The listing said that the unit was empty. And the original asking price was very interesting, although later in the day price bumped up. Still, we were curious, so we went to take a look.
Unit 4 was at the end of the complex in the dark shade of some Live Oak trees. It was hard to see the number at night. When we did find it, there was no key in the lockbox.
Alex knocked on the door, but no one answered. He locked louder, and still nothing. So he turned the door knob, and the door opened. He’s a real estate agent, and he figured someone else was looking at the unit, too. So he stuck his head in slightly.
“Hello?” No answer.
“HELLO?” Still nothing.
So he slowly walked in. “Hello, hello! Is anyone here?” No one answered. So we went in and looked around.
It was a small place. One bedroom. One bathroom. A small kitchen. A tiny dining area where you might be able to fit a minuscule table and four chairs.
The floor was tiled. (No carpet is always a bonus, although this tile work was a bit odd.) And there was virtually no furniture or anything else. The listing said that the unit was empty, after all — yet it wasn’t. The lights were on, and there was clearly someone staying there: a small bed with a computer on it, four or five hangers with clothes in the bedroom closet, a few things in the living room. And a dog.
Let’s call her Madeline.
There in the middle of the tiny dining room, little Madeline stood quietly looking up at us. She was old, standing on thin, wobbly legs, her muzzle gray. She was clearly as confused as we were, and although her tail was tucked, she walked up slowly to greet us. Her eyes shined.
There she was, a small, old, fragile dog in this small, mostly empty condominium all by herself with no one home. There was a pad on the floor in a corner of the bedroom that was clearly for her, and there was some dog food and water in the kitchen. But otherwise she was alone in this place with the lights on, a computer on the bed, a few clothes in the closet, and with the front door unlocked.
“This is odd,” Alex said.
I picked Madeline up so that she wouldn’t feel spooked by us walking around. She didn’t complain. By this time, another real estate agent had arrived and was looking around, too. Madeline watched the others from my arms. I whispered that we were ok, that it was ok, that there was nothing to worry about. She leaned against my chest.
On the way back to the car, we passed an old woman in a white robe coming back slowly from the swimming pool. We turned and watched her walk into Unit 4.
I wonder what Madeline said.