To Lay in Fear

By S. T. Myrick

Due to the social and economic conditions of our times, many households are headed by women. Women with children can become unknowing victims of unscrupulous landlords, whose only concern is lining their pockets with hidden income.

Money talks in this country, and if you are poor or middle class going up against a company or individual with money while fighting for your rental rights can become a nightmare.

Here lies three stories of women who unwittling entered into their own rental nighmares, and learned how to overcome being a victim.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 26, 2008
• ISBN: 9781465323255

S. T. Myrick

S.T. Myrick was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and now resides in an undisclosed section of the city. She is the author of several poems, and a graduate of Pierce College.

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Copyright © 2008 by S. T. Myrick.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

THE MEETING

THE AGREEMENT

THE HOLIDAYS

WHAT DESPERATE MEN DO

THE RUNAROUND

THE COURT DATE

SECRETS

LESSONS LEARNED

LIFE GOES ON

MICHELLE

Through the darkness a little voice cries out Mommy, Mommy, I’m scared, and a gentle voice replies Its all right, Mommy’s here, and so begins the cycle of cries in the night.

THE MEETING

The day began just like any other day with the Sun shinning, birds singing, and the baby telling me that she was hungry. I knew that I had an early morning appointment to see the rental house, so I rolled over and let my feet hang over the left side of the bed for awhile before getting up.

I remembered that Rick a child hood friend of mine was working in the area as a carpenter so I called him to inquire about available rental units in the area. Sometimes in life one has to be brutally honest when requesting assistance from friends in an emergency situation. When my sister died my mother took over the responsibility of raising her children. Rose was still grieving for the loss of her own child, and couldn’t handle raising a new baby and preteen twins so a decision was made that we would buy a new home which was large enough for both families to reside in. Through a series of unfortunate events the arrangement turned out to be a disaster, and I had to move out in three days. The next day Rick informed me of a house that was being rehabbed, and had set up an appointment for me to meet Jack and see the property.

I knew that I wanted to impress Jack, so that he wouldn’t have any doubts about me as a tenant, so I picked out my black pumps, purple knit skirt, and black multi colored shirt with the see thru sleeves. My hair was braided in the back with a black bow at the end, and my bangs were cut long. I couldn’t help admiring myself in the mirror, and saying to myself how I was going to impress Jack with grace and style. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of a nightmare for my family?

Gosh! I’m running late, what’s wrong with me? I don’t want to give Jack the wrong impression of me. I wonder if that’s him standing there on the corner of that little street.

Six-two, a head full of thick black curls, deep dark penetrating brown eyes, and a rich olive skin tone that would make any woman take a second look. Jack Marshall cut a very impressionable figure standing there on that corner, and I felt safe arriving in a new neighborhood.

Anna it’s nice to finally meet you stated Jack. How did you know that I was Anna, I replied. By the way that you walked was Jack’s reply. What! You walk like a woman who is on a serious mission. What followed that was a series of laughter from both of us, which led to a handshake and a smile. We then turned and entered Carroll Street.

Carroll Street was a little one way dead end street which contained nine two bedroom row homes. This was definitely a poor neighborhood, but it was all that I could afford at the time, and I knew that as soon as my finances improved my children and I would be moving. As we approached the house two men began walking towards us. The older man was introduced to me as being Jack Marshall’s father, and his name was Joe. Joe would be doing all of the plumbing work on the property, while Farmer was introduced to me as being the contractor for the premises.

Upon entering the house I noticed that the Living room was rather small, with one large window that had a single Venetian blind surrounded by an orange curtain that was pinned to the paneling above. You could see that the paneling was in need of