Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Behind my dresser?” Mimi’s eyes go round as dinner plates. “By my books? Real rats? Not nutria?”
Elly winces slightly. “I’m afraid so, but don’t worry. I’ll call the super and—”
“But what if they chew on my books?” Mimi asks, her bottom lip already doing that pre-cry tremble that signals tears are coming in fast. “What if they try to get in my bed tonight?” Her voice climbs with each word as her hands ball into tiny fists. “I don’t want to sleep with rats. I don’t like rats, Mama. They’re not pets, they’re mean.”
“Don’t worry, Meems,” Elly says, soothing voice now in full effect. “I promise, I won’t let them hurt you or your books. And yes, rats do carry diseases, but they’re more scared of us than—”
“I don’t want rats in my room!” Mimi cuts in, tears filling her eyes. “They have to go now!”
“Agreed,” mutters the female mover. “I have to go, too, Cedric. I’m sorry, but I can’t. Not with rats. Not again.”
Before Cedric can respond, the woman has darted past Elly and is wrenching open the front door.
“Katy, come on,” Cedric calls as her footsteps pound down the hall. “You can take the other side of the room! We’re almost done!” When he realizes Katy isn’t coming back, he sighs. “Poor kid. Third time we’ve run into rats this month. They’re becoming a real problem in the city.” He motions toward the bedroom as he turns to Elly. “Though I have to say, that’s one of the biggest nests I’ve seen in a while, ma’am. I can’t believe the kid didn’t hear them crawling around in the walls. They’re really squirming around in there.”
“Mama, no,” Mimi practically shrieks. “I don’t want them in the walls or my bed or our house.”
Poor Mimi is on her way to a total meltdown, and I can’t say I blame her. I’m not a fan of rats, either, not since the night I woke up in my “bedroom” in our kitchen when I was a kid to find a giant rat staring at me from a few feet away. Mom and I could only afford a one-bedroom, too. Grant was already off playing in the minors, and I slept in a little partition made of a clothing rack and shelves separating my twin bed from the rest of the space. Even a decade later, I can still remember the look on that thing’s face. It was sizing me up like it was considering which of my toes would be the best for snacking on, and didn’t run back under the stove until I’d thrown three pairs of tennis shoes at it.
Mom filled the oven vent with steel wool and rat poison the next morning, but I didn’t sleep easy for weeks.
And that was just one rat, not an entire nest.
Time to intervene before this gets worse.
“Hey, guys, I have an idea,” I say, catching Mimi’s eyes over Elly’s shoulder as she gathers her sobbing baby into her arms. “Hey, Mimi, buddy, don’t cry. You’re moving in with me, remember? And I don’t have rats anywhere in my building, I promise. So, why don’t you guys just move in tonight? Problem solved.”
Elly glances back at me, relief written all over her face.
“Really?” Mimi sniffs, tears slowing as she glances between me and her mama. “Can we do that, Mama? Can we move tonight?”
“I mean, if it’s not too much of an imposition,” Elly says, meeting my gaze with a questioning glance. “I know you weren’t expecting us until tomorrow.”
I wave a hand through the air. “Tonight, tomorrow, makes no difference to me. How about we just grab whatever y’all need for tonight—pajamas, toothbrushes, whatever—and let the moving company get the rest tomorrow?”
“I can finish up with the boxes for you,” Cedric says, looking a little guilty for his part in escalating Mimi’s fears into a full-on existential crisis. “And I know the super. I’ll get him on the horn before I leave. Tell him he needs to get an exterminator up here tonight. The longer he waits, the worse that situation is gonna get, and the longer he’ll have to wait to get another renter in here.”
“That might work,” Elly says, her shoulders slowly easing away from her ears. “Dan doesn’t usually answer the phone right away, but he did say that he already has another renter lined up. Pretty sure they’re supposed to move in next week.”
Cedric grunts. “Yeah, then he’ll be all over it. We’ll have this handled in no time. Rats gone, bags packed, fresh start on lock.” He smiles kindly at Elly. “Go get settled in your new place and rest easy.”
“Thank you,” Elly says, a smile trembling across her lips as she glances down at Mimi, still clinging to her arm. “What do you think, Mimi? Want me to go pack your PJs and clothes for school tomorrow, and we can hit the road?”