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After work the next day, Matt put his arm around Sady's shoulder as they walked to the lobby of their building. When Sady entered, the security guard called, "Miss Morrow? The moving van was here and took your stuff this afternoon, but the guy said it would probably take another trip or two. I guess you had more than he expected."
Sady said, "Thanks, George! I appreciate it."
She and Matt entered the elevator, and George yelled, "Next time you want to get rid of anything let me know." As the doors closed he said, "I could use a nice TV like that."
Exiting on the tenth floor, Sady looked at Matt and shrugged. "I guess being a security guard doesn't pay very well."
When Matt opened their apartment door, he yelled, "There's a reason for that! He can't read or follow directions! Where the hell did everything go? I'll kill him- he gave them the wrong key!"
Sady peeked over his shoulder to see it was true. Their living room had been cleaned out. All that was left were the cables for electronics. She wandered to the kitchen and saw the table, chairs, and small appliances were gone. Matt bellowed from the bedroom and Sady ran to see the bed was missing.
"I'm glad they left the orphan sock and the dust balls," he said sarcastically. "George better have another job lined up." He turned when she touched his arm. "What?" he snapped.
Sady covered her mouth with her hand and looked around the nearly empty room. The dressers were out of place, but still there. Trying not to laugh, she pointed and said, "I guess they ran out of room and had to bring them back."
"Lucky for us! We can't sit or sleep, but at least we'll be dressed."
Sady let out a snicker, and he scowled. "Is this funny?"
She nodded and said from behind her hand, "Maybe you should let me talk to George."
He shook his head. "You'll give him money and tell him to head for the border! No, you don't- I'm going with you!" He dragged her down to the front desk where George looked up, his smile fading at the look on Matt's face.
"Is there a problem?" he asked. Sady bit her finger and nodded.
"The damn apartment's stripped!" Matt yelled.
"I thought you wanted all the remaining contents removed," George said in confusion.
"Her contents, not mine!"
"Is there a difference?" George whispered to Sady.
"Not really, except my donation stuff is in my old apartment and they removed... uh, a few things from my new place."
"A few things?" Matt asked. "Are you blind?"
George held up his hand. "Wait, a minute. They used the key you gave me, Miss Morrow... Sady." He held up the key and Matt snatched it from him, comparing it to one on his key ring.
Matt's eye twitched, and he turned to Sady. "You gave him the wrong key," he choked, holding it up to show her. She took it from him and looked closer.
"Uh, oh!" Sady looked at George, her eyes big. Matt swore under his breath, and Sady said, "At least we still have the contents from my old apartment." Matt's eye went from twitching to fluttering.
"You don't expect me to use that thing you call a TV, do you?" he asked. "Do you know the difference between that one and the one they took?"
Sady looked at George and shrugged. "Here, this might help!" George waved a paper at Matt. "It's a receipt for the items you donated."
"I didn't donate anything," Matt yelled. "Someone call them and make them bring it back!"
Sady looked up from the list with a frown and said, "My TV is almost as big as yours. What's the problem?"
His eyes bulged, and he looked ready to explode. She patted his arm. "I'll call them first thing in the morning," she promised, tugging him toward the elevator. "Thanks for everything, George."
"Thanks for nothing, George!" Matt said with a scowl as the doors closed.
"Are you mad?" Sady asked while they rode the elevator back up.
"That depends- do you still think it's funny?"
"Not if you don't want me to," she said with a grin. He glared, and she continued. "I'm sorry. It was an honest mistake, Matt."
"I know," he sighed. "But football won't be the same on your TV."
"I'll watch the game with you," she offered. "Maybe we should just stay at my place instead." He didn't respond when she stopped outside her apartment door. "Is that a no?"
"It's a reluctant 'I have no choice'," he replied. "I'll be right there. Just let me get the beer. I hope the movers didn't take that!" He returned a minute later with his beer and Sady opened the door to her old apartment. They stepped inside.
She closed the door behind them. "Uh, oh."
"What now?" Matt asked with a sigh.
"The power's been shut off." Sady heard the sound of a beer cap being twisted and flung across the room. She waited for him to speak.
"Look on the bright side," he finally told her, reaching for her hand in the dark apartment. "That ugly painting is gone, and we still have a bed."
She hugged him and tried not to laugh when she inadvertently knocked the beer bottle out of his hand. She could hear it foaming on the floor. "Would you like another?" she giggled in his ear. A second later she heard the smash of the glass bottle when he accidentally kicked it against the wall. It was followed by clinks and 'shhh' as the rest of the beer foamed out of the broken bottles. He had set the pack on the floor and it fell victim to the dark room and moving feet. This time Matt exploded and the air in the apartment turned blue.
"Maybe we should go home," she suggested.
"Which one?" he growled.
"Which one do you like?"
"At the moment? Neither!"
"Matt?"
"WHAT?"
"We still have a bed."
"Are you sure it won't break or send us crashing through the floor?" he asked sarcastically.
"Well, if you don't want to take a chance..."
"Shut up, Sandy-Sue, and get over here!"
"Matt?"
He sighed, "What now?"
She hugged him in the dark. "I love you."
He put his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. With a reluctant chuckle he said, "You too, Sassafras, you too."
"There really is a bright side," Sady whispered in his ear.
"Uh, huh. With you there always is," he told her.
"We still have heat."
"Sassafras, your ability to state the obvious sometimes amazes me," he teased. "We've always had heat."
"You know what I mean, Matt. It's a good thing the heat comes with the apartment, or I'd be sleeping at Amanda's tonight. I can do with just the city lights shining through the windows, but without heat at this time of year?"
"Come on. Let's grab supper and get some candles from our apartment. Then when we come back, I'll show you it's possible to survive the night in this place."
"Just survive?" she asked. "That sounds primitive."
"No, it's wild," he replied.
"As long as I have real heat," she grinned.
"Oh, you can trust me on that one," he assured her.
***
In the morning, Sady rolled over to check the incoming text on her phone. She felt Matt's arms wrap around her from behind and she shook with laughter. "That's a bad sign," he groaned.
"How much do you love me?" she asked.
"Oh no, is it really that bad?"
She turned in his arms with a grin.
"Who is the text from?" he asked suspiciously. She waved the phone in front of him and he grabbed it to read the text. "Great- your uncle wants to visit again. You should have come with a government warning label," he grumbled.
"I did," she suddenly snapped, with her brows lowered as she pulled out of his arms. "You just don't know how to read! I'm going home to shower." She stomped out of her old apartment and went to the new apartment to get ready for the day.
Matt followed a few minutes later. He looked sheepish when she came out of the bathroom. "I don't suppose you've called about my... our furniture, have you?" He tried again. "Can I take you out for breakfast?"
"Are you going to be crabby?" she asked. He shook his head earnestly, and she smiled. "Okay. You take a shower while I call about our furniture."
He gave her a peck on the cheek and ran for the shower. "Don't forget to ask about the TV," he yelled. Then he raced back and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks, Sassafras!"
When Matt went to shower, Sady rolled her eyes. Too bad her mother never warned her men were so much work, she thought with a sigh as she dialed the donation center. Between Uncle John's impending visit and retrieving their contents it was going to be a long week.