Chapter Four
The Squirrel’s Nest
“A man can own a house full of expensive things and still have no place that feels like home.” The first thing people noticed about Ronald’s apartment was the furniture. The second thing they noticed was the mess. Italian leather couches sat beneath overflowing ashtrays. A seventy-inch television covered one wall while unopened bills collected dust on the kitchen counter. Designer shopping bags filled one corner of the living room, still carrying clothes with the tags attached. Sneakers worth hundreds of dollars were scattered across the floor like they cost nothing. Everything looked expensive.
Nothing looked peaceful.
Ronald unlocked the front door and tossed his keys onto the counter. The apartment greeted him with silence. Not the peaceful kind.
The lonely kind.
He dropped the envelope Nate had given him beside a stack of unpaid utility bills and walked straight to the refrigerator. Inside sat bottled water, leftover seafood, champagne, and expensive steak from three nights earlier. No groceries.
No milk.
No eggs.
No real food.
He laughed to himself.
“I live like I’m checking into a hotel.” His stomach growled.
Instead of cooking, he grabbed his phone and ordered takeout. Again.
?
His phone never stopped vibrating.
Tasha.
Keisha.
A woman whose number he never bothered to save. Three missed calls.
Five text messages.
One voicemail.
He ignored them all.
Then another notification appeared.
Charmaine
He stopped.
The message was simple.
Hope you made it home safe.
No heart emoji.
No flirting.
No pictures.
Just one sentence.
Ronald smiled without realizing it.
He read it twice before replying.
I did. Thanks for checking on me. Hope work wasn’t too crazy today. He stared at the screen.
Two minutes passed.
Nothing.
He tossed the phone onto the couch.
“Why am I nervous over one woman?”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually waited for someone to text back. ?
The knock at the door came just as his food arrived. By the time Ronald reached it, another knock followed. Impatient.
That wasn’t the delivery driver.
He looked through the peephole.
Nate.
“You gonna let me in?” Nate called. Ronald opened the door.
“You got a key.”
“I wanted to see if you’d answer.” Nate stepped inside and looked around the apartment. His eyes moved from the dirty dishes… …to the shopping bags…
…to the unopened mail…
…to the stacks of cash sitting openly on the kitchen counter. Finally, he sighed.
“You know what this place tells me?” Ronald shrugged.
“That I’m doing alright?”
“No.”
Nate picked up an unopened electric bill. “It tells me you’ve got money…” “…but no discipline.”
Ronald rolled his eyes.
“You always gotta lecture me?”
“You always gotta need one.”
?
They sat in the living room eating crab cakes in silence. Finally Nate spoke.
“You ever notice squirrels?”
Ronald laughed.
“What?”
“They spend all year collecting.”
“Food.”
“Nuts.”
Whatever they can find.”
Ronald nodded.
“So?”
“They don’t collect because they’re greedy.” “They collect because winter always comes.” Ronald leaned back.
“I don’t get it.”
“You will.”
Nate looked around the apartment again. “You collect women.”
“You collect jewelry.”
“You collect sneakers.”
“You collect money.”
“But every time winter comes…”
“…your shelves are empty.”
The words settled into the room.
Ronald didn’t argue.
Because deep down…
He knew Nate was right.
?
After Nate left, Ronald walked through the apartment differently. For the first time, he wasn’t seeing the things he owned. He was seeing the life he’d built.
Designer belts.
No savings.
Luxury watches.
Late rent.
Expensive liquor.
Empty refrigerator.
Three televisions.
No family photos.
No memories worth framing.
He walked into the bedroom and opened the drawer where he kept his cash. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
He smiled.
Then he opened the next drawer.
Nothing.
No retirement account.
No business plan.
No investment paperwork.
Just another pistol.
Another watch.
Another stack of receipts.
For the first time…
The money didn’t make him feel rich.
It made him feel temporary.
?
His phone buzzed.
Charmaine finally replied.
Long day. Patients were crazy. Get some rest, Ronald. That was it.
No games.
No drama.
No demands.
He smiled.
He didn’t know why such a simple message felt different. Maybe because it wasn’t asking him for anything. Maybe because she expected nothing.
Or maybe…
Because she was beginning to offer something no one else ever had. Peace.
Ronald sat on the edge of his bed staring at her message. Outside, the city buzzed with sirens, music, and temptation. Inside…
For the first time in a very long time… He wasn’t thinking about going back out. He was thinking about tomorrow.
And without realizing it…
That scared him more than anything.
End of Chapter Four