Otter's problem with the apartment is situated. I'm not going into a lot of the details here, but there were issues with Roomie as a roommate from shortly before Christmas and it never got any better. It involved Roomie's inability to keep a job but there were other issues that came up later. Although it turned out to be the wrong move in a lot of ways, things did get better when they moved to the larger apartment. But then other things happened and Otter told Roomie that when the lease was up next summer it would be time for separate apartments. Unless Roomie had another job issue. Which she did. She may have gotten another job but Otter wasn't really sure if that was true or not. Saturday night, shortly after midnight, I got a frantic call from Otter because she had discovered Roomie packing to move out on Sunday.
She's pretty sure that Roomie did not want her to know and was going to move out when Otter came over to our house to do her laundry. But since she did find out, we were able to be over there and not let anything other than Roomie's possessions actually be moved. There was a lot that happened and that's what I'm not going into, but the upshot is that Roomie's father is the biggest bully I have ever met and I am pretty sure that I'm the only person in his life who has ever stood up to him. It was pretty nasty and involved literally watching every single move anybody made (including Roomie and her brothers) and a threat on my part to call 911 - and I do NOT bluff. (And it also involved a very strong visit from *RHTW, full blast and full strength.) And it was pretty obvious to everyone that the bully in question is now afraid of me and frankly, I'm glad. Otter wanted her dad to come over at that point and he did, he got there after I'd already given the bully an extremely strong verbal lesson but I'm still glad he was there because I really did not know if the bully was going to back down or not - he did, but I really wasn't sure at one point. The bully would not even look at Bill and I think he was scared of Bill as well. The bully was absolutely horrible to Roomie and I think that she grew up being treated like something less than human, which explains a few things about her but does not excuse them. His wife acts like a whipped dog, one son is obviously not the favorite although I think he got treated better than Roomie, but Roomie's twin brother is treated like he's God. Hopefully, Roomie will be a ok but I don't think that any of us will ever hear from her or see her, unless it's accidental. I did tell her that she did not have to put up with being treated like that, but I don't know if it will make a difference for her or not. She had over a year away from being treated like dirt, we hope that she'll at least take away from the experience that she can be an adult and that she does not have to put up with that.
(I can be very fierce when my daughter's safety, health and happiness is threatened. And Bill would probably be even more fierce.)
One of the concerns Otter had, and we shared, is that if Roomie did move out when she wasn't there that Otter's belongings might not be there when Roomie was through and I think it was a valid concern. The bully told Roomie to get "everything" out of the kitchen, and I told him very firmly that the majority of the kitchen stuff belonged to Otter because we bought most of it. Then he told her to just go get the microwave that they bought her, which makes me think that Otter's concern was right and that at least the kitchen stuff would have been gone and quite probably more of Otter's belongings.
After all the not-fun stuff was done and they all left, Bill helped her move her tv from her bedroom to the living room (they'd been using Roomie's) and he stayed for a little while to make sure that the bully in question OR his daughter did not come back and then he left. Otter and I followed shortly after that and came home, I brought her (and her laundry) with me and we left her car there to look like she was still there. She did her laundry, got some serious beagle therapy and we went to a store we needed to go to then I took her home. When we got to her apartment, she wanted me to stay a while so I did. Roomie had returned her keys to Otter,although Otter had to ask for them - which was also a problem with the bully, he did not want Roomie to give them back and then he was pretty mad at Roomie when she did give them back. Roomie told me that she had never given the keys to anyone else including her parents - I don't think she did and neither does Otter, but we aren't 100% certain. But there are 2 locks on the door and they don't match, Roomie only had the key to one of them. Since the apartment office now knows that she does not live there any longer, they most likely would not let her in if she came back and asked them to let her in.
Even though Otter was exhausted last night, she said it was already less stressful knowing that Roomie was gone and she didn't have to deal with the problems anymore. Roomie had already paid for her half of November rent, I reminded her that she was legally responsible for the entire half of the rent until the end of the lease before her father got there and she said that she would pay her half and since she had already given Otter that half, Otter did not say anything to remind her of that fact just in case she wanted it back or in case the bully did. It would not have been returned. Otter knows that Roomie has no intention of paying any more even though she legally should. I think Roomie thought I meant just November instead of the entire remaining lease amount but at this point, it's ok.
One of the things I told Roomie, and I told her a lot - which Otter wanted me to do but I probably would have anyway, is that I wanted her out of my daughter's life. I told her that I am not going to pick Otter's friends, but that she (Roomie) does not act like a friend does and that she's caused too much trouble. Otter said that she agreed with me.
Otter talked to the apartment manager this morning as soon as they opened the doors and explained what had happened. The lease did have a clause that she could have used to get out but it would have cost her a pretty good amount and she would have forfeited the deposit. But the manager said that they really don't want to lose her as a tenant and they are going to let her transfer back to a one-bedroom unit. The one that she had before has already been rented, but it was above a serious smoker and there were a lot of times when Otter would have asthma, allergy and headache issues because the smoke would come up through his ceiling/her floor. So it's just as well that she can't move back to that unit. I also think she'd prefer one that is "hers" entirely at this point, that never had Roomie in it. The manager said that there are a couple of single units, one is in the same building although it's at the opposite end. Actually, it's a separate building because of a firewall but it is two buildings built against each other. The unit will be ready in about 3 weeks, probably not Thanksgiving week but the week before that. Possibly even a little earlier. The deposit will transfer, I don't remember if the manager said that they would charge her a pro-rated amount or not and I don't think she cares at this point. She went ahead and took their offer and she paid the final rent for the 2-bedroom for November while she was there today.
I went over to Otter's after work today and she is 100% away from the stressed out, tired and worried girl she has been lately. She has really not been able to relax and enjoy being in her own apartment for the last several months, She said her stomach has been in knots for days, but it's not any longer. She said that she could actually feel the stress leaving her body. She is looking forward to moving into an apartment she can afford on her own, although it will be tight, and being able to decorate how she wants to. The move itself is not going to be fun: out her door, down three flights of stairs, out the door and down to the other end of the building, in the building's door, then up three flights of stairs and into the new apartment. Quite a bit of her books and craft stuff is still boxed from the last move, but she's going to get boxes tomorrow and I'm going to go over there one day next week and help her pack. She cleaned out some stuff before the last move but she said she may have more stuff to donate.
I just want my daughter to be happy and I think that she will be. She knows that she'll have to be very careful financially but she is willing to do what she has to do. If she had not been able to transfer to another apartment and had wound up having to pay to get out of the lease, she would most likely have put her furniture into storage and then stayed with us until she could get enough $ together to get another apartment, which would probably have been a month or so but she wouldn't have wanted to move back in long-term and I understand that. We will never let her go without a roof over her head and a place to sleep, or a meal. But she wants to be a responsible adult and we respect that.
The next several days are still going to be very busy, we are going to be dealing with getting the new booth built and then loading it with pachinko machines so I may still be away from the blog for a few days. But the biggest worry we've had has been situated and we are Thankful.
*RHTW. There is nothing She will not do to ensure Otter's safety.
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