The Owner
1156 Words
The police arrived before Ruby.
Two officers entered the lobby with the confidence of people who had already decided what happened before hearing a single word.
Mrs. Pollard rushed toward them immediately.
"There he is! That's the man!"
Darin folded his arms.
One officer looked him up and down.
"Sir, turn around and place your hands behind your back."
Darin stared at him.
"For what?"
"Suspicious activity."
"I live here."
The officer snorted.
"No, you don't."
The statement hit almost as hard as Mrs. Pollard's accusation.
Darin looked around the lobby. Several residents were watching. A few nodded in agreement with the woman. Others simply remained silent.
The second officer stepped forward.
"Come on, let's not make this difficult."
"I haven't done anything."
"Then you have nothing to worry about."
Back in Chicago, Darin had heard that line more times than he cared to remember.
His patience quickly disappeared.
Before the situation could escalate further, the glass entrance doors opened.
Ruby walked inside.
Immediately.
Everything changed.
She took one look at the scene and her expression darkened.
"What's going on here?"
The officers turned.
Mrs. Pollard hurried across the lobby.
"Ms. Davis, thank goodness you're here. This man somehow got into the building. I've been trying to protect everyone."
Ruby slowly looked at her.
Then at Darin.
Then back at the officers.
"You detained Mr. Steele?"
One of the officers frowned.
"You know him?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed.
"Know him?"
The lobby became silent.
"Officer, Mr. Steele owns this building."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Mrs. Pollard blinked.
The officers blinked.
Even Darin blinked.
Because somehow he had forgotten that little detail.
The entire building.
Not just the penthouse.
The building.
Mrs. Pollard laughed nervously.
"That can't be right."
Ruby's voice became ice cold.
"It is exactly right."
The first officer immediately took several steps backward.
His entire attitude transformed.
"Sir, we apologize."
A few seconds earlier he had wanted Darin in handcuffs.
Now he suddenly sounded respectful.
Darin noticed.
He didn't like it.
Mrs. Pollard began shaking her head.
"No. No. I've lived here for years."
Ruby crossed her arms.
"And apparently never learned who owned the property."
The woman's face reddened.
"How was I supposed to know?"
Ruby pointed toward Darin.
"You could have started by listening when he told you he lived here."
Nobody had a response for that.
Mrs. Pollard finally looked directly at Darin.
For the first time her confidence cracked.
"I'm sorry if there was a misunderstanding."
The words sounded forced.
Darin wasn't interested.
Years in foster care had taught him the difference between regret and fear.
The woman wasn't sorry for what she did.
She was sorry she picked the wrong person.
Ruby turned toward him.
"Mr. Steele, Mrs. Pollard has a history of complaints involving residents she believes don't belong. I suggest she find somewhere else to live."
The woman's mouth dropped open.
"Evict me?"
"No," Ruby replied. "I suggested new living arrangements."
Mrs. Pollard looked at Darin desperately.
He opened his mouth to answer.
Before he could, another voice filled the lobby.
"What the hell is going on?"
A middle-aged man stormed through the entrance.
Mr. Pollard.
His face turned red the moment he saw his wife upset.
He marched directly toward the group.
"What did you people do to my wife?"
The phrase hung in the air.
You people.
Several residents winced.
Darin felt something turn cold inside his chest.
The look in Ruby's eyes said she noticed it too.
Mrs. Pollard immediately tried calming her husband.
It was too late.
Mr. Pollard continued yelling.
Nobody interrupted him.
Nobody needed to.
He was burying himself.
By the time he finished his rant, Darin had made a decision.
"I want them gone."
The entire lobby became silent again.
Ruby nodded.
"Understood."
Mr. Pollard's face lost all its color.
Reality finally arrived.
Neither he nor his wife said another word.
They simply stood there as Ruby explained that legal notices would be delivered and all future discussions could occur through attorneys.
Within minutes the crowd dispersed.
The officers left.
The Pollards disappeared.
Only Darin and Ruby remained in the lobby.
Darin released a long breath.
"I didn't expect any of that."
Ruby laughed softly.
"Get used to it."
"I hope not."
"People act strange around money."
He shook his head.
"They acted strange before they knew I had money."
Ruby smiled.
"Fair point."
A moment later she gestured toward the door.
"Come on."
"Where?"
"Dinner."
"I don't think I'm hungry."
His stomach growled loudly.
Ruby laughed.
"Your stomach disagrees."
Twenty minutes later they were seated in a luxury restaurant.
Darin spent most of the evening staring at everything.
The lighting.
The service.
The atmosphere.
The prices.
Especially the prices.
"This steak costs more than my food budget for a month."
"You own part of the restaurant."
Darin set down the menu.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Twenty-five percent."
He looked toward the ceiling.
"Can we go one day without me owning something?"
Ruby laughed so hard she nearly spilled her drink.
The evening became easier after that.
For the first time all day, Darin relaxed.
He ate.
He listened.
He talked.
Mostly about Chicago.
Not all of it.
Just enough.
Ruby already knew pieces of his past from reports prepared before locating him. She knew about the foster homes. The fights. The struggles. The heartbreak. Most of all, she knew Sarah Steele had spent years planning this future for her son.
Watching Darin laugh at a joke reminded Ruby so much of Sarah that it nearly hurt.
She quickly hid the emotion.
Darin caught it anyway.
"You okay?"
Ruby smiled.
"Just thinking."
"About what?"
For a brief moment she considered telling him.
About his mother's killer.
About the upcoming parole review.
About the battle waiting in Illinois.
Instead she shook her head.
"Work."
Darin accepted the answer.
After dinner they stopped at a clothing store.
The moment they entered, another lesson arrived.
People judged appearances.
Just like they had in the lobby.
Just like they had his entire life.
Several employees assumed he couldn't afford the clothes he picked up. Their manager made the mistake of saying it out loud.
Ruby's patience finally vanished.
By the time the confrontation ended, the employees learned exactly who Darin Steele was, and one frantic phone call brought an old family friend racing across Atlanta to see him.
When the elegant woman burst through the store doors and saw him standing there, tears immediately filled her eyes.
"My God," she whispered.
Darin stared back.
The face looked familiar.
Older.
But familiar.
Then the memory clicked.
"Aunt Diane?"
She pulled him into a hug before he finished speaking.
For the first time since arriving in Atlanta, someone embraced him like family.
Not because of money.
Not because of ownership.
Not because of wealth.
Simply because they were happy he was home.
And for the first time that day, Darin felt like maybe Atlanta really could become home again.
- Writer
