Marie and Otis have moved into a studio apartment in a new city and I am visiting for the first time. I wasn't expecting them to move, and it feels abrupt and like I have somehow been displaced (even though I didn't live with them), but it makes sense. Marie had been offered a promotion and had to move to take it, plus they have the baby and needed a good place for her. They hoped to have several more, so it seemed like a studio apartment wasn't the best choice. This apartment was in a good school district, so Marie's new baby, LeGrand, would be going to a top notch school when she gets older.
By my second visit, my concern over the size of the place had grown. I thought Marie should be in a bigger place - she had a great job and the company had paid to move her to that city. I brought a little gift for LeGrand and she said, "Let's put that in her playroom!" "Her what?"
Marie led me through a door I hadn't noticed before and I realized I had only ever been in the foyer of a humongous apartment! LeGrand had a huge playroom with a big jungle gym. There were seven lavish bedrooms and all of the other big rooms you would expect. I told Marie I thought the foyer was it, and she laughed! She went on with the tour.
The building was made up of all employee residences, and this was the equivalent of the penthouse (although it was not on a top floor). The building had about 3 floors of apartments, but it was set up in a totally weird way. Marie opened up two giant french doors onto what I had assumed was a yard. It turned out to be more of a massive atrium under a 3 floor height roof. I could look around and see walkways and doors going to other residents' apartments, all with potted greenery strategically placed to give this private atrium the maximum amount of privacy from the others. Off the atrium was a locked set of french doors opening on to a large pool area that the other residents had access to. It was a very nice accommodation!
