Too Real Estate #3
gliding just above the pavement. I imagine them watching me walk away, speechless. It’s only after I cross the street and
round the corner that I allow myself a glance back. They’re still standing outside the café, staring after me like Bambi caught
in headlights.
Jane and Sami catch site of me returning. Carmen yells, “There’s our leader! Mona, come on, it’s time.”
I take my spot at the head of the procession and march up the steps, head held high—ready to take on city hall (aka a couple of public officials, since this meeting isn’t quite big enough to be held at city headquarters).
Two hours later, we spill out into the lobby of the community center like deflated tires, sagging under the weight of defeat,
silently gathering to lick our wounds. The vibe of the meeting was polite, but it was made very clear we were wasting our
time. Every single one of us was given time at the mic to voice our concerns. Then we were thanked for our feedback by unmoved
councillors who kept glancing at their watches.
The coup de grace came when a representative for Northern Property Management went up to the mic to defend their development
permits. Sami was right: They are a Goliath, and they had prepared counterpoints for almost all concerns at the ready.
“I’ll just say it. That was a real shitty thing.” Carmen stomps his boots on the glossy floor, followed by the rest of our
group, who all murmur their agreement at his astute observation.
“It’s not over, guys,” I mutter. “Maybe it went better than we think.”
Sami nods encouragingly, his gaze softening as his eyes meet mine. “Mona’s right. There were enough of us in there that maybe
Northern Property Management will decide it’s not worth their time.”
“Did you see that one wanker-type guy with the ugly suit?” Divorced Dad adds.
Jane nods. “All those Northern Property Management fucks were wankers.”
We all laugh—not because it’s funny, but because it’s the only thing left to do. At least we’re in this together.
I look around the group, their weary and defeated faces. I know that no matter what happens, I have to make sure these people will be okay. I want to keep them in my life, even though I don’t deserve it.
“Hey,” I start. “You guys were amazing. Everything you said was so well put.”
“All thanks to your index cards.” Carmen winks. It’s not as violating now that I know the guy.
“Yeah, Mona. Thanks for fighting so hard for us.” Sami’s grin curls into his whole face. He turns to face the group. “I say
we have another emergency town hall at the diner to discuss what to do with all the leftover pie.”
Everyone cheers at that. Jane rests a comforting hand on my arm, and I lean into her without hesitation. Carmen nudges Norm,
who startles but quickly grins. Lorna nods warmly at Uniform Family.
I’m so caught up in the quiet beauty of this unlikely community that I don’t notice the doors opening behind me.
“Mona? I thought that was you.”
My shoulders squeeze up to my chin at the sound of Lana’s voice. I turn slowly to face her. She’s wearing a beige suit, her
red hair in an elegant twist.
My heart drops.
“Hi,” I mutter. “Good to see you.” I give her a small, cordial wave and then turn halfway back to Jane, hoping that I can
somehow escape any conversation without being flat-out rude.
But Lana just has to continue. “I’m here to meet with my clients. What are you doing here?”
Shit. The dread hardens as her eyes sweep over me to the group. Because the clients she’s referring to must be Northern Property
Management.
Maybe she won’t recognize the other tenants around me—it’s not like she ever spent time in the building interacting with them.
I gesture toward my group and mumble, “Sorry, I’m just in the middle of—”
“Are these the other tenants?” Lana asks.
I will her to shut up. I will her to leave. To be struck by some kind of random indoor lightning that temporarily stuns her.
But it’s too late. All the tenants are looking at us with piqued interest.
It’s like my breath is sticky—like I can’t breathe because all the air is stuck to the walls of my lungs. I will myself to
dissolve away from this reality. To stop what I know is going to be . . . not great.
“We were here for the town hall,” says Carmen, who’s still apparently in the spirit of turning others to our cause. “To keep
these Northern Management creeps from tearing the building down.”
Lana snorts. “Mona, are you kidding? I told you, it’s a done deal.” She crosses her arms. “Did you seriously gather all the
tenants to harass my clients? I’m not sure we can work together if you’re going to undermine me this way.”
“Wait, what?” I’m already cringing into myself as Jane asks, “You’re in business together?”
Lana’s eyes sharpen, and I see it all before it even happens—I’ve interfered with her business, and now she’s poised to strike
where it’ll hurt most. “That’s right. Mona’s been invaluable throughout this entire process. She’s been so wonderful getting
the building into sellable condition for me to make all this possible. So I’d appreciate it if you’d leave my clients alone
now.”
