Julian stayed that night.<\/p>\n
Not because I invited him to.<\/p>\n
Not exactly.<\/p>\n
I simply didn't tell him to leave.<\/p>\n
He slept on the couch again, while I lay awake listening to the occasional creak from the living room.<\/p>\n
At some point after midnight, I heard movement.<\/p>\n
I opened my bedroom door.<\/p>\n
Julian was standing beside the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
He was holding a sheet of paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should be sleeping,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo should you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned the paper toward me.<\/p>\n
There were handwritten notes covering it.<\/p>\n
Rear stair light.<\/p>\n
Loose handrail.<\/p>\n
Laundry vent.<\/p>\n
Outlet.<\/p>\n
Front-door hinge.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made a list?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust things I noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're planning to fix them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked genuinely puzzled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they're broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He put the paper down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't like sitting around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could be resting your leg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI've rested enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was quiet, but something underneath it sounded harder.<\/p>\n
I understood then that losing his work had probably been worse than losing his apartment.<\/p>\n
His hands needed a purpose.<\/p>\n
So I went back to bed.<\/p>\n
The next morning, Julian was dressed before seven.<\/p>\n
His backpack was packed.<\/p>\n
He stood near the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm going to talk to your landlord.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don't need a stranger negotiating my rent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated that question.<\/p>\n
He didn't ask it cruelly.<\/p>\n
That made it worse.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Leo was eating cereal at the table, pretending not to listen.<\/p>\n
Julian lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long before he can take the next step?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm not discussing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the door.<\/p>\n
Then he paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know the handrail upstairs is dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf somebody falls\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n
Then Leo spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you coming back?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian looked at me.<\/p>\n
I didn't answer.<\/p>\n
He gave Leo a careful smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he left.<\/p>\n
I thought that would be the end.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, there was a knock.<\/p>\n
I opened the door.<\/p>\n
Julian stood there.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forgot something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
He held up the sheet of paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took it from him.<\/p>\n
He looked toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour landlord should know about these.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed the door.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, I changed my mind.<\/p>\n
Not about the repairs.<\/p>\n
About letting him handle it alone.<\/p>\n
I found him downstairs near the building office.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're not doing this without me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison was sitting behind his desk when we entered.<\/p>\n
He looked up at me and immediately frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know about the notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes moved toward Julian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison waited.<\/p>\n
Julian placed the handwritten list on the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed several maintenance problems in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison barely glanced at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they missed these.\u201d<\/p>\n
The landlord looked at him again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're a contractor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to work hospital maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsed to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian didn't answer immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I'm between jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison gave a short laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's one way to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my face heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Harrison, I came about the notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need some extra time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've already had extra time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, I can't keep extending this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian remained quiet.<\/p>\n
Then he tapped the list.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might want to read that first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison glanced down.<\/p>\n
His expression didn't change at first.<\/p>\n
Then it did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProblems I found in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're telling me my building is unsafe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm telling you there are things that should be repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask him to inspect the building?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why is he doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause nobody else had.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get to walk into my office and tell me how to run my property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian didn't raise his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm offering you a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison crossed his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat solution?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian pointed at the list.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive Claire thirty days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it in writing. Thirty days before further action on her overdue rent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what do I get?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI repair everything on this list that doesn't require licensed work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're not even a tenant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you're offering free labor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm offering useful labor.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced him.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison picked up the paper.<\/p>\n
He read slowly.<\/p>\n
The loose stair rail.<\/p>\n
The rear light.<\/p>\n
The dryer vent.<\/p>\n
The front door.<\/p>\n
The outlet.<\/p>\n
The landlord's expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you see all this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI live with Claire temporarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought a stranger into the building?\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor one night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison looked back at Julian.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian said nothing.<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has nowhere else to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words sounded more revealing than I intended.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison looked down at the list again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much would a contractor charge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian considered it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than thirty days of rent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're negotiating now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if I say twenty days?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen call someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
The landlord's smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-five.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're in no position to bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's true.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither are you, if that list is accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held my breath.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison stared at him.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trust this man?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question caught me off guard.<\/p>\n
I looked at Julian.<\/p>\n
The stranger who had slept on my couch.<\/p>\n
The man who had repaired my faucet without asking.<\/p>\n
The man who had read a rent notice he had no right to read.<\/p>\n
The man who had just walked into my landlord's office and risked being thrown out simply because he thought he could help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know him well enough to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
He started toward the door.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty days.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt something inside me loosen.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it in writing,\u201d Julian said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really don't trust anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot with things that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The landlord pulled a form from a drawer.<\/p>\n
While he wrote, Julian asked where the building tools were kept.<\/p>\n
Mr. Harrison pointed toward a storage room.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake what you need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agreement was signed.<\/p>\n
Thirty days.<\/p>\n
No further action on my overdue rent during that period.<\/p>\n
In exchange, Julian would handle the repairs he could safely perform, while Mr. Harrison would bring in licensed professionals for work that required them.<\/p>\n
I stared at the paper.<\/p>\n
Thirty days.<\/p>\n
It wasn't a miracle.<\/p>\n
But it was time.<\/p>\n
Julian noticed me staring.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you needed three hundred dollars and a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn't three hundred dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you're not a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMiracles don't usually fix doors.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time since I met him, I laughed.<\/p>\n
It surprised both of us.<\/p>\n
By noon, Julian had begun working.<\/p>\n
He moved slowly because of his knee, but he knew exactly what he was doing.<\/p>\n
He tightened the stair rail.<\/p>\n
Adjusted the door.<\/p>\n
Cleared what he safely could from the dryer vent.<\/p>\n
He marked the electrical outlet and told Mr. Harrison it needed a licensed electrician.<\/p>\n
He never complained about his leg.<\/p>\n
He simply stopped when it hurt.<\/p>\n
Then he started again.<\/p>\n
Leo followed him around whenever he wasn't at school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you know how to fix everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian crouched beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can't you fix?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome things take longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew he wasn't talking about plumbing.<\/p>\n
That evening, I found him sitting at the kitchen table with his backpack open.<\/p>\n
His paperwork was spread across the surface.<\/p>\n
Medical records.<\/p>\n
Insurance letters.<\/p>\n
Workers' compensation documents.<\/p>\n
Court notices.<\/p>\n
Dates written in the margins.<\/p>\n
I picked up one page.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy haven't you filed this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey sent it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMissing documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked through the stack.<\/p>\n
There were papers everywhere, but no order.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've been carrying all of this around?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me help.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis.\u201d<\/p>\n
I began sorting the papers into piles.<\/p>\n
Medical.<\/p>\n
Employment.<\/p>\n
Legal.<\/p>\n
Insurance.<\/p>\n
Dates.<\/p>\n
He watched me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't have to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mouth curved slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou say that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause people keep telling me what I don't have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
We worked until Leo fell asleep on the couch.<\/p>\n
When I looked up again, Julian was holding one of the letters.<\/p>\n
His hands were shaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey rejected the claim again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for the paper.<\/p>\n
He pulled it back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I let go.<\/p>\n
He stared at the page.<\/p>\n
Then he folded it carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI appeal it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was different.<\/p>\n
Not defeated.<\/p>\n
Determined.<\/p>\n
And I realized the thirty days we had just won might not only save my apartment.<\/p>\n
They might give Julian enough time to fight his way back into his own life.<\/p>\n
Julian stayed that night. Not because I invited him to. Not exactly. I simply didn't tell him to leave. He slept on the couch again, while I lay awake listening … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7444,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7432\/revisions\/7444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}