Nine-Tenths Read Online Free PDF

budge?”
    “No. The housing crisis made it difficult to get a mortgage.” A gray tabby materialized at their feet, purring and rubbing their ankles. The cat looked up at the couple expectantly as if hoping for some treats. “You had a bad feeling about the situation,” Alina explained. “You wanted to stay put, and you were very adamant about it. I was so angry with you at first.” She paused as if silencing the echoes of an old dispute. The cat slipped away into the darkness. “But you were right.” She tightened her arms around him. “Thank God you’re such a stubborn ass.”
    “I was right? I was right to keep you in a house with no master bedroom?”
    “The Fair Housing Act passed before Natalia turned three. I didn’t even pay attention at the time. You were all over it, but the general population was clueless. Most of us had a vague idea that it would fund government housing for the poor.” She cleared her throat as quietly as possible. “During that time, I became very restless. I considered leaving you over the stupid house issue. I thought you were clinging to your childhood. But you saw it coming.”
    “Developments like this for people whose homes were foreclosed?” He winced as his eyes met the sickly yellow glare emanating from the streetlight on the corner. The hideous contraption buzzed and flickered incessantly, making Leonard feel like he was imprisoned in an interrogation room. He could not imagine leaving his beautiful home and living in an ugly, crowded housing project.
    “Worse,” Alina said. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “They kicked people out of their homes, whether they were paying the mortgage or not.”
    “That doesn’t—”
    “Over a period of several years people were relocated or forced to double and triple up with other families. Most of the fancy neighborhoods were razed and replaced with public housing. But the Feds left smaller, older neighborhoods intact.” She stopped to take a breath. “It was so awful, Leonard, watching the bulldozers tear apart the beautiful gardens, while the excavators chomped up the houses. Hearing the crack of wood and drywall as the homes caved in, many with belongings still inside. That was early on. Even then, I didn’t get it.”
    “What made me believe they would stay clear of our house?”
    “You hoped that we would be allowed to live alone given that we are somewhat cramped already. They visited us and made an evaluation. I think it was the single full bathroom that sealed the deal.”
    “Who visited?”
    “People from the DHR.”
    “DHR?”
    “Department of Housing and Relocation. You don’t remember any of this?” She sounded desperate.
    “They went door to door?”
    “Yes. Several of our neighbors had to take in another couple or family. We were lucky. We signed over the deed and they left us alone.”
    Leonard recoiled, leaning back to catch Alina’s eyes. “Wait a minute. We don’t own our house? My parents paid off the mortgage several years before they left for Florida.”
    “Nobody owns their house.”
    “We pay a mortgage to the government?”
    She grabbed him by the shoulders. “There are no mortgages anymore, Leonard. My God, what has happened to you?”
    Leonard was speechless. Alina rested her head on his shoulder and collected herself. Then she grabbed his hand and led him silently through the development.
    “Does this place have a name?”
    “The Guilder Project.”
    Leonard snorted. “You’re kidding.”
    “It’s the name of a senator.”
    He followed her obediently, wrestling with all the information she had imparted. “This is my fault,” he said as they emerged from the Dark Age neighborhood. A little disoriented, Leonard looked around. He did not recognize the street. Somehow they had managed to cross the Guilder Project and surface on the other side.
    Alina took him by the hand and led him down the sidewalk. “How could it possibly be your fault?”
    “Because if I hadn’t