THE LANDLADY by Jay Jay.

Lady and the Tramp.

Cindy stopped the car. There he was. A scruffy, middle-aged man that had recently taken up residence in the alleyway beside her apartment building.

He sat on a small pile of cardboard. His belongings were neatly folded and tucked away behind a big trash can. He was drinking from a large battered coke bottle. As far as Cindy could make out, the bottle contained water. No smell of smoke or alcohol.

Night was coming on. She supposed that he would be sleeping behind the trash can tonight.

Yesterday, Mrs Jones had requested a person to live in her folly house. Someone homeless and scruffy would do. Today, Cindy had overheard some tenants complain about the tramp that had made himself at home here, bringing down the tone of the neighbourhood.

Cindy could solve both problems in one go.

Be diplomatic. She looked at the gloves she had been about to put on, thought better of it. She sloshed a double dose of hand sanitiser over her hands instead.

Cindy got out of the car. She stepped around puddles and rubbish carefully with high heel shoes, hoping they were not picking up too much of the pavement's filth.

The man ignored her at first. She stood in front of him. A big "AHEM" from her had him look up in astonishment.

"Lady, I'm within my rights sitting here. You got a problem, you call the cops. Till then, I ain't moving."

"Oh, sir," she twittered nervously. "You've got me all wrong. I'm here to help you."

"If you're one of them lousy do-gooder types, I've no use for you. Go away."

"I'm here to offer you a home..." She raised her hand up as he started to protest, "Sir! Hear me out. This is not charity, this is a genuine job."

"I'm listening."

She outlined her proposal. The man listened with more intelligence than she would have given him credit for a few minutes earlier. Under all that matted hair and past that battered face, there was an individual with a good brain and some not bad looks. 

What had happened to him, to bring him so low?

"Tomorrow? You want me to meet you here tomorrow morning? Hah! Where else am I going to go," he said bitterly.

"Great!" Cindy said brightly. "I'll get all the paperwork sorted today, then if you like the position, we can proceed."

She turned and walked quickly back to her car. She had already laid out newspaper on the floor to prevent filth getting on the carpet. She drove her car to the underground carpark at the back of her building. Putting on her spare shoes, carrying her business high heels, she took the lift to the seventh floor and soon was safely home. She quickly took the shoes to the bathroom and gave them a good clean. Satisfied, she started to prepare dinner, a cold chicken and avocado salad.

Cindy"s apartment was clean and tidy. Cindy's hobbies, of which there were few, included cleaning and scrubbing the small apartment at least once a day. After dinner, out came the bleach and the rags. 

Finally satisfied, Cindy put on the computer and started doing her paperwork.

Cindy could never understand why her clients had such a hard time keeping their rentals clean. All it took was discipline and standards.

After she had finished her work, Cindy watched some funny cats on You Tube.

Even though she hated cats.

Out in the alley way, Dean settled down for the long night ahead. He made a shelter as best he could with the assorted blankets and cardboard boxes he had managed to scrounge. The ground was cold and hard, but he had gotten a bit used to it now. He watched the cloudy sky and prayed that it wouldn't rain. How quickly did small things that he once disregarded had become all important to him. 

That woman tonight, patronising bitch. She was just like several of his past girl-friends, women who thought they could take him in hand and improve him. Actually, he admitted, a good woman was probably what he needed to pull him up now. Ah. He suddenly felt she was quite attractive.

For a patronising bitch.

If only she knew how fragile her rich lifestyle was, how quickly fortunes could change.

He sighed. He didn't wish this lifestyle on anyone, even her.  

After all, a few months ago, he was probably worse in his arrogance and indifference and ignorance. 

At least she was offering a solution.