Neighbor Dearest

“Call me Hal.”

“Okay, sir.”

Damien looked at me. “I’ve got the truck parked right outside and a couple of dollies out in the hall. I’m gonna see what heavy stuff I can take myself before I need your dad’s help.”

“Okay. Sounds good. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

After he left, my mother said, “He seems nice.”

“He is.” I just kept taping boxes and wouldn’t look her in the eye.

Dad walked toward the door. “I’m gonna go help Damien now. He shouldn’t be doing all of the heavy lifting himself.”

My father and Damien worked together as Mom and I made numerous trips up and down the elevator with all of the smaller items.

After a couple of hours, the truck was fully packed, and it was time to head over to the new place.

My parents got into their Subaru, and Dad punched my new address into his GPS. “Are you riding with us or with Damien?”

“I’ll ride in the truck with him.”

“Alright.” My mother smiled. “Dad wants a coffee. We’re going to stop and get some on our way. You want one?”

“Yeah. I’d love one.”

“How about Damien?”

“No, thank you,” he quickly said.

After my parents drove off, Damien and I were alone for the first time when he asked, “Ready?”

“I’m just gonna go back upstairs one last time. I can’t remember if I checked under the bathroom sink.”

Really, I just wanted to see my place one final time.

“Alright.”

My shoes echoed against the wood floor. The apartment may have been empty, but it was filled with so many memories. I looked out my window to catch a last glimpse of Damien’s mural from this view.

I didn’t think he followed me upstairs until his deep voice echoed behind me. “Did you find anything?”

“Huh?”

“Under the sink.”

“No.” I said, still staring out the window.

“That’s not why you came up here, is it?”

Turning around, I told the truth. “I wanted to look around one last time.”

Damien walked slowly toward me. “You can come back and visit anytime, you know.”

“I know.”

His body was close as we just stared at each other. The silence was deafening. I knew in my heart that nothing would be the same after today. As I breathed in his now familiar and comforting smell, it truly felt like I was leaving home, in some ways even more than when I’d first moved out of my parents’ house the first time.

“We should go,” he whispered. “I don’t want your parents to have to wait for us.”

Inside I was crying, but in reality, at this point, my actual tears were all dried up. I needed to put on my big girl panties and get this show on the road.

“I’m ready.”

The ride was quiet, neither of us saying a word.

When we pulled up to the new building, my parents were waiting outside, sipping their coffees.

My mother handed me a to-go cup. “It might not be as hot as you like it.”

As Damien opened the back of the U-Haul, my father joked, “Now we get to do this all over again.”

Remembering that I didn’t have the key, I said, “I just have to go to the management office. Be right back.”

After verifying my identification, the woman at the desk handed me three keys on a chain. “Here are your keys.”

“Isn’t there just one? Are these duplicates?”

“No. The landlord had some new locks put on your door. So, you’ll actually need three keys, one for each. This one is for the deadbolt, this one is for the padlock, and this one is for the bottom lock.”

“Does every tenant have three? I don’t remember that when I came to see this place.”

“No. It was a special request by a third-party.”

This had Damien written all over it.

As I returned to the truck, I waved the keys. “Three locks?”

Damien laughed guiltily. “When I came to check this place out, I was able to break into your apartment. I had a little chat with your landlord about all of the other violations I happened to notice—nothing that puts you in danger, only stuff I would notice because I’m a building owner myself. Let’s just say, he was happy to add those locks free of charge.”

“You’re nuts.”

“I’m not next door anymore to keep an eye out. I just want you to be safe.”

Mom interrupted, “Is this not a safe neighborhood? It doesn’t seem as nice as Damien’s building.”

“It is pretty safe,” Damien answered. “But with the locks, it’s much safer.”

My father placed his hand on Damien’s shoulder. “Thank you for looking out.”

“No problem. I’m gonna start taking up some of the heavy stuff.”

My mother gave me a confused look. She was picking up on my mood and was starting to suspect something in regards to Damien and me. I could tell she really wanted to talk to me, but she likely wouldn’t have the chance.

Another two hours passed, and we’d finally moved everything inside. While none of the small stuff was put away, all of the big items were situated in their rightful places.