Bonus story : More than just colleagues : Part 8 : Lucas’s Apartment

The following Saturday, Aldric arrived in front of Lucas’s building. Unlike Patrick, who lived in a house with a small garden on a much quieter street, Lucas lived in a modern apartment building in a lively neighborhood.

Several businesses occupied the ground floor, and the terrace of a café extended almost all the way to the entrance.

Aldric checked the address displayed on his phone one last time before looking up at the upper floors.

Emma was walking up the street toward him. She was carrying a bag containing bottles of soda and several bags of chips.

When she noticed him standing by the entrance, she smiled.

“Are we the first ones here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you rung the bell yet?”

“No. There are still several minutes before the agreed time.”

“I have a feeling we’re going to wait until exactly seven o’clock again.”

“Arriving too early at someone’s home can be considered impolite.”

“I knew you were going to say that. Fine. This time, I’ll wait.”

Aldric inclined his head.

“That is reasonable.”

“Don’t look so victorious.”

Ever since she arrived, she had obviously noticed the bags Aldric was carrying, but she had not commented on them yet. Eventually, she gestured toward them with her chin.

“You actually brought the bags?”

Aldric lifted one of them.

“Several sizes.”

“You were serious…”

“Why wouldn’t I have been?”

“Because Lucas was joking when he sent you that picture of his apartment.”

“The condition visible in the photograph did not appear to be a joke.”

“I can’t really argue with you on that one.”

Patrick arrived with Karim. Patrick was carrying a bag containing a few drinks, while Karim had brought a box of pastries. As soon as they finished greeting each other, Emma pointed at Aldric’s bags.

“He actually brought storage bags.”

“I knew he would,” Patrick said.

“How many?” Karim asked.

“Twenty-four.”

“That’s a lot…”

“Eight large, eight medium, and eight small. I don’t yet know the exact volume of the items that need to be sorted.”

“Lucas has no idea what’s coming,” Emma said.

They entered the building and went up to the third floor. Patrick already knew the address. He stopped in front of a door.

“This is it.”

He rang the bell. Several seconds passed without an answer. Patrick rang again.

“Maybe he’s still asleep,” Emma suggested.

Karim checked the time.

“At two in the afternoon?”

“It’s Lucas,” Patrick replied.

Eventually, noises came from behind the door. Something fell, followed by a muffled voice saying a few words none of them could understand. The lock finally turned, and Lucas appeared in front of them. He was wearing a black T-shirt, sweatpants, and only one sock.

“Welcome.”

Patrick looked down at his feet.

“Did you lose the other one?”

Lucas looked down as well.

“Probably.”

“We’re off to a good start,” Karim said.

Lucas stepped aside.

“Come in before the neighbors think you’re here to arrest me.”

They stepped inside. Then everyone stopped. The photograph he had sent a few days earlier had only provided a glimpse of the situation.

A pair of sneakers sat in front of the entrance, along with several other shoes scattered around. A gym bag took up half the passageway. Two boxes were stacked against a wall. Several envelopes lay on a cabinet near the door, and a coat had been thrown on top of it instead of being hung on the coat rack just a few inches away.

The living room was even more impressive. Part of the sofa had disappeared beneath a pile of clothes, cushions, a backpack, and two towels. The coffee table was covered with glasses, magazines, remote controls, and takeout containers. An empty mug sat on the floor near the sofa. Three boxes occupied one corner of the room, while several cables were tangled around a power strip.

Aldric slowly turned his head toward the open kitchen.

The sink contained enough dishes to completely hide the bottom. Several plates were stacked on top of one another, two saucepans occupied part of the counter, and a mug had been abandoned on the windowsill. An open box of cereal stood beside the refrigerator.

No one spoke. Lucas looked from one face to another.

“You’re all very quiet.”

Patrick finally stepped into the living room.

“You actually live here?”

“For almost four years.”

Karim took two steps forward and looked at the floor.

“I’d forgotten what color it was.”

Emma burst out laughing.

“For the record, the floor has always been gray.”

“I know. I just rediscovered it.”

Patrick picked up a T-shirt from the back of a chair.

“Is this clean or dirty?”

“I don’t remember.”

Patrick put it back down.

“Right.”

