The Attic

1975. Mr. Best lived in a two-story house on Naylor Road in Washington, DC with his wife, two sons and daughter. Mr. Best was a hard-working businessman who also liked to buy cars and homes. Mr. Best loved his wife very much, but as the marriage progressed, their problems became overwhelming. He decided to file for divorce.

1991. Mr. Best moved to a new home. His wife also moved to a new home with their daughter. Mr. Best kept the home on Naylor Road but rented the house to his two sons, Vince and Bill. The year is 1991, and this date is the beginning of a time that will go down in history for Mr. Best and his family.

It’s a Monday morning. Vince, a small guy with balding hair, woke up and called his father to ask him about renting the extra room. Vince is a hair stylist who works uptown and makes pretty good money. His only problem is that he is a "pipe head". Every morning he wakes up and starts smoking that pipe. He smokes that pipe when his clients come over in the morning to get their hair styled. He also likes to go to a coffee shop every morning.

His brother Bill is a nut case. He used to be in the military and was the lone survivor of a serious car accident. As a result, he gets a check from the military for the rest of his life; the car accident did something to him mentally. He thought he didn’t have to work, and he didn’t.

Vince called his father that morning and asked him about the roommate. Mr. Best said he didn’t mind as long as they got someone they could trust. Vince told his father he had a friend named Allen. Mr. Best told Vince to charge Allen $250.00 a month and to make sure that he would pay the rent on time. Vince told his father that he would.

Allen came over that Monday night. When he knocked on the door, Vince was on the phone talking to his girlfriend. He came down the stairs and answered the door.

"Hey, Allen. Are you ready to move in? "Yes" Allen answered. "I have my money here. Give this to your father. I will go out to the car and get my stuff."

Vince asked Allen, "Do you need any help?"

"Yes, you can help," Allen told Vince.

They both went out to the car and brought Allen’s things back in the house. Allen had a complete bedroom suite. Allen spent the rest of the night putting his bedroom together. Vince went in his bedroom to smoke a blunt. Bill went out to a club; all he did was party every night and free-loaded off everyone.

Allen finished putting together his room and played with his organ for a little while. Then he went to Vince’s room and asked him if he could use his phone to call his wife. Allen called his wife from whom he is separated. They talked for about five minutes, and then Allen hung up the phone, went to his room and shut the door. Vince was lying back in the bed smoking a blunt. He shut his door and turned off the light.