Chapter 11

Sarah

Wednesday, less than two weeks before Christmas, I get up to go to work.

I get dressed in green and red to get into the Christmas spirit for work. It’s easily my favorite time of year, and I like being a dork about it.

When I walk out, I notice an envelope stuck to my door. I open it and read the letter, and my stomach drops. It’s an eviction notice from my landlord. He needs the house. I can’t believe this. There’s no way I can be put out onto the street this close to Christmas! Surely, that’s got to be illegal.

I go back inside and search for my contract, finding it in the bottom drawer of my desk. I leaf through it until I find the clause about eviction. And the son of a bitch is right. I have to leave. I have seven days’ notice.

I want to cry. A lump rises in my throat, and I must bite back tears. When I check the time, I know I should be on my way. I walk back outside to leave when Graham comes out of his house. He waves at me.

I lift my hand in a half-hearted wave, but I can’t find it in me to smile.

“Are you okay?” Graham calls from his porch.

I nod, but he can tell I’m lying and comes to me, walking around from his driveway to mine. He looks worried. His eyes flick to the envelope in my hand, and an expression flickers across his features too fast for me to register.

“It’s an eviction notice,” I say and hold out the letter to Graham. He frowns and takes it from me hesitantly. “I have to be out in a week.”

“What?” Graham asks.

“Yeah, I know. I looked at my contract, too. I can’t do anything about it. The piece of shit needs my house, so I have to go. It’s so fucking unfair.”

He glances at me. I can’t bite back the tears anymore, and they spill over my cheeks. I cover my face with my hands so Graham won’t see me cry, and I sob like a child.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Graham says. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me against him. His body is warm, and it’s comforting that he’s drawing me against him, but I can’t stop crying. I’m losing my home.

“It won’t be,” I sob. “I have nowhere to go.”

Graham stiffens. “What about Monica?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t know, Graham. I don’t know. I just found this. I haven’t even had a chance to tell her. What am I going to do?”

He rubs my back before he lets me go. Something about him is a little switched off, distant. Maybe women don’t cry around him. I bet he’s uncomfortable. I try to swallow the lump in my throat, and I wipe my tears.

“Do you want to come over for a cup of hot cocoa or something?” Graham asks. His hands are in his pockets, and he’s rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“No, thank you,” I say. “I have to get to work and then I am seeing Monica and Lindsay tonight. We have a Christmas date. Although with this eviction, the whole day is ruined. Hell, all of Christmas is ruined. My heartless, piece-of-garbage landlord saw to that. The least that pussy could have done was come tell me to my face, not with a letter like a fucking coward. I paid my rent on time. I treated the property well. It’s just not fair.”

Graham looks down at his feet, uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I know I’m going off right now, but seriously, is there anything lower than kicking a woman out of her home less than a week before Christmas? The devil just reserved a special place in hell for my asshole landlord, and I hope he burns there for all eternity.”

Graham nods, still not meeting my gaze. “Okay… will you let me know if you need something?”

“I will,” I say. I give him a hug, and he doesn’t push for a kiss. I’m relieved. Making out with someone after crying when you have a stuffy nose is everything but hot.

I get in my car and drive work. I have no time to think about my impending eviction as the day is so busy.

On the ride to Monica’s place that afternoon after work I start to think about everything. I’m lucky to have Graham in my life, I think. He cares about me, even though we don’t know each other very well. He’s willing to be there for me in my time of need, which is something very few people outside of my family are willing to be. I’m grateful that he’s willing to be a shoulder to cry on, even if he can’t be anything else.

When I get out of the car at Monica’s place, Lindsay runs out and tackles me. When she looks up at me, her face falls.

“You’ve been crying,” she says. “What’s wrong?”

I take a shuddering breath. “Let’s get out of the cold, and I’ll tell you and your mom all about it,” I say. I follow her inside.

Monica is just as worried when she sees that I’ve been crying. I pull the letter out of my bag and let my sister read it. When she’s done, she looks at me, shocked.

“Are you serious? He’s kicking you out just before Christmas?”

I nod. I explain that it’s in my contract and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“I only have a week,” I say.

“You’ll come stay here,” Monica says.

“Yes!” Lindsay cheers. “You can bunk with me!”

I shake my head. “That’s great of you, but I can’t do that. I’m not going to impose on family time and take up your space.”

Monica and Larry don’t have the biggest home, and even though I might be able to crash on the couch for a night or two, I will have to find something else for the foreseeable future. I don’t want to be in their personal space, and I have way too much stuff in my house to store it here. It simply wouldn’t fit.

“You know you always have a space here,” Monica says.

I nod. “I know. Thank you.”

At least I know I won’t be on the streets. I hate this. Everything about this Christmas has suddenly become horrible. My stomach is knotted with nerves, and I feel sick, I’m so stressed. Where the hell am I going to go with all my stuff? I have furniture and enough books and kitchenware to fill several boxes. Even if I sleep on Monica’s couch, I can’t put it all here, and I can’t afford storage for more than a couple of days.

Monica and I sit at the kitchen table while Lindsay watches cartoons in the living room.

“What am I going to do, Monica?” I ask.

My sister sighs, shaking her head. “I don’t know,” she says. “I wish I knew, but I don’t. I can’t believe someone would do this.”

I shrug. “I don’t know what the situation is. Maybe he really needs the house. It’s the only explanation I can think of that doesn’t make me want to shoot him in the face.”

“So, he kicks you out? You’re golden that you want to justify it, but I can’t see anything fair about this.

I nod. I agree with her. It’s ridiculous that I’m losing my home and in such a short time. I don’t have a time to find myself a place to stay, and no one else is going to move just before Christmas. I won’t have any choice but to sleep on Monica’s couch.

God, what a mess.

“We’ll figure something out for you, okay?” Monica says, rubbing my arm when I start crying again.

I nod. I want to believe her, but right now, everything looks so dark and dreary. The house is decorated for Christmas and with the weather threatening the way it is right now, it looks like we’re going to have a white Christmas after all. Usually, it would be enough for me to get my spirits soaring. Instead, I’m so upset and miserable I don’t know what to do with myself.