Fresh Start, page 4
“But nothing. That’s what families do, sweetheart. Just promise me when I’m old you’ll put me in a decent home and not one on those true crime shows.” Judy smiled widely and Alyssa finally let out a laugh.
“I promise.” She said through the dying laughter. “You go on though. I’m fine here today. There are a few more places I’d like to apply even if it is a waste of time. Maybe I’ll go out the back door later and take a walk around the place where they can’t see me.” She motioned with her head toward the door in the kitchen, which led to a small parking lot and the back of the complex. “Is the fence still broken?” She asked Judy as the woman stood.
“They’ve fixed it more times than I can count, but the kids keep cutting that hole so I think maintenance has just given up. You going for a walk in the fields?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Alyssa replied.
Judy set her coffee cup in the sink and walked back to the living room.
“You just reminded me. Ken mentioned needing someone in maintenance.” She explained. “Maybe you can go to the office and talk to him about it.” Ken was the head of the maintenance department and also a man about Judy’s age that they’d known for years. He’d been asking Judy on dates for as long as Alyssa could remember and Judy had always turned him down. Originally, it was because of the kids she’d been raising and then it was because she was stubborn and then it was because of Alyssa’s troubles.
“Mom, I know nothing about maintenance.”
“He could teach you. I’m sure he’d take you on, Alyssa.”
“Yeah, because he wants to get into your pants.” Alyssa chided.
“Alyssa Lynn Masters!” Judy scolded.
“What? He does. He has for years.”
“Just talk to him.” Judy commanded.
“Mom, just because the guy likes you doesn’t mean he’s going to hire me. Seriously, he’d have no reason too.”
“Well, maybe he knows of something else in the area.” Judy grabbed her light sweater and her purse. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll be back later.”
“Have a good day.” Alyssa offered as her mother left.
She waited until she heard the engine turn over and then stood up, leaving the laptop on the sofa and walked to the window to peak out through the curtain. The press all seemed to alert to the car they recognized and Alyssa watched as her mother pulled out toward the entrance of the complex. The cameras all pointed in the direction of the car. Journalists readied their microphones and some of them fixed their hair that had gotten tangled in the light breeze moving over the flat land. When they realized Alyssa wasn’t in the car, they seemed disappointed, but still peppered Judy with questions that Alyssa couldn’t hear, but could see on their lips and they pressed their microphones toward the closed windows as Judy passed them and made it out to the main road.
***
After a few more online applications had been completed, Alyssa felt at least a little bit productive. She knew her mom would be upset if she didn’t talk to Ken about the position despite the fact that she knew he wouldn’t give it to her, so after eating a small lunch of a sandwich and soup, she dressed in clothes that were too big for her and headed out the back door of the kitchen and down the metal stairs that led to the parking lot and beyond that, a large tract of farm land.
Kids had been making holes in the chain link fence for decades now; cutting the links with wire cutters and giving them just enough space to escape into the fields where they’d run around when the crops were high and play baseball when they were low. Alyssa had no idea what the farmer who owned the land thought about all this, but despite the signs up on and around the fence, discouraging this behavior, as far as she knew there’d never been any complaints.
“Alyssa?” She heard the familiar voice and turned her glance toward Ken. He was a rotund man with a kind, round face and he still had some light brown hair on top of his head or at least around the hat he was wearing.
“Hi, Ken.” She gave a small wave as he approached with a clipboard in his right hand and a tool belt around his waist.
“How are you?” He asked when he got close enough and then almost smacked himself in the face with the clipboard. “I’m sorry. That’s a dumb question.”
“It’s okay. I understand.” She paused at the awkward moment. “How have you been?”
“Things have been steady around here. You know how that goes.”
“Sure.” She lied. She really only knew of Ken and knew what her mom had told her over the years since she’d moved out.
“Your mom said you might be stopping by to see me.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“You have any experience?”
“With maintenance?” She checked.
“The position I’ve got is just part-time, but it’s something.”
“I don’t have any experience, I’m afraid.” She paused and glanced in the direction of the field. She felt like running through that field and coming out on the other side.
“Well, we could teach you up. I’ve got four on staff right now; three full timers along with me and then one other part-timer. He works the night shift weekdays. We need someone on Saturday and Sunday all day. We do the major work throughout the week so just minor stuff for you.” He explained.
“I’m looking for something full-time. I need to start helping my mom.” She was hoping that would be enough to put him off. It was also true. She needed something to occupy her time for more than just sixteen hours a week. Her nights had been plagued with the usual nightmares. She’d gotten accustomed to them, but that never made them any easier to deal with. Images of Ty and Lizzy moved through her brain like an old-fashioned flip book. Her life in prison would appear as if an epilogue to that terrible story and she’d usually wake up during the first fight she’d been a part of. The cold sweat drenched her clothing and she’d have to shower and change, but she didn’t want to worry her mother so she wouldn’t. The first night, she’d just changed clothes and moved to the floor to sleep since the sheets were also wet with her sweat. She’d gotten used to hard bed in the cell so the floor was fairly comfortable. She’d washed her clothes and her sheets the next day while Judy had been at work.