Emma was still laughing as she approached the sofa.

“Where is it, exactly?”

Lucas looked at her.

“What?”

“Your sofa.”

“There.”

“I see a mountain of clothes.”

“The sofa is underneath.”

“Can you still sit on it?”

Lucas moved a few clothes aside, revealing a small section of one cushion.

“There.”

“One seat…”

“I live alone.”

Patrick turned toward him.

“That’s not an excuse.”

Lucas shrugged.

“I never claimed to be organized.”

Aldric had still barely said anything. He was studying the apartment, trying to determine where the problem began. The mess was not confined to a single area. Every room contained several categories of objects that should have been somewhere else.

Lucas noticed the look on his face.

“No.”

“What?”

“I know that expression.”

“What expression?”

“The one you make when you’re looking at a badly loaded truck.”

Patrick smiled.

“He’s already making a plan.”

“I haven’t established anything yet.”

Emma pointed at the bag he was holding.

“He still brought twenty-four storage bags.”

“It is possible that we will not need all of them.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel so much better,” Lucas said.

Karim walked over to the kitchen and opened the dishwasher.

“It’s empty.”

“You have an empty dishwasher and a sink full of dishes?” Patrick asked.

“Apparently.”

“Why?”

“Because the dishes aren’t in it yet.”

“Thank you. I can see that.”

“I was going to do it.”

“When?”

“Today.”

“Because we were coming over?”

“The coincidence is remarkable…”

They continued their tour. Lucas’s bedroom was less cluttered than the living room, but several pieces of clothing covered a chair and one corner of the bed. A stack of books sat on the floor despite the empty shelf right beside it. In the bathroom, several products were lined up around the sink, but the room itself was relatively clean.

Emma returned to the living room.

“Actually, it’s not dirty everywhere.”

“Thank you, Emma…”

“It’s mostly just incredibly messy.”

“I spoke too soon…”

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Patrick dropped into the only armchair that was still accessible.

“How do you manage to find anything?”

“I more or less know where things are.”

Aldric looked at the three remote controls.

“Where is the main remote?”

Lucas pointed at the coffee table.

“There.”

Patrick lifted a magazine. There was no remote underneath.

“Wait.”

Lucas moved a box, looked under a cushion, then lifted a sweatshirt.

“It was there yesterday.”

Lucas continued searching.

“Someone moved it…”

“You live alone,” Emma reminded him.

“Good point…”

Aldric crouched beside the sofa and looked underneath it.

“It is under there.”

Lucas bent down.

“How did you see it?”

“Part of it was sticking out.”

He retrieved the remote and handed it to him.

“Thanks.”

Aldric stood and surveyed the apartment once more. Lucas understood that the verdict was coming.

“I’m warning you, be nice.”

“There is room for improvement.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“That was not a criticism.”

“That’s even worse.”

“I meant that a different organizational system would make your daily life easier.”

“I function perfectly well like this.”

Patrick lifted a cushion and discovered a set of keys.

“Weren’t you looking for these yesterday?”

“Maybe.”

Emma sat on the edge of the armchair.

“How do you manage to create this much mess all by yourself?”

“It happens gradually. When I get home from work, I leave my jacket somewhere. Then I eat, so I leave a plate somewhere. Then I’m tired, so I tell myself I’ll clean up later.”

“When does ‘later’ happen?” Aldric asked.

“Apparently, not yet.”

“Why not put each object away immediately after using it?”

“Because I’m not you.”

“That answer provides no practical information.”

“And yet, it explains almost everything.”

Emma moved closer to Aldric.

“Do you remember procrastination?”

“Yes. Deliberately postponing a task that could be completed immediately.”

Lucas raised a finger.

“‘Deliberately’ sounds a little accusatory.”

“You literally just explained that you always tell yourself you’ll clean up later.”

“That’s temporal optimism.”

“Is that an actual term?”

“He just made it up,” Patrick replied.

“It sounded convincing,” Lucas protested.

They returned to the living room. Emma managed to clear a second spot on the sofa by moving a pile of clothes onto a chair that was already covered with more clothes. Lucas looked at the new pile.

“You just moved the problem.”

“I wanted to sit down, not fix your life.”

