Chapter 115

A touch on my shoulder sent me nearly jumping out of my skin. I almost screamed aloud but bit down on my lips so hard that I tasted blood.

“What?” I snapped at Theo.

He shot me a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “You had just drifted off. I’m not sure what you were thinking about. But I thought you wanted to be home in time for dinner.”

“I did, um, I do. Yes.” I stumbled across words, trying to bring myself back from those horrible new thoughts.

“What were you thinking about?” he asked. “Or is that too personal?”

“It’s a little personal,” I said. “I start it off thinking about the kids and how nice the playfield must be to augment their childhood. And then I got lost in my own musings. I’m sorry.”

“It’s Okay,” he said. “I don’t mind. I’m here one way or another. I just didn’t know if you wanted to be lost in that train of thought or if you wanted to interview anyone else. I know that Wendy said that she wanted you to get a variety of interviews.”

He snickered. “But then again, she basically never stop talking. So, I could understand if you had tuned her out for that part.”

“No. I heard,” I said.

I let out a huge sigh. I’d have to come back and debate those thoughts about family later. I seemed to have opened up a whole set of issues that I wasn’t even aware I was carrying around with me.

But for now, I was at work, and I needed to finish so that I could go home and be with Charles. Maybe being with him would help settle my nervousness and thoughts a little. He certainly found comfort in my scent, and I usually found comfort in his scent. His vetiver always calmed me down. Although that had been in life-threatening situations, hopefully, it would work in existential situations, too.

This sets off all new sets of thoughts. I had never really considered the implications of having a family. Everyone I knew both worked and took care of their kids. But here in Packhaven, it seemed like all of the mothers stayed home functioning under the expectation of raising the most successful children possible.

If I was really going to be with Charles as family, was I ready to give up my career?

I looked around for anyone else to interview and decided to go for individuals, not families. First, I picked a young man who told me that he was in college and was thrilled that they had the playing fields here.

He said the various college teams usually had use of the campus fields during that time he was available to play with his friends. But with the municipal fields, there was always going to be space so he would be able to get out and exercise the way he wanted to again.

I got quotes from a couple of his friends, and then the group wandered off toward a vendor selling snack fare.

I hadn’t had an interview with anyone who was middle-aged yet. So, I selected a couple who didn’t have any children with them. They had just finished talking with some of the city officials when I caught up to them. I introduced myself and asked if I might interview them about the municipal fields.

“Absolutely,” the man said excitedly. “I’ve been hoping to capture someone from the press here. I really wanted a chance to speak my point of view.”

I set up my dictation app on my phone to take notes. “Well, I’m ready whenever you are,” I said. “So, what do you think of the new municipal fields? And why are you so excited to talk to someone from the press?”

The man looked around and then pulled me off to the side of the group of people nearby. “I’ve been trying to communicate this to the various officials here and the same officials for months leading up to this,” he started, “but no one has listened to me.”

He made a face. “Maybe if I can tell the Palace Press, I won’t be the only voice trying to say what I need to say. Others might see and join me.”

He dove into a story about how the apartments that had been here were some of the few remaining apartment complexes inside the city limits that were aimed at families with low incomes. He had begged the city officials to rebuild the apartment buildings and keep them there for families that couldn’t afford to live in the nicer buildings around the area.

“Is it really so hard to find affordable housing inside the city limits?” I asked.

He nodded, and so did his wife. “It’s extremely sad,“ she explained. “For those living below a certain income threshold, living inside the city is impossible. And rather than creating affordable options for them, the city has been slowly relocating such families to housing outside the city limits.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, for example, if you stay at a hotel here, the workers who do things like clean your room or maintain the building itself can’t usually afford to live within the city. So, the city buses them to and from a sort of town outside Packhaven. Officially, it’s called Southhaven, but everyone just calls it for what it is—Slumhaven.”

“Wait,” I said. “What is the government here so worried about?”

“Appearances and opportunity, but their concern only applies to those who can afford to upkeep a certain lifestyle that the city wants to project. Everyone who fails is forced outside the city to keep up appearances.”

“What do you mean forced?”

The man cleared his throat. “Like with everything else, Packhaven’s relocation program looks good on the surface,” he explained. “The whole move is conducted under the guise of improving their standard of living. They’re sold a dream of an affordable opportunity to be close to Packhaven without the burden of living in Packhaven.”

“The families are offered housing,” he continued, “and there is a reduced fair bus service to drive them into their jobs here in Packhaven. But the rumors are that life in Southhaven is less than pleasant.”

“Please elaborate,” I encourage him.

“For example, it’s rumored that the housing is cheap. And I don’t mean inexpensive. I mean second-rate. The walls are so thin that you can hear everything your neighbors are up to. There isn’t reliable hot water. The buildings aren’t insulated for winter or air-conditioned for summer, so living there during the extreme temperatures of both seasons can be very hard on the families.”

“They are given an allotment of energy that’s subsidized by Packhaven. But it’s not enough. If you talk to people who live in Southhaven, it sometimes comes down to difficult choices, such as heating the house, washing the clothing, or taking showers and doing the cooking. But there isn’t enough money to heat everything.”

“These people deserve to live in the city they work in,” his wife added. “They shouldn’t have to be brushed aside into second-rate apartment buildings.”

“That’s right,” he said. “They should be able to live here just like the rest of Packhaven’s residents. If the city had filled this whole municipal park with high-rise apartment buildings, it would have gone a long way to keeping those people in their city, not to mention in their homes.”

“Everyone who lived in those apartments got to keep only what they could take away with them, regardless of how long their family had lived in the unit.” He scowled while speaking.

The woman put a hand on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s not that the city doesn’t try,” he said. “It’s just that I think their aim is off. They’re missing the real problems and improving things that aren’t necessary to improve. If that makes sense.”

I nodded.

He waved his hand at the fields. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad the kids have a safe place to play and that adults have a safe place to exercise. I just think the cost is being unfairly carried by those who can’t really afford to carry it.”

I nodded. “Is there anything else you’d like to add,” I checked.

“I’ve said my piece to all of the city officials who were here today already. Somebody has to advocate for the less fortunate. I don’t have any kids of my own.”

He put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “We weren’t able. So, I’ve spent my life caring for others. “

“And I’m sure you’ve helped many people,” I reassured him. “Thank you for your perspective on things.”

He nodded. “And thank you for listening.”