The Mean

Our landlord is 80 years old. Every month our rent is due on the 5^th before noon. And so it goes, this month, I promptly dropped off our checks on my way to work, at approximately 10:45. She wasn’t there, the kind handyman walks by, sees me, and tells me that she’s around somewhere. He told me to drop the checks into the drop box, I did.

Got a letter after I came home from work at 5:30 from our landlady. The note says we owe her $25 in late fees for failing to turn in our checks before noon. What??? I went downstairs and asked her if she got our checks, she said yes but it was late, I said it wasn’t since I dropped it in around 10. She insisted that she was there at 10:00. I said I dropped it off on my way to work (which was at 11) and it must have been 10:45 or so. She called me a liar.

She proceeded to sit there dishing out her condescending tone as if talking to a common criminal:

“I dropped my check off before noon”

“No, I was here at 10”

“Yes, but I dropped it off on my way to work, but before 12”

“No, I was here at 10, and I looked at the checks at 10 and didn’t see yours”

“um.. that’s because I dropped it off after 10 but before 12”

“No, you’re lying, I was here at 10 and I went upstairs at 12 to put the note on your door and you didn’t even answer”

“THAT’S BECAUSE I DROPPED IT OFF ON MY WAY TO WORK AND I WASN’T HOME!”

“No, you’re lying, I was here at 10 and you weren’t, I checked the drop box at 10 and didn’t see your check and you didn’t answer the door at 12”

“ THE HANDYMAN SAW ME!” finally, I thought! A witness!

“oh really? Who?”

“the guy with the ladder, I don’t know his name”

“it must be David… I’ll let you off this time”

let me off? Wha??

“for the record, I swear to you that I’m not lying”

“and who did you say saw you?”

“the handyman, you can ask him and he will testify that he saw me here before noon”

“oh don’t worry, I will”

Uh… is it just me, or is the above situation maddening? There’s more to the story actually, and more of her sitting there calling me a liar, it’s all very amusing, I’m sure years from now I’ll look back upon this incident and laugh at it… just not this minute.