The City - chapter nineteen
Working long hours on the gala event, Leon headed into the office on a Sunday. Disappointed by the last minute change in plans, Franz invited Spaz to go to a long scheduled baseball game. At the game he was unable to concentrate and complained to Spaz about Leon’s new job and the little time it allowed the two of them to spend together. “Now that both of us are working full time, his long hours and my frequent nights out of town for work,” Franz complained, “the housekeeping is suffering, Nairobi is being neglected, no one has had time to pick up the dry cleaning, we haven’t grocery shopped in over a week, which means eating out more often (which isn’t cheap), and we were late paying the gas bill this month. Things that I hadn’t even realized he took care of are starting to slip by without notice until it’s too late.” Annoyed that all the chatter was disrupting her enjoyment of the ball game, Spaz turned to Franz and said “Sounds like you need to hire a dog walker, a cleaning lady, and sign up for online bill pay. Now can it wait until you get home tonight? I’m here to see some home run records get broken.” Feeling shushed, Franz crossed his arms and tried to watch the game. After an inning or two, he began again. “And Kimmie is stealing all my good employees.” “She mentioned it to me,” Spaz said. “You knew?!” Franz was surprised. “Oh please! What’s the surprise? She comes into town to build a local team, conducts interviews, hires the best. Did you think she’d find good applicants somewhere else? You’ve built a good team at Everyone’sOnLine. But if you can’t give them what she’s offering, you’re going to lose a few. Now shut up and watch the game!”
On Monday in Brooklyn, Jacob installed a new toilet with Martin’s help. The two neighbors celebrated their success with a ceremonial flush and a beer at the urban hipster bar around the corner. Martin gave Jacob pointers on surviving in the building and neighborhood - what street corners to avoid, where to get fresh vegetables, and some background dirt on Tyler and Frederico. “Tyler’s consumed with paying his bills and polishing his shoes. He won’t date anyone. Frederico’s my ex and best friend - we don’t date in front of each other.”
Returning from work, Tyler joined them. Fourth building resident Frederico swung by on his way to the UN to add finishing touches on the mural project, but didn’t have time to stay for a drink. Tyler mentioned to Martin that he bumped into Todd the week before. “I tried to avoid him, but he saw me first. Told me he’s moving back to San Diego because his dad’s sick.” “What a liar,” Martin said. “I heard from a guy at the gym who slept with one of Todd’s drinking buddies that he finally admitted he has a problem with alcohol and checked into a drug rehab in Jersey.” “Why would he lie about that?” Jacob asked. Tyler shrugged while Martin said “Dramatic effect.” The three downed their beers and headed home.
At the UN mural site, Frederico gave Nina a sneak peak. As the inspiration and model for more than a few of his figures, he wanted to let her see the work in the space independent of the crowds that would be at the unveiling gala. Awed by the size of the work, Nina invited Frederico out for a celebratory drink. Although he’d been too busy to join his three neighbors for a beer, he somehow couldn’t say no to his muse. They went to a cafe in the Upper East Side and toasted with champagne.
As the week wore on and the UN gala drew nearer, Leon had an emergency at work when his caterer had to pull out due to a food poisoning lawsuit from a film festival event they ruined a month prior. Freaking out and functioning on little sleep, he called Franz one night to say he’d be spending the night at Tyler’s place in Brooklyn instead of doing the hour long commute to Jersey. Franz took the news in stride and proudly told his partner not to worry, that the event would soon be over, and that he’d hired a “promising young man” to walk the dog every morning and do their grocery shopping once a week. “Where’d you find him?” Leon asked. “He answered a flyer I hung at the coffee shop around the corner,” Franz said. “Cool,” Leon said. “What’s his name?” “Todd,” Franz said.
Out of earshot, Tyler inflated the air mattress and made a bowl of popcorn.
What does the City have in store next for our heroes? Stay tuned.
Based on actual situations, names and associations may have been altered to protect the guilty or to make things seem more interesting.
