Round Robin by Joseph Flynn Read Free Book Online Page B

looking at it.
    “May I see the apartment please?”
    “Can you fix that furnace?” Robin countered.
    Ja.
    “Can you do wiring?”
    Ja.
    “Plumbing?”
    Ja, he could do that, too.
    Robin stared at him hard, trying to make him crack if he was BS-ing her. All she got for her trouble was that infuriating little smile again. She turned gingerly and opened the rear door to the basement apartment.
    There were only half the rooms of her own apartment, but they weren’t tiny spaces. Still, with the two of them there, with their combined sizes, she thought there was hardly room to breathe. And Robin realized she hadn’t been this physically close to a man in a private setting for a very long time. Her face turned a bright red.
    He saw her discomfort, of course, probably guessed what she was thinking, but Robin had to give him credit for not saying anything or even smirking. Which made her even angrier, because she didn’t want to give him credit for anything.
    Robin said, “As you can see, there’s a living room, a bedroom ...” She opened the door so he could look in. “... a dining-L and kitchenette and a bathroom.” He looked at this, too.
    Robin had furnished the apartment over the years with her castoffs. She hadn’t ever expected to rent the space. She just used it as a place to crash when she was doing yard work or had several loads of laundry to do. Now, she watched this monstrous schnitzel sit on the sofa, click the TV on and off, check the bed’s firmness with his hand.
    She felt as if she was losing control of her home.
    “I will take the job,” the giant announced.
    “I don’t think so,” Robin replied, shaking her head. “I don’t think I can do this.”
    The guy looked at her, not trying to be intimidating in any way. Just looking to see what he could see. He shrugged and walked toward the open door at the rear of the building. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at her.
    “So, tonight the cold will come and all your plants will die.”
    “Damn,” Robin said.
    He was right and she was right back where she’d started.
    “A pity,” the giant agreed and started up the stairs.
    “Wait!”
    He turned and waited for Robin to hobble over to him. This time she did her best to see what was inside of him.
    “You married?”
    Nein.
    “Girlfriend?”
    Nein.
    “Boyfriend?”
    The giant just gave her a look.
    “Pets?”
    Nein.
    “No drugs.”
    Nein. No drugs. This time with the smile.
    “Noise?”
    He said, “I’m told I snore.”
    “Thanks for sharing, but down here, I don’t think I’d notice.”
    The giant shrugged.
    “You’re not an illegal alien?”
    “I’m a resident alien.”
    He showed her a green card.
    Just when Robin thought it might work, at least for a little while, he added, “I was sponsored by the CIA.”
    “What?”
    “I was a political prisoner in East Germany.”
    “Are you kidding me?”
    He shook his head.
    “I was a spy.”
    “That does it,” Robin said. “Get out of here.”
    Instead of leaving, he stepped over to the furnace, reached in and did something Robin couldn’t see. Then there was a click, a thump and the furnace came on. The giant turned toward Robin like a magician waiting to see how his trick had been received.
    Robin beamed with joy.
    Until he turned and shut the furnace off.
    “I’ll leave now,” he said.
    “That CIA stuff was real? You’re not just some crazy?”
    “My wife denounced me to the state. While I was in prison, she divorced me and took my daughter from me. My daughter was a baby at the time. Would you like to see her picture?”
    Robin shook her head.
    “What’s your name?” she asked.
    “Manfred Welk.” He pronounced his last name Velk.
    Robin sighed. Cursed under her breath. Then gave in.
    “You’re hired, Manfred. Don’t let my plants die tonight.”
    Manfred clicked his heels.
    Gave her his little smile.
    And turned on the furnace.
     

Chapter 6
    Robin woke the next morning feeling as warm as oven-fresh