I’m written about my upstairs neighbor before—at least a few times here and once in my Living Out Loud column in CityBeat. That essay was called “Stray Cats.”
For those of you who are curious, no, Cindy isn’t her real name. I don’t use real names for people I don’t know. We’ve talked about this before.
Anyway, as I’ve mentioned in the past, this person likes to knock on my door asking for things—baking pans, cigarettes, 30 cents, onions, not necessarily in that order.
Last week, she knocked on my door again, this time wanting a cigarette.
“I’m just about out,” I said.
“I only want one,” she replied.
I gave her a cigarette. As I handed it to her, I had a question.
“Do you still live here?” I asked. “I haven’t seen you around.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said as she took the cigarette. “I’ve been away helping a family member.”
She thanked me for the smoke. As I closed my apartment door, I knew Cindy had just told me a lie.
Cindy was served with an eviction notice three weeks ago. She hadn’t paid her rent and got kicked out of the apartment. I know of this from another neighbor. Also, the landlord has been showing that second floor apartment to other people.
Apparently, Cindy still has a key to the front door of the building. Only a few days after wanting that cigarette, she was back at my door wanting another one.
So Cindy’s gone, but Cindy’s still here. I can’t let this continue, can’t keep keeping her smokes. I know how Cindy is. The next time she knocks on my door, she’ll be wanting money.
Any thoughts on how I should handle this?
(Photo found on Google)