“You know what?” Ken seemed to have realized something. “Head over to the leasing office. I think they might have something better for you.”
“The leasing office?”
“It just came up today. I overheard when I got in this morning. Stacey is leaving. She’s moving onto the company’s other complex near Reno. She got a promotion to run that office. Her position’s available. They haven’t even posted it yet.”
“Oh.” She didn’t really know what to think. She didn’t know who Stacey was or what she did at the office.
“It’s mainly showing apartments and trying to get people to rent.” He answered her unasked question. “I’ll put in a good word and your mom has lived here forever so if you want it, you’d probably get it.”
“What about…” She didn’t know how to ask, but Ken seemed to know where she was going with her question.
“My word goes a long way around here.” He supplied. “And besides, you weren’t convicted of anything.”
“That hasn’t stopped the crowd out there.” She motioned with her head toward the front of the complex, which wasn’t visible through the buildings.
“I stopped them though.” He looked in that direction. “I told them that if they tried to get on this property, I’d call the cops and have them arrested for trespassing. The company that owns this place would back me if I did.”
“That was very kind of you.” Alyssa smiled as she looked back at Ken.
“It’s the least I could do. We all know you didn’t do what they thought you did, Alyssa.”
“Thank you.”
“Talk to Erin. She’s in charge in there. She’s about your age. Been here for about two years. She’s got two on part-time staff. They’re college students though and don’t want full-time. Stacey was the only full-timer. Monday through Friday, I think.”
“That would be perfect.” Alyssa had to agree.
“Head there now. I’ll call and let them know you’re coming. I’ve got to head over to 21B and fix the garbage disposal.”
“Thanks, Ken. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He pulled out the walkie-talkie he had attached to his tool belt. “Erin, come in.” He addressed and gave Alyssa a wave with the clip board in hand. He walked off and Alyssa heard him telling Erin he was sending someone over to talk about the position.
***
The office looked newer than the complex itself. It appeared it had gone through some type of remodel since Alyssa had last seen it. It resembled a ranch style home with two glass doors in the front and a small room off to the right that also had a glass door. She knew that was the mail room. The landscaping outside looked fresh along with the beige paint job on the exterior. The sign said open on the glass so she pulled open one of the doors and walked into the space.
Immediately ahead of her was an old-fashioned desk with computer and other office supplies resting atop it. To the left of that desk was another desk facing perpendicular to it and the two desks matched in style and supplies. To her immediate right there was a small table with a coffee maker and some doughnuts that had likely been brought in that morning. There were also flyers for the different units in the complex and a few copies of the local newspaper. Just past that table was a hallway, but she couldn’t see what was beyond it. To her immediate left were two offices next to one another. Both doors were open and one had a woman sitting behind the desk talking to a couple sitting in front of it. Alyssa could hear her explaining the rent policy to the couple and she felt like maybe she shouldn’t be listening as she tried to explain that she couldn’t give them another extension. She wondered if that was Erin and thought maybe she should wait in one of the two green leather chairs against the front wall to her left when she heard someone entering from the hallway.
“Are you Alyssa?” The woman looked about 5’10 and was impeccably dressed in a business suit. She had long, red hair that was partially pulled back while the rest was against her long neck.
“Yes.”
“I’m Erin.” She walked toward Alyssa with her hand outstretched for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you.” Alyssa shook the strong hand and wondered how someone like Erin had ended up in a place like this.
“Ken said you’re interested in Stacey’s position.”
“He mentioned it to me just now.”
“Do you have any leasing experience?” She got right to the point and motioned for Alyssa to join her in the other office, which Alyssa could now see belonged to Erin. The picture of Erin with a man and two small children on the desk gave it away.
“I’ve worked retail most of my career. I was in sales for a while though. I have a degree in business and I realize now that I should have brought a copy of my resume instead of trying to tell you all about it.” She chastised herself as she sat in front of Erin’s desk and Erin sat behind it. “I can email it to you when I get back to the apartment.”
Erin sat back and stared at Alyssa as if she was taking her in. Alyssa looked down. She knew what was going to happen next.
“I don’t want to lie to you, Alyssa.” She sighed. “I know who you are.”
“I guessed that.”
“The press outside is causing a problem with our tenants who live here because they like the quiet.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault they’re here.” She leaned forward. “It’s our media obsessed culture.” She clasped her hands on top of her desk calendar and took in a deep breath. “You live here with your mother?”
“For now, yes.”
“The position comes with an apartment in the complex. We pay you less, but we don’t charge you rent or utilities. Cable, internet, that kind of thing is on you though.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Stacey leaving has put us in a tricky position. They need her at the complex in Reno right away since it’s new and she’s in charge of getting the others hired and everything setup. I only have college students here and they require a full-timer to be with them in the office and approve leases, applications, and authorize certain maintenance tasks.” She began and Alyssa just nodded as if understanding, but really just trying to figure out where Erin was going with this. “My husband, Mark is in the Army.” Erin went on. “Your brother’s Dean Masters, right?”
