Chapter 36
At the store, I gather everything on my shopping list. I also pick up rosemary sea salt crackers, a roasted garlic hummus, vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, and an awesome cheese plate that sets me back a whopping sixty-five bucks.
For dessert, I find a vegan apple and ginger galette in the bakery section.
I should be enjoying myself, but I’m distracted.
My thoughts keep returning to Catherine when she was coming out of that apartment, and how she looked right through me. She was acting so odd.
When I return to the Glendale, Angelo is back.
He hurries over to relieve me of the bags.
I almost decline his assistance, but then I remind myself that we are not living in Jamaica Plain anymore in some grungy apartment.
This is another world, and I need to get used to it.
But there’s another reason why I’m willing to hand my bags over.
It provides me with an opportunity to ask about Catherine and the apartment.
“What do you know about the ground floor apartment?” I ask as Angelo pushes the button to call the elevator.
He gives me a quick sideways glance. “What do you mean?”
“Who lives there?”
“There’s no one living there, miss. Hasn’t been for a very long time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Might I inquire why you’re asking?”
“Just curious. I saw Catherine in the lobby earlier. She was leaving the ground floor apartment, and she didn’t look like herself.”
Angelo says nothing for the longest while, even as the elevator arrives with a jarring clank.
He pulls the gate open and motions for me to enter, then follows me inside.
It isn’t until the elevator starts to ascend that he finally speaks again.
“I know that you’re new to the building, and unfamiliarity breeds curiosity, but you would be wise not to concern yourself with such matters. ”
“Oh.” The tone of Angelo’s voice suggests that I may have inadvertently crossed a line. “I’m not being nosy. Catherine just looked . . . off. I was worried about her.”
“I appreciate that, miss. But you have to understand . . . The tenants of the Glendale value their privacy, and that includes Catherine. Even if I knew why she was in that vacant apartment, I would not be at liberty to divulge the information.”
Okay. I get that. Discretion is a part of Angelo’s job, so no more questions about Catherine. But still . . .
“How come the apartment is empty? There didn’t seem to be any shortage of people wanting to live here when Sam and I submitted our application. At least, that’s what the board told us at our interview.”
“The unit is not in a rentable condition.”
Now my thoughts shift to a more opportunistic line of questioning. “Do you think the board might consider renovating it at some point? They’ve already hired me to do the coffee shop, so . . .”
Angelo shakes his head. “I sincerely doubt that will happen.”
“Why?”
“The board have their reasons.”
Now I’m beyond curious. I stare at Angelo, desperate to ask him exactly what that means, but the stoic expression on his face tells me he isn’t going to divulge any further information, no matter how much I press him.
And there’s no time anyway, because the elevator has arrived at the fourth floor.
Angelo picks up my shopping bags, steps out, and carries them into my apartment.
Once he’s gone, I unpack the groceries. But I’m distracted, because all I can think about is that empty ground floor apartment.
What was Catherine doing in there, why isn’t it occupied, and why was Angelo being so evasive?