Of Mice and Men

Sloan and I are scheduled to work five days to assist a family of four in the Upper East Side with a move to Midtown Manhattan. The client's husband wishes to be closer to his offices, hence the move. Our clients often hire us to prepare for a move prior to the movers arrival. We help to organize the home before the move so that things are in place to be put away properly and in an organized fashion on the other side of the move.

The clients are currently in a Classic Six. “Classic” nods to the prewar era when apartments of this ilk were built, and “six” refers to the total number of rooms, which include a living room, a formal dining room, a kitchen, two full bedrooms, and a maid’s room typically located near the kitchen and with its own bath. Our client is a sweet mom of two teenagers. She is very earthy-crunchy or granola like. She is a huge, and I mean huge, animal lover.

We meet Chestnut, their rescue dog, early on. Chestnut greets us with loud barks at their front door. Sloan and I both have dogs at home. We are not scared of dogs but we are always cautious of our clients pets. The client advises us to place our lunch bags up high on a kitchen counter so that Chestnut is not able to reach our food.

Sloan starts off by tackling the linen closet in the hallway. Houston, we have a problem! Sloan finds me in the kids playroom, sorting through toys. Sloan speaks in a low voice while she tries to be discreet explaining how there is mouse excrement all over the towels and bed linens. We do not have any gloves or masks with us. We try to hide our displeasure from the client. The client acknowledges to us that they have had a bit of a mouse "issue".

Apparently, the lobby in their building underwent major renovations a year ago. Often times, construction brings out mice and rats as their nesting grounds are disturbed. Rodents like dirty places with lots of debris and clutter. This was the clients story and she appeared to be sticking to it.

The apartment is a mess. The client's daughters room is the only room in the apartment that is neat and tidy. We cannot imagine growing up in such a sloppy home. The clients daughter does not allow any food in her room. No wonder. We know why. Little whiskered friends are present.

The client was sheepish. She was nervous about the move. They had lived in their apartment for many years. The children, a girl, aged 14, and a boy, aged 12, were born and raised in this home. It was a big change.

I hear Sloan scream down the hallway. Oh no. What happened? Chestnut had bitten her on her shoulder. Sloan was merely folding bath towels in the linen closet when, for no apparent reason, she was bit. The client was embarrassed and remorseful. She grabbed Chestnut by the collar and placed her into her crate.

Sloan was a little shaken up. Thankfully, Chestnut's bite did not break the skin. Phew.

I take a peek into the the client's husbands office. I can't. I just can't. Boxes and boxes of papers are strewn all over the place. I decide to save this room until the end.

I turn and head into the living room. I begin packing up books. Custom bookshelves are built floor to ceiling. I start categorizing the books. I love working with books. I am often referred to as the "librarian". Reference books. Cookbooks. Children's books. Autobiographies. I place the books neatly into small, book boxes by category.

Next come the DVD's, CD's and VHS tapes. I think that every Disney movie is represented here. I pack them all up.

I hear Chestnut running down the hallway. Ugh. Why is Chestnut out of his crate? I walk around the apartment to find Sloan to tell her that Chestnut is on the loose again. We both roll our eyes.

I head back to my VHS tapes. I grab another stack of them. What is that stuck to the VHS tape? A MOUSE! I throw the tape with the mouse on it, to the floor. I try to remain calm and quiet. I quickly gather myself. I take some packing paper and wrap the mouse in the packing paper. I am hesitant to let the client see what is going on so I hide the paper- with the evidence - high up on a stack of moving boxes.

Lo and behold, I hear Chestnut come charging toward me and the stack of moving boxes. Before I know it, Chestnut has the dead mouse in his mouth. Sloan comes running over. She grabs the paper-wrapped mouse from Chestnut. We scream! Thankfully, the client had left for a coffee and did not witness this scene.

This day cannot be over soon enough.

While the client is out, an Amazon delivery arrives. We place the very large box in the kitchen. Why are they ordering things from Amazon when they are moving!? Later in the day, we see the client putting what seems to be a hamster cage. We find the empty box. It is the "Merry Manor Rat Home". The client proceeds to tell us that she wants to capture the mice to bring them to their new townhome.

The client chops up strawberries to place in a tiny bowl inside the cage. She fills up the water bottle in the Merry Manor Rat Home. Sloan and I look at each other, smile and say, "How lovely".