Not on the list

I got the call at 12:30 that the delivery guys were 10 minutes out. Looks like I got the delivery window wrong. Super. But I was close so no problem.

T and I cruised home to get the keys from our roommate but she wasn’t there. That’s right. She who is always ALWAYS here wasn’t here. So we cruised to the apartment. Where she also wasn’t. Somehow the main lobby door was open so we ran up to her apartment. Where she also wasn’t.

The delivery guy and I walked to the large stairwell so I could show him where to go. We agreed to get a tape measure and just make sure it would fit through the doorways. Meanwhile I sent T to the apartment office to get a key. She came out crying because they said no - she isn’t on the list. She might be 8 but she knows how rude it is to not help someone when you can help them. She actually said “Their moms must be awful.”

The delivery guys and I stood outside together stalling and hoping that our new roommate would show up. I watched them getting more and more anxious about the time. I went back to the entrance vestibule to call the office. I called 4 times but only got a busy signal all while hearing the two workers laughing with each other. They had to have known I was there. They had to have been actively ignoring me. They are both named after strippers, by the way. That is just a fun fact.

So I pounded on the door. They opened it part way to peer out. Like old women not expecting a doorbell to ring in the dark of night but slightly curious to see who it was.

IT WAS ME.

“I understand you can’t give me a key because I am not on the list. Can you give the movers access to her apartment?”

No. We can’t allow anyone who isn’t on the list to get access.

“But you’ve spoken with her multiple times about how badly she needs this couch. We can’t reach her right now. They are right there.“

No. It’s a security thing. We can’t allow access into the apartment for any reason to anyone who isn’t on the list.

F their list.

They absolutely know me and my connection to K. I called about the apartment. I looked at the apartment 3 times to confirm everything with them. I confirmed the garage space would work. My email is the contact info they have for K. I completed the application. I hand delivered the income verification. I payed the application fee. I procured the renters insurance. I sent them the proof of the renters insurance. I confirmed the move in date. I was there with K when the lease was signed. I talked to them to make sure S and I were listed as emergency contacts. I am the only one who had keys for a week. I am the one who spoke to them about their rules for move in when the movers arrived. I am the one who moved in all of her things. The majority of the money paid to them on the apartment came from my account. They know me. They know T. They know K.

But I am not on the list.

So even with all the tools to help, they chose to not help. They chose to hide behind a door and their masks and assumed the role of order takers following the rules to the letter of the law and refused to help.

So was K asked if she wanted anyone on the list and she said no?

The movers went on their way. Tessie and I ugly cried in the parking lot and then went home. She isn’t here. I am both bracing myself for the million questions she will have when she returns and text bribing the drivers with cash to come back later.

Oh, and the couch is 84”

The normal size for a couch.

Not 92”