Karim burst out laughing.

“What exactly were we supposed to do?” Patrick asked.

Lucas shrugged.

“Spend the afternoon together.”

“In what?”

“My apartment.”

“That’s precisely what worries me.”

“We can eat.”

Lucas opened the refrigerator for a few seconds. Then he closed it again.

“We’re ordering.”

Emma burst out laughing.

“There’s nothing in there?”

“There is.”

“What?”

Lucas opened the refrigerator again.

“Mustard. Cheese. A yogurt and a few other things.”

“What’s the date on the yogurt?” Karim asked.

Lucas picked up the container and checked.

“We’re ordering.”

They eventually settled on pizza. The decision led to a much longer discussion than necessary, with Lucas categorically refusing pineapple while Emma insisted that he was being overly dramatic about a matter of taste.

Aldric studied the different options on Lucas’s phone.

“Why are we ordering five pizzas?”

Lucas looked up.

“Because we’re hungry.”

“One pizza represents a considerable amount of food for one person.”

“If we don’t finish everything, there’ll be some left for tomorrow.”

“That’s how his fridge gets filled,” Patrick said.

“It’s called planning.”

“Until you forget about the leftovers…” Karim said.

“Why are you all so negative today?”

Emma smiled.

“Your apartment inspires us.”

They eventually ordered the pizzas and some drinks. While waiting for the delivery, Lucas started clearing the table. He picked up several objects in his arms, then looked around for somewhere to put them.

“Where do you intend to put those objects?” Aldric asked.

“I’m thinking.”

“That is precisely the problem. You are moving several objects without determining their destination first. There is therefore a risk that they will simply create a new area of clutter.”

“He’s right,” Emma said.

“Fine. The magazine goes on the shelf, the glasses go in the kitchen, and this…”

He held up a cable.

“I don’t even know what this is.”

Karim took the cable.

“USB charger.”

“For what?”

“No idea.”

Lucas opened a drawer.

“Then it goes in here.”

Several other cables were already piled inside.

“Is that their designated location?”

“From now on, yes.”

The delivery arrived about thirty minutes later. Lucas opened the door and returned with the boxes stacked in his arms. They managed to clear enough of the table to sit around it. Patrick and Karim took the two chairs, Emma and Lucas sat on the sofa, while Aldric brought over a third chair from the kitchen.

Patrick took a slice of pizza.

“Seriously, why do you never clean up?”

Lucas took a bite before answering.

“I do clean up.”

Karim looked around.

“When?”

“From time to time.”

“Give us a date.”

“I did a big cleanup two months ago.”

Patrick frowned.

“Maybe three.”

Emma burst out laughing.

“You just lost all credibility.”

Lucas put down his slice of pizza.

“I don’t like cleaning up. When I get home from work, I want to take a shower, eat, and sit down. I tell myself I’ll clean up afterward, then I watch something or play a game for a while. By then, it’s late, so I put it off until the next day.”

“And the next day?” Aldric asked.

“I do the same thing.”

“So this cycle can continue indefinitely.”

Lucas took another bite.

“You just summed up my life.”

“That is exactly what procrastination is,” Emma said.

“In that case, the problem is not an inability to perform the task. Lucas knows how to clean up. He simply chooses not to do it.”

“When you put it like that, you make me sound like a terrible person.”

“That is not what I said.”

“Procrastination doesn’t necessarily mean someone is lazy. Often, people put off a task because it’s boring, because they’re tired, or because they would rather do something more enjoyable at that moment,” Emma explained.

“Yet the longer the task is postponed, the larger it becomes…”

“Exactly.”

“That seems like a poor strategy.”

Lucas sighed.

“Thank you, General.”

“He’s not wrong,” Patrick said.

“If you had put each object away as you used it, the daily workload would probably have amounted to only a few minutes. Today, putting the entire apartment back in order would take several hours.”

Lucas took a sip.

“That’s why I keep putting it off.”

“Because the task is now larger.”

“Exactly.”

“But it becomes even larger every time you postpone it again.”

“Also true.”

“This system appears to have a major flaw.”

Emma burst out laughing.

“That’s generally how procrastination works.”

Karim put down his glass.

“You mostly just need to start.”