I watch the realization settle on Jane’s face. Then it spreads to Sami, whose features twist with a sudden, uneasy clarity.
“Mona, what the hell?” Carmen calls. “Did you know the building was going up for sale?”
“I just . . .” My eyes flick to each of them. I should’ve told them everything sooner, before we got to this point. I thought
I could get away with a half-truth. But now, with Lana’s razor-sharp grin daring me to stay silent, I know I’m out of time.
And really, they deserve the whole truth. They always did.
A familiar dread—the same one I felt that first day in the lobby with the whiteboard—starts to harden in my chest, settling like poured concrete.
“Yes, I knew the building was going to be put up for sale.” The world seems to freeze around me as the truth slowly unravels for the group.
I feel exposed. A total imbecile. I continue despite all my instincts.
“And I helped prepare the property for the sale.”
It’s like a dam bursts, and the outrage comes at me at once.
Sami is the first to react. “All the improvements—that was for the sale?”
“What the fuck?” Jane yells. “That’s twisted.”
“The whole time?” comes from Carmen.
I can do nothing but nod. I can’t defend myself. All their anger is deserved.
Norm won’t even look at me. I think back to the first fire alarm, when I didn’t recognize him.
Even Divorced Dad’s eyes slide away from me to the floor. He shakes his head to himself, puzzled.
“Why would you do that, Mona? Why wouldn’t you at least tell us?” The hurt in Sami’s eyes sinks into my chest like a blade
and stays there, a heavy knot of dread. He has that rare gift—seeing the best in people. “It makes no sense.” Sami’s always
seen me as someone better than I really am. But I’ve managed to shatter that.
Now he sees the truth.
I have a hard time taking a proper breath. “I’m really sorry. I agreed to help when I . . . before I knew you.”
“You mean, when you thought we were losers?” Jane nods at me like she’s confirming something she already knew. “But I don’t
get what was in it for you.”
My hands shake. I can’t find my voice.
Lana is gracious enough to step in. “Mona and I have been discussing her living arrangements,” she says, then turns to me with a condescending pout, like I’m a misbehaving child.
“Though, Mona, I’m not sure my clients at Northern Property Management will be thrilled to welcome a new tenant who’s been so publicly critical of their business. ”
“A better apartment?” Carmen announces like the town crier. “Well, folks, we’re all hooped by next month because Mona wanted
a better apartment.”
It sounds so silly now.
But it’s Sami’s small nod—the subtle shift in his eyes as he replays every coffee, every walk, every quiet moment I shared
something with him—that hits me hardest. Every time I was there, feeling something real for him . . . it was real.
But it can’t be. Not now.
Everywhere I look, there’s nothing but hurt.
The crowd is silent. Sirens start to chime outside, echoing the ones in my head.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go meet my clients,” Lana says, her voice laced with venomous sweetness. I hear her heels
echo sharply up the hallway. I’m frozen—unable to move a single muscle.
Everyone else seems stuck in place too. They’re all staring at me as though I just unzipped my skin and revealed myself to
be a literal pile of shit.
I’m the lowest form of human. The worst kind.
The sirens get louder—pealing up the street outside.
“I’m so, so sorry,” I whisper. “I knew Irene was having a hard time, and Lana said she would try to find someone nice to . . .”
I fade off. I shouldn’t be making more excuses. There’s only one thing they need to know. “I didn’t know you all then. But
you mean so much to me now.”
The gears inside Sami’s head seem to spin. “Mona, that day of the town hall when you left. When you unplugged your straightener . . .
for half an hour . . .”
Sami’s face drops at the same rate my stomach does.
Because this time, I don’t have to answer.
“That emergency town hall about the rec room?” Jane’s words are daggers. “It was all fake, then.”
“Guys, I’m so, so sorry. Please. If I could take it all back.”
Sami’s whole demeanor stiffens like he’s decided something. “Right.” He squares his jaw, disgust in his eyes. “I’m out of
here.” He turns on his heel and storms down the lobby floor.
One by one, every single one of my friends begins to follow him.
As the doors open, the blare of the sirens becomes louder. Screeching with a similar outrage.
Then the smell of smoke reaches my nose.
“Wait, is there a building on fire down that way?” Jane calls as a fire truck races down the street in front of us.
“That’s in our direction.” Carmen’s eyes narrow at the street corner.
“Shit!” Sami starts sprinting.