“How did you know that?” Alyssa asked.
“Mark is a lieutenant. He’s in Dean’s unit. They’ve known each other for a few years. It’s how I ended up working here. Mark was over there with Dean up until he got stationed back here to be a recruiter. He got injured on a routine patrol. Dean was with him.”
“Wow!” Alyssa said out loud. “Small world.”
“Not really. When Mark found out he couldn’t stay, he asked to be a recruiter. He grew up about an hour north of here and there’s a recruiting station between here and there. Dean mentioned this place and thought it would be an inexpensive place for us to start out since we didn’t want to live on post with the kids anymore. We moved in and once the kids were a little older, this was the perfect job for me. I have a business degree too and I thought this would be a good place to start, but I like it here. We have a three-bedroom unit here and he drives about thirty minutes to work each day, but it works well for us.”
“I’m glad your husband got back safely.” Alyssa meant it. She knew some of the rough stuff Dean told her and also knew that he didn’t tell her about the really rough stuff over there.
“I’m not going to pretend I know what you’ve been through or even what you’re going through, but I can imagine it’s going to be hard out there for you.” She told Alyssa who just nodded a slight affirmation. “Stacey is leaving for Reno on Tuesday. If you can start on Monday, she can at least fill you in on what she was responsible for and I’ll take it from there.”
“What are you saying?” Alyssa’s eyes got big and she wasn’t sure she’d heard her right.
“We do everything by trial here. ninety-day probationary period where we can terminate employment at any time, but that’s standard. We have decent benefits, but they’re not the best. Medical, but no vision or dental, but Stacey will be out of the apartment on Tuesday. It’ll take us about a week to clean it up and then you can move in. We’re in the process of updating the entire complex. The company that bought the place right before I got hired has invested in bringing things up so your place will appear new at least.”
“You’re serious?”
“Email me your resume and complete the online application. You start Monday.”
“Sure. Of course.” Alyssa agreed immediately. “Thank you.” She couldn’t believe she’d walked herself into a job.
“I’m not going to lie. I’m doing this as a favor to your brother.”
“I understand.” Alyssa couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. “I appreciate it.”
“Dean saved Mark over there.” Erin stated while glancing at the photo of her family. “They’d gotten hit with an IED and Mark almost lost his leg. Dean got him out and treated him. He saved him.” She continued. “Mark’s alive because of your brother so I’m doing this because he gave me my husband and my children, their father.”
“I understand, really. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
“Yes.” Erin agreed. “Come in tomorrow to fill out the initial paperwork. The faster we get it all processed, the better.”
“I can do it now.” Alyssa offered.
“That’ll work.” Erin opened a few drawers and pulled out sheets of paper. She stacked them neatly together, put them into a green folder with the name of the complex on it and handed it to Alyssa. “Take it home, fill it out, print your resume if you can and complete the application online for me. Just bring it all back when you’re done. We’re here until four today.”
“I’ll be back.” Alyssa stood. “We don’t have a printer at the apartment though.” She had to admit.
“Just email it to me then.”
“Thank you again.” Alyssa put her hand out and Erin stood to shake it.
“Don’t thank me yet. Let’s see if this actually works first.”
“You mean let’s see if I can actually get people to lease an apartment from me?”
“I’m thinking we start you off light. We’ll have you do office stuff and have Joe and Danielle do the actual showings. I’ll show when I’m here.” She looked Alyssa in the eye. “Just until things die down.”
“I get it.”
“They’ll move on soon, Alyssa. They’ll find someone else to pick on. When Mark first got back, the local paper did a whole spread on him. They even came over to the house to interview all of us. They told us they’d come back a month later to do a follow-up, but they never did. They’d moved on to someone else.”
“I hope so. This isn’t exactly what I’d planned for my life and I hate that my mom and Dean have to go through this because of me.”
“Your mom seems great. I haven’t spent that much time with her, but she drops a plate of cookies by each month with her rent. She’s a sweetheart.”
“She is and she deserves better.” Alyssa smiled.
Erin seemed to be considering something.
“Look, why don’t you get settled in this week, but come by our place next weekend for dinner? You and your mom? I know Mark would like to meet you.”
“Oh, I couldn’t.”
“Consider it a pre-requisite to the job.” Erin winked at her and offered a smile.
“I’ll see if she can get off work.”
“Good. Saturday at seven?”
“She should be home by then.”
“Great. Tell her to bring those cookies.”
Alyssa smiled, nodded and clasped her folder to her chest before turning and walking out of the office. She walked back toward the apartment away from the prying eyes of the press and past the fence and the field she’d recently considered running through. When she got back to the apartment, she completed her application and sent Erin the resume she’d been working on and hoped it was good enough. This job wasn’t exactly what she had planned for herself, but nothing was going as she’d planned so she’d take it and figure out the next step later.
