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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 24
When Gerry returned to the lobby he was in civilian clothes. Old blue jeans and a gray Mets hoodie. He appeared to have taken a shower. The lobby smelled like my father, Old Spice and whiskey. Gerry returned the spare key to the Abruzzi’s apartment to the lock box. He had an old baseball in his hand, a…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 23
Gerry did not sneak around the halls or creep around in the shadows of 534. He made no attempt to conceal himself or to quietly land the service elevator, having missed the intended floor, then descended back down before lining up the elevator perfectly. Unfazed with no second thought he entered 8A through the front door into Pruitt…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 22
It was obvious Gerry felt no pain when he challenged me to a contest of fifty push ups in the lobby. After all, his tie was off and we all knew what that meant. I thought it was close while Gerry disagreed, asserting victory over me. I wondered what the shareholders would have thought if…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. XXI
“Lotto is up to 45 fucking million,” said Gerry, looking at a newspaper, standing at the table by the lobby phone. “Nice fucking haul, huh. What would you do if you won the lotto?” “I don’t play the lotto.” “But If you did?” “But I don’t,” I said, sitting on the bench where I removed Ichabod’s…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 20
“We got plenty of beers left but maybe we should get some Tully? Good idea or recipe for disaster? What do you think?” “Tully is never a bad idea,” I said. “Here’s some bread,” said Gerry, pulling a hundred dollar bill from a stack of cash, suffocating inside his wallet. He must have withdrawn funds for…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 18
Night had already fallen on Sutton place when Murphy finally walked out of the service entrance. It was not uncommon for him to have to stay late at the building, but it had been a long time since he left this late. An old building had its share of overflowing toilets and broken elevators. The later he left…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 17
“Speak of the devil,” said Gerry, holding open the door. “How was your day, young lady?” “You boys gossiping about me?” Agnes said, jokingly. “You know I enjoy negative attention.” I said, no. Yes, Gerry said. “What happened here?” “Kranepool leapt to his death,” said Gerry. “Shut the fuck up. No way.” “No lie. Kranepool is hell…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 16
The lobby phone rang as it did often throughout the day, no matter who you were on the phone with, a tenant walking through the lobby would see you on the phone and automatically assume it was a personal call. It was not uncommon for a complaint to be made to Murphy about staff using the phone too…
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All Guests Must Be Announced – Ch. 15
“Oh, no,” said Gerry, with a loud sigh as he opened the door to the building. “Is it true? Oh, God,” Lightbarn wept. Mr. Lightbarn was a tall, middle aged trust fund man-child. It must be nice to have no financial worries. He was one of two shareholders that no longer communicated with me. A goofy…
SEAN GABLER
Middle Aged Curmudgeon. Gritty Minimalist Fiction. Self-Deprecating Non-Fiction.
SEAN GABLER 