Rental Property

A few years ago, a Sack family moved to a distant part of the country. But, they didn't sell their house. The Sack had its first rental property.

***

The presence of a rental property did not go over well among residents of The Sack.

Burning Manor was in its glory days at the time, so people feared for the worst. Many were worried that tenants would not look after the property in the same way that a homeowner would. To the more strident, it was all a matter of property value.

***

Looking back, fears about the rental property have been unfounded. Two sets of tenants have come and gone. The newest tenants moved in yesterday.

***

The first tenants were two women and a man. They appeared to be in their late twenties.

Despite Oscar's attempts to convince residents otherwise, the three tenants enjoyed platonic relationships with each other. According to Oscar, however, unspeakable sexual shenanigans were going on beneath our noses.

He was also heard to lament their practice of keeping their curtains discreetly closed.

***

The young people seemed friendly enough and went about their business in a quiet manner. The man seemed to relish the various tasks of home maintenance. He cut and watered the grass in summer and shovelled the snow in winter.

All things considered, they were very good neighbours.

***

The most memorable part of their tenancy took place the week before they moved. One of the young women was soon to be married. A bridal shower was held at the rental house in her honour.

The party took place on a Friday night. It was still daylight when it began.

The Sack quickly filled with cars carrying an assortment of women. Many carried brightly wrapped gifts and bottles of drink. Music and jubilant voices soon filtered from the house.

In the circle at the top of the street, a group of Sack children was joyously playing tag.

Oscar and I sat languidly on my porch, awaiting our first guests on the show. We revelled in the carnival atmosphere that was percolating in The Sack.

***

Dusk soon fell. Oscar and I had just finished with our first guest, Elizabeth. Since we lack a talent co-ordinator for the show, our guests are a mystery until the show begins. Quality control can be a problem.

Elizabeth was not a very good guest at all. She was mostly incoherent. We suspected that she'd had more than the single glass of wine that wobbled dangerously in her hand.

As Elizabeth meandered home, we saw a taxi pull up in front of the rental house. A dark-haired, athletic-looking man was deposited on the sidewalk. He carried a small gym bag.

"Stripper" said Oscar calmly, but suddenly. He pointed across the street with authority.

***

Oscar was right. After the young man entered the house, a chorus of cheering erupted.

Soon, the music grew louder. Rythmic clapping began. This was followed by great whooping from the female celebrants. A steady thumping sound began to emanate from the house, a combination of the music's bass and the pounding of many feet.

***

Children still playing on the street grew curious of the ruckus. They gathered on the sidewalk in front of the house, craning their necks to see in the front window. Unable to gain a clear view, a few of the bolder ones went directly to the front window. They quickly learned why there was so much excitement inside in the rental house.

The children ran squealing from the window, their voices holding equal amounts of shock and hilarity. Their excited voices blended with the crescendo of glee that roared from the bridal shower.

***

Gradually, a calm settled upon The Sack. The music died down and only the occasional enthusiastic voice could be heard in the rental house. The children slowly separated and filtered toward their homes.

The door of the rental house soon opened and the stripper dude bounded down the steps. He was followed by four or five young women. They stood around him, some shyly and others clearly vying for his attention.

A taxi appeared. One young woman handed him a piece of paper and then kissed him quickly on the lips.

***

Little Doug drove into The Sack. The taxi passed him as he neared his house. As he got out of his car, he noticed Oscar and me on my front steps. He paused for a moment, then began walking toward us.

***

As Little Doug approached, Oscar withdrew a thin cigar from his breast pocket. I poured another glass of ale. We had another new story to discuss on the show.

***