Page 23 of Seamus's Basement
“Can we talk about this later? Please?”
“Sure.” Seamus sighed loudly. “Thank you for making me breakfast. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. Do you like it?”
“It’s delicious. I’m eating it right now.”
“Good. I can change it up depending on whatever ingredients are handy. It’s a really versatile casserole.”
“Does that mean you’re staying over again?”
“Oh. No, that’s not what I meant.” He needed to be more careful in choosing his words. “But I'm glad you like it.”
“I do. When can we talk?”
DJ sighed. “I just got to Jesse’s and I need to start work.”
“Can you come over when you’re done?”
“I’m doing deliveries for Slice of Life tonight.”
“Come over after that. I’ll ask Laura to close the bar.”
Hearing Laura’s name made him grin. She was blatantly making moves on Seamus, and he was oblivious to all of it. DJ wondered how frequently that happened. He was guessing plenty of patrons came on to their hot bartender and Seamus probably had no idea it was happening. He was adorable.
“I can do that.”
They said their goodbyes, and he walked into his next job. It was a busy lunch, one of the cooks was out sick, and Tanner took the day off because Mike was in town. By the time he was able to clock out, DJ was run ragged. Unfortunately, his day only got worse when he listened to a voicemail from his landlord.
“Hey, DJ, I’m really sorry about this, but you’ll need to clear your things out of the apartment right away. We figured out the reason for the sewer problems and it’s bad. I can give you a day or two, but that’s it.”
What the hell? He called his landlord on his way to Slice of Life.
“DJ, did you get my message?” he asked as soon as he answered.
“Yes, why do I need to move out? I can handle not having water for a little longer.”
“We need to demolish the building.”
“What? Why?” His place was a dump, sure, but it was usually habitable.
“The pipes under the building were disintegrating. It’s been going on for a long time. All the leakage loosened the soil underneath and that made the foundation crack. When we looked in the attic, we realized a lot of the studs and beams are damaged too. It’s too expensive to repair and too dangerous to leave standing. The city’s making me demolish the building and they said nobody can stay in it.”
“Fuck.” He took a deep breath but he didn’t feel any calmer.
“Yeah. When can you get your things?”
“I don’t know.” He dragged his hand through his hair. He lived in a studio; the minimal furniture was there when he moved in and was likely to crumble if he tried to move it. The only things he’d be taking were his clothes, a few knickknacks, and the supplies in his kitchenette. It probably wouldn’t take him more than an hour to clear out. “Tonight or tomorrow I guess.”
“Do what you can to make it tonight. Some of the folks from the construction crew will be there tomorrow.”
“Okay,” he said.
“Thanks, DJ. Take care.”
“Fuck me,” he said to himself after getting off the phone. “What will I do now?”
In between pizza deliveries, he went online to find another apartment, but Hope was small enough that the options were limited, especially in his price range. Maybe he could find someone who needed a roommate.
