When things get tense, you go quiet or change the subject.
The heater in Owen’s apartment died on a Sunday in January. By Wednesday he was working from bed in his coat, and the thermostat on the wall said fifty-eight degrees (Fahrenheit).
He knew what he had to do. He had to call his landlord, Mr. Kowalski. He had not called in three days, and the reason was a conversation he had been building in his head since Sunday night.
In the version he rehearsed in the shower, Owen said, “I’m so sorry to bother you, I know you’re busy.” Mr. Kowalski sighed. Owen said it was probably nothing. Mr. Kowalski said tenants always said that right before they wanted something. By Tuesday, Mr. Kowalski had been joined in the argument by a lawyer and a brother-in-law who had opinions about the lease.
On Wednesday at noon, Owen wrote eleven bullet points on the back of an envelope. He dialed with his coat on.
Mr. Kowalski picked up on the second ring.
“Kowalski.”
“Hi, it’s Owen, in 3B. The heater’s out.”
“Since when?”
“Sunday.”
“Sunday?” He sounded more puzzled than annoyed. “Why didn’t you call Sunday? I’ve got a guy. He’ll be there at two.”
“Okay,” said Owen. “Thank you.”
“Wear a hat,” said Mr. Kowalski, and hung up.
The call had lasted forty-one seconds. Owen looked at the envelope. He had used none of the bullet points. He read them over anyway, all eleven, then dropped it in the trash on top of a cold cup of coffee.
At two the repairman arrived, replaced a part the size of a deck of cards, and had the apartment warm in twenty minutes. Owen stood over the vent in his socks and thought about the last four days. He thought about the lawyer, and the brother-in-law, and the lease. None of them had ever been in the building.
What to notice
Mr. Kowalski was never the opponent in this story. He was a man with a repairman's number, waiting to be told. Owen spent three days arguing with a version of him that existed only in the shower.
A question to think about: Whose reaction are you more afraid of: the real person's, or the one you have been rehearsing?
These stories are for reflection, not a substitute for professional help.