It was Helen my landlord or as I would like to call her 'Helen the Old Hag'. Yet I still pressed answer and slowly braced myself for everything to come.
"Hello?"
My voice sounded croaky. I cleared my throat and tried again.
"Hey Miss Collins"
"Hello Eve darling, oh goodness you sound cheerful, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine how are you?
"Well, I hope you are darling because I have got great news for you, and I cannot wait to tell you"
I instantly froze and again contemplated on hanging up. This was bad news.
Was this my gut feeling or my anxiety talking?
I had no idea but all I knew was that Helen would never do anything relatively close to an act of kindness for anyone without an agenda, especially not me.
I was that one tenant that any landlord would have nightmares about.
From not paying the rent and bills for 3 months to living without electricity and gas, I have always been not just a huge disappointment but also a heavy burden to everyone in my life.
The growing burden that you always carry on your shoulders and eventually it will exhaust you, leaving you with no choice but to set yourself free.
This was a recurring story in my life until I met Helen.
To her I was a character in her game, a character that she could, or should I say can fully control. Perhaps that was why I wasn't kicked to the curb yet.
From doing all the chores she demanded I do to constantly listening to all her continuous complaints and criticization about her own but mostly my life which I had no right to call private I could safely announce that I was her personal slave and the biggest pushover I know.
Today it was most definitely a new game with new rules but the same ending.
The paths that were always different led to the same ending, me being the source of humiliation or humor for others and as always, she would succeed with her goal.
"Hello? Are you listening?"
I carefully probed with the packet of chips under my feet while anxiously listening to her yet also distracting myself, thinking about everything unrelated like how I needed to buy new clothe hangers, definitely go to the laundromat, and probably buy bird food for Coco, Helen's 5-year-old ringneck who was even nosier than Helen but that is a story for another day….
"Hmm, yeah I am. Please continue" no, please don't, I hoped.
"So, as I was saying I've got great news for you.
Remember my son Billy, I told you how he has recently started to work for a real estate agency right and because he is such a sweet and loving boy, he has found you a place to stay"