Page 47 of You'll Love it Here

I nod. “Oh, that’s a bummer.”

He takes a small bite, then casts his eyes down at the sandwich thoughtfully. “I guess I kind of needed a break,” he mutters.

“I’m still really sorry it was such a shit show with that guy that day.”

“It’s fine.” He nods meekly before holding out his sandwich. “And thank you for this. It’s... nice of you.”

“My pleasure.” I smile.

I free my sandwich from the paper wrapper—a chicken Caesar wrap—and we start eating in silence. Norm doesn’t seem particularly creepy right now, just painfully shy. But then again, you can never be too sure. Honestly, I’m not certain what I expected to find here—perhaps the stolen panties framed above his couch? Obviously, Jane’s underwear wouldn’t be sitting out in the open, especially if he was crafty enough to swipe it unnoticed from a dryer. I can’t exactly confront him and ask if he’s the panty thief,and snooping around his room isn’t an option—nor is it something I’d want to do.

But therehas tobe something I can figure out one way or the other.

He shifts to grab a fry and from the bag and his feet twist closer. His bright white socks are like little beacons and—of course! I point to them. “Wow, I can’t help but notice your socks are so... bright.”

“Oh.” Norm looks at his feet like he’s only noticing he has them. “Yeah, I guess they are.”

“You washed them in our laundry room?”

“What?” His voice cracks with concern—maybe because of my weird line of questioning, butmaybebecause I’m onto him.

“Your socks. Do you wash them in the basement?”

“Um, yeah.” The tops of his ears redden. It’s just enough to convince me I really have to be onto something here.

“And how do you work the machine to get them so white?”

He stares at me for a second, aghast, before answering. “Oh, um, I use just a little bleach in that hole that says... bleach. Maybe that’s it?”

I nod vigorously. “Brilliant! I’m going to have to try that too if those basement machines can deliver like that.” I smile enthusiastically—okay, maybe a little manically. He grimaces and looks a bit like he’s going to shit his pants. “Do you know when you washed those socks?”

“What?” He puts his sandwich back on the table.

“I just, I mean...” I stumble for some way to keep this conversation feeling normal. “Your socks look so fresh. I was thinking you must’ve washed them recently.”

He slowly inches his feet away from me as he answers. “I don’t remember.”

“So you usually do laundry at night?”

He’s gone completely stiff.

“Yeah?”

“And do youlikethe laundry room?”

“Um, I guess it’s... okay.” He stares straight ahead as he talks now.

“That’s great! I’d been wondering how people are enjoying the building facilities lately.” I look directly at him. “What would you say is your favorite thing about our laundry room?”

Instantly, his hands clench into fists. I maybe went too far—it’s not like he was going to confess. “Mona, I know what you’re doing.” His voice has gone cold. “But you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

His tone draws a chill through me. I glance at the distance between me and the exit.

He watches me with his dark, observant eyes. “I’ll never let it happen again, okay?”

Oh my god, am I about to get a confession? “What do you mean?”

His eyes cast down. “The day of the inspection, I overheard the electrician...” His lips tremble insecurely as he speaks. “I’m sorry. I guess I was too used to it to notice, but I shouldn’t have let it get so bad.”