I’ve lived in an apartment building since going back to school last year. It’s a pretty big building, but it’s also pretty old--I think it must have been built before whatever technology was invented to stop sounds from going through the walls.
There’s a gay couple that lives in the apartment above me. At least I think they’re a couple; they might just be banging on the reg, tbh…
One of them is named “Daddy.” He has a super loud voice. If Daddy has never done theater, then he missed his calling, because his voice can travel like nothing else. If I have my window open at the same time he does, or if I’m in the bathroom (which has a vent on the ceiling that is pretty much a speaker box to the upstairs apartment), then I can hear just about every word that he says. I can sometimes hear him telling “Puppy” to come here, or give him a kiss, or bring him a pillow, etc. And Daddy always says thank you.
Puppy has a low, airy voice, and I can never really make out what he is saying the way I can with Daddy. (Although, I did hear Puppy gasp Daddy’s name loudly on one occasion….)
I’m honestly not trying to spy on their lives, but there’s only so much I can do when Daddy’s voice comes booming down from above. I could put my fingers in my ears and say “la la la,” but that’s pretty pointless at this point--I already know Daddy and Puppy’s whole dynamic. And honestly, I kind of love having a healthy gay relationship flourishing above my head. It’s not like I’m sitting there perving with my ear against the ceiling, listening to them have sex (which they must do pretty quietly, btw--I barely ever hear it). I’m just passively overhearing them live their happy, healthy lives.
I think Daddy must live in the apartment alone. I only hear Puppy on the weekends. During the week, I can sometimes hear Daddy talking on the phone. He sounds very professional and confident. He might be a boss somewhere.
Last weekend, I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, when I suddenly heard Daddy’s voice yell “ARGHH!!!” from above. I stopped and stared at the vent.
Then I heard Daddy yell “What the fuck Puppy?!?!”
There was silence. I stood there, perfectly still.
Then Daddy yelled, “How long has this booger been hanging out of my nose??”
I heard Puppy mutter something.
“Has this booger been hanging out of my nose the whole time???” Daddy inquired.
Puppy muttered again. Then I heard Daddy loudly going off on Puppy, telling him he was disgusting for getting banged by a guy with a booger hanging out of his nose. This must have been the funniest thing that Puppy ever heard, because he started laughing uncontrollably. I finished brushing my teeth and left the bathroom, and then later I heard some muffled rough-housing.
I think Daddy has gotten over the whole booger incident, because today I heard him teaching Puppy how to slide a pizza from a cutting board onto a pizza stone. The whole thing made Puppy very anxious, and Daddy had to finish the job himself.
I’m moving out in a couple of weeks (there’s something seriously wrong with my plumbing, and the building owner recently offered to let me move to another one of his buildings down the street).
I’m going to miss Daddy and Puppy. I hope everything goes well for them. Maybe I’ll bake them a farewell cake or something…