Second Chance: November 9

The story starts here.

“Hey, I’m back,” Michelle said softly as she tapped a couple of times on the door. She peaked around the corner to see Karin with the phone to her ear and her finger in the air. Michelle held up the Little Ceasars pizza box that she had picked up on her way back and Karin gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

“Alright, Camilla, thanks for calling me. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Karin said and hung up the phone. “I think that’s everything I can do tonight.”

“I picked up a pizza since I was pretty sure you hadn’t eaten at all today,” Michelle said, heading for the kitchen. Karin locked the front door and hung up the closed sign.

“John said not to worry about anything, everything’s insured and he’ll contact the Fire Marshall tomorrow to request a full report,” Karin said as she grabbed a roll of paper towels from the cupboard. “You don’t care if we don’t dirty any dishes, right?”

“If I wanted to use dishes, I’d have picked up something healthier than pizza,” Michelle answered as she opened the box and slide a piece on to a paper towel.

“I called the police station. I couldn’t talk to anyone on the case, but the desk sergeant told me I have to stay away from the property until they are done with their investigation. John advised the same thing, so I guess there isn’t anything I can do over there for now.” Karin said.

“Camilla, the girl upstairs is probably going to take the apartment I have over on Oak Drive.” Karin continued after taking a bite of pizza. “Wow, this is delicious, I must have been starving.”

“It sounds like business is getting back in order,” Michelle said. “So, let’s talk pleasure. I told you that Sally Berton said that Samantha and Jay are definitely not an item, which would be totally eewww anyway since they are actually cousins. I also heard that there was a huge moving crew out at his grandfather’s house, and it sounded like they were moving things in.”

“That could mean anything,” Karin said.

“You’re right, it could, but what if it means that Jay is moving into his grandfather’s house and not going back to Chicago? Dunewood is not that big of a town, you two could be running into each other on a regular basis.” Michelle said.

Karin put her hands up to her face. She was suddenly feeling hot.

“I think I need to turn on the air conditioning,” she said.

“I would say something, but it’s just too easy,” Michelle said, teasingly. Karin smiled and shook her head.

“I don’t know how I would handle that,” Karin said. “We don’t really know anything about him or his life though. He may or may not be moving here. He isn’t married to his cousin, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t married.” Karin started to clean off the table and put the leftover pizza in the refrigerator. “Besides, he already left me once. I don’t need all that drama in my life again. It doesn’t matter how I feel about him anyway, he already made his choice and I wasn’t it.”

Michelle started to say something, but Karin held her hand up. “Anything else we say is just gossip, and I need to get a decent nights sleep tonight… after I pick up my car.” Michelle nodded although there was a lot more she wanted to say, and she drove her friend back to the hospital parking lot to get her car.

“Hey, drop me off at the ER entrance. I just want to make sure they have my cell number in case they try to reach me when I’m out of the office tomorrow.” Karin said as they pulled into the parking lot.

“Thanks again for being such a great friend.” Karin said as she got out of the car. There was nothing new to learn from the hospital. They had all her numbers and knew how to reach her. No, there wasn’t anything else she could do. She drove home and went to bed.

The next morning, Karin met Camilla at 712 Oak street.

“Did they tell you that you can’t get back into the other house until they’ve finished the fire investigation?” Karin asked as they walked into the downstairs apartment.

“Yes, and I filed a claim with my insurance company, and they are going to contact the Fire Marshall to the get a full report, and then I’ll have to make a complete inventory of my stuff that got damaged in the fire.”

“I’m so glad that you had renter’s insurance,” Karin said with relief. “We tell everyone that they are required to buy it, but some people still don’t do it. Or, they buy it when they first move in, but let it expire later. I’m really glad that you had a current policy; I’m sure it will help you out a lot.”

“I just love this apartment,” Camilla said, walking through the unit.

“It’s a little bit bigger than the one you had on First street, and it’s downstairs, which is why it’s a little more expensive.” Karin explained.

“I think I can swing it.” Camilla said. “My parents will help me if I need it.”

“Great,” Karin said. “Your deposit will transfer and I’ll prorate the rent so you’ll get credit for what you’ve already paid and not get charged twice.” They headed out the front door.

“When can I move in?” Camilla asked.

“Today, if you want. I’ll have some paperwork for you to sign, but I can have it ready by this afternoon. Just stop by my office later today.” Karin said. She had a couple of appointments for the Birch Run apartment, so she headed over there. She glanced at her phone and saw the flashing words on the screen “1 new message.” She called and checked her voicemail as soon as she got to the house.

The tenants from the upstairs apartment on Oak street who were supposed to be out at the end of the month had decided not to move.

“I added two vacancies yesterday and got rid of two vacancies today,” Karin said out loud. “I guess things are working out about equal.” All of the appointments looked like good prospects and they all seemed interested and filled out applications.

“Well, this day just keeps getting better,” Karin said. She decided to take a drive down James street and check out the Piermont Complex. She pulled her car up to the corner of James and Filmore and parked across the street from the complex. The thirty story building looked more enormous than she remembered. It was a building that she drove by nearly every day when she was out running errands, but one that had just become part of the landscape and that she didn’t really take notice of anymore. But, now, as she stood outside her car, looking up at the building, she wondered how she could have taken its existence for granted.

“Karin?” she jumped when she heard Jay’s voice behind her.

“Hi Jay.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Just checking out the Complex,” she said. “They’re looking for a new manager. I was thinking of applying…”

“I think you should,” he said.

“Really?” she said surprised.  “Do you know much about real estate?” He shook his head.

“A little, not much really.” He said. “My family has a few investments.”

“I heard you were working in Chicago,” she said, watching him watch her. He nodded.

“Yeah, my grandfather has an office there.”

“So, why do you need an apartment in Dunewood?” she asked.

He laughed. “It wasn’t for me. I was just helping a friend.”

“You mean your cousin?”

“Um, yeah, something like that,” he said. She furrowed her brow as she watched his body language. She wanted to ask him more questions, but then he changed the subject.

“I’ve got a meeting nearby,” he said. “Are you free for dinner tonight?” She bit her bottom lip. Her whole being wanted to say yes to him, but she hesitated. He smiled at her and just waited patiently. She took a deep breath, and then she breathed a soft “Yes.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up at your office around six.” And, he was walking away before she could say anything else. She was feeling great when she got back to the office. She still hadn’t heard anything from the Fire Marshall or the police or the hospital, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. She smiled the whole time that she was putting together the paperwork for Camilla to move into the Oak street apartment. She called references on the applications she got that day and processed their paperwork. She contacted the best one and made an appointment to sign a lease that afternoon.

“Woohoo! Zero vacancies!” she cheered for herself. Then, she thought, well, except for the house on First Street, and her mind went to the fire again. But, there was still nothing that she could do about that, so she did her best to put it out of her mind.

Find out what happens next here.