take pictures of the moment you walk into my apartment and the moment you hand over the keys. You sign a contract saying you'll take care of my place or I'll have it out of your hide. Cash always, no check or cards. I've got a place on the second floor open if you're interested."

"How much a month?" Dan asked. Laura went back over what the older man had said about pets and wondered what he was talking about. After a moment's reflection, she realized she didn't want to know.

The proprietor pursed his lips. "I can't go lower than seven hundred a month. These aren't five-star apartments, but I don't ask questions and that'll include power and water," he seemed to pause for a moment after seeing something on their faces. "I employed a helper to do things like sort mail, do laundry for the building, and clean the floors. Oh, if I find either one of you littering in my building, I will throw you out that day. I despise trash. What you do in your room, is up to you. However, if your lifestyle invites pests and other crap like that. You might as well go elsewhere."

"We clean up after ourselves," Laura answered. She glanced around the office. "Can we get back to you?" she asked. At least she wouldn't play maid for this sleezey man to help with rent. Another thought struck her, and she looked back to see the older man staring at her face. She wanted to groan but held back.

The older man shrugged. "The name is Mack. I've run this place for years. I can't promise the place will be open if you wait too long, but I can hold off for a day or so. I've got a fairly steady flow of tenants though. Take a card," he offered and gestured to the small rack on the counter.

"Thank you," Laura said and took the card. She blinked when realized Mack was in a wheelchair and not sitting at a desk.

"Lost both legs," Mack confirmed. "Nasty bit of business as a young man. It's why I hire help from the tenants sometimes. I live well enough, but sometimes I need a little extra help."

"Oh," Laura said as she nodded. It made sense. "We'll let you know one way or another."

"Do that, and see you soon, I think," Mack called as Dan led the way out of the office. "What did you think?" he asked as he got into the car.

Laura pursed her lips and shook her head. "We should have asked to see the open room," she answered after a moment.

"It can't be all that good," Dan said with a shrug. "Maybe we should look somewhere else. Seven hundred... for what? A rundown place on the outskirts of town?"

"That... isn't as bad as you'd think," Laura sighed. "I know someone who's paying eight hundred for just the apartment, not including water or anything else. This... might have to work for a while. We were lucky to have the house paid off."

"We should have asked, but do you think it's a lease-type deal? Or month-to-month?"

Laura glanced at her son before answering, "I think he deals month-to-month only. It's just a hunch." She'd spotted a scantily dressed woman getting out of a newer car. The woman gave off an air Laura was uncomfortablly familiar with.

Dan drove over to the closest Red Cross affiliated store. It happened to be next to the Big Bucks he worked at. The second-hand surplus store, known to give freely to the homeless, had everything ready for them once Laura told them why they were there. The owner, a time-worn woman with an ageless quality, gave them some ideas on how to get through the next few months.

"So, do we stop in?" Laura asked as she eyed Big Bucks.

Dan seemed to mull over her words. "Yeah, we might as well," he answered. "Or, we could go across town to the other store?"

"I'll leave that up to you," Laura answered with a smile.