The Loving Silence

Chapter 3

Rue got out of the car and fumbled with his keys. Suddenly, he was nervous, and he knew that was only because Arlo was there with him. For some reason, he cared about his opinion, and although the mere thought of it made his heart jump out of his chest, Rue wanted to see what it was like to have Arlo in his space. To see him there among his designs and his art supplies. There, in his world. He wanted to know what it felt like. If Rick were the only one, he'd never be able to feel comfortable around. Rue was so scared that he was. And if that was the case, he had no one now. He was alone again.

The building wasn't well-kept, and from the outside, few people would believe it was an apartment building. But what the guys didn't know was that Rue owned it.

Three years ago, Rick helped him find that place after circumstances had led him to find himself without a home, and he would be forever grateful to Rick for that. The apartment and studio suited him perfectly, although it was a little snug. But a year ago, the building's owner decided to sell the building and the person he intended to sell it to intended to tear it down and rebuild. Knowing how much the place meant to Rue, Rick then went to the owner and asked him what his asking price was. It turned out that since several parts of the building needed to be renovated, he was prepared to go even lower than the asking price after some persuasion from Rick. Rick then approached Rue and asked if he was interested in being the new owner. It would mean he would never have to move unless he wanted to, and he would live for free. He would also earn an extra income if he decided to keep having tenants. The responsibility and interactions scared Rue, but the thought of having a forever home was inviting.

Rue didn't have a business sense, but he knew he didn't want to see the building go, nor did he want to force anyone out of their homes. He knew what it was like to feel utterly alone and have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. He didn't want to cause that to happen to anyone else. Even though he was unsure and worried if he could do a good job, Rue said yes and bought the building. Rick and his wife helped him figure out what needed to be fixed, and they got him a good deal thanks to a friend of a friend being a contractor and another friend, an electrician. Being a restaurant owner, it was essential to have such connections, and Rick didn't mind reaching out to them for Rue's sake.

The building was originally a beige, greyish colour, with walls that had been abused regularly by spray painting youths in the area. So first, it had to be cleaned and repainted. Rick then asked the city and other buildings in the area for permission to paint it, and after having collected the signatures, Rue cleaned the walls, painted them white and then turned the building into a canvas for his art.

The first half of it was a mural dedicated to his art, and it was beautiful. The other shop owners and local residents loved Rue's building as it made them feel like they weren't living in one of the poorer neighbourhoods or that it was such a cold area with only beige and grey old buildings. It made them feel like there was a little magic in the world again, and that made them happy. The tenants in Rue's building felt the same way. Rue hadn't raised the rent and he was always kind and polite. He willingly dedicated his time and money to restoring the building while saving them from being evicted. In their eyes, he was a bit of a hero, though he'd never believe that was the case.

He had yet to perform any significant renovations inside the building, but the tenants didn't mind. They were just happy that Rue was the new landlord and that it would happen. While there weren't many tenants, none wanted to be without a place to live. Therefore, they had no trouble being patient. The previous owner would never have made the necessary renovations, but Rue would. Rue even gave them all a list where they could write down what they thought was most important to renovate and change, what worked and didn't work in their apartments and the building itself. He also had them mull over what they thought would make the apartment building, their home,  even better for themselves and future tenants.