“Easy for you to say. Your place is always tidy.”

“Because we put things away,” Emma said.

“That’s exactly the kind of unnecessarily logical answer Aldric would give.”

Aldric looked up.

“It does seem correct.”

Lucas shook his head.

The conversation moved on to another subject. Emma talked about a client who had spent an entire hour hesitating between two almost identical apartments. Karim told them that his son had decided to reorganize his bedroom by himself and had managed to block the door with his bed. Patrick explained that he had finished treating the new fence he and Aldric had built the previous Sunday.

“So you spent your Sunday building a fence?” Lucas asked.

“Yes.”

“And you enjoyed it?”

“Yes.”

“You two were made for each other.”

“Some people find DIY relaxing,” Emma said.

“What relaxes me is doing absolutely nothing.”

“We noticed…” Karim said.

“I regret inviting you…”

Patrick took another slice of pizza.

“You invited us as a joke.”

“And you actually showed up.”

“Poor calculation.”

“Lesson learned.”

Lucas put on some music and managed to clear the rest of the sofa by moving several pieces of clothing into his bedroom. Patrick accused him of simply moving the problem, but Lucas replied that they needed to learn the difference between cleaning and emergency strategy.

They spent almost another hour talking. Emma showed Karim several photographs taken during their evening at Patrick’s house. Lucas found an old photo from the depot on his phone and made fun of how incredibly straight Aldric had stood during his first few weeks.

“You look like you’re waiting for an inspection.”

Aldric studied the photograph.

“I had only recently arrived.”

“Yeah, but look at you now.”

Lucas raised his phone and took a picture. Aldric was sitting on a chair with a piece of pizza still on his plate, while Patrick and Karim talked behind him and Emma laughed on the sofa. Lucas placed the two photographs side by side.

“See?”

“My posture is different.”

The sun was beginning to set when Patrick finally stood up. He picked up his glass and carried it into the kitchen. There, he stopped in front of the sink full of dishes, then looked back toward the living room.

“No…” Lucas said.

“What?”

“I know that look.”

“What look?”

“The same one Aldric had when he said there was room for improvement.”

“We’re coming back tomorrow,” Patrick said.

“What? Why?”

“To help you.”

“You’re not spending your Sunday cleaning my apartment.”

Karim shrugged.

“I’m free.”

Emma checked her phone.

“Me too.”

“But you don’t even work with us. Why are you agreeing to this?”

“Because it could be fun.”

Lucas finally looked at Aldric.

“Don’t even answer. I already know you’re coming.”

“I already have the bags.”

“I hate that you were right to bring them.”

“Their usefulness was uncertain when I arrived. It is no longer uncertain.”

Lucas ran a hand over his face.

“Fine. But we’re not starting at eight in the morning.”

Patrick picked up his jacket.

“Ten.”

“Eleven.”

“Ten thirty.”

Lucas looked at Karim.

“Help me.”

“Ten thirty works for me.”

“Emma?”

“Same.”

Lucas sighed before turning toward Aldric.

“And I suppose you’ll be standing outside the building at ten twenty-eight.”

“Probably.”

Lucas looked up at the ceiling.

“Of course.”

Emma picked up her bag, Karim closed the nearly empty pastry box, and Patrick put his jacket back on. Before leaving the apartment, Aldric turned toward the living room one last time. He looked at the boxes, the clothes, the shoes, and the cluttered table before taking out his phone.

“What are you doing?” Lucas asked.

“I am making a list of the supplies we will need tomorrow.”

“I made a huge mistake sending that picture.”

Patrick put a hand on his shoulder.

“Probably.”

Karim smiled.

“But tomorrow, you’ll be able to see your floor again.”

Lucas opened the door for them.

“Out. All of you.”

While Patrick called the elevator, Aldric quickly reviewed his new list: storage bags, cleaning products, sponges, cloths, gloves, and several boxes for sorting items according to where they belonged.

Lucas stuck his head out through the doorway.

“Aldric.”

“Yes?”

“No military schedule.”

“I was not planning a military schedule.”

“Thank you.”

“A simple division of the apartment into designated zones should be sufficient.”

Patrick burst out laughing just as the elevator doors opened, and Lucas closed the door without answering.