On Her Own III

Sat 19 Nov 40 PY
Dear Diary,
I met one of my neighbors late last night.
I was preparing for bed, when I heard footsteps tapping up the fire escape. I pulled a robe over my nightgown and then peered out of the window. Silhouetted against the moonlight, a man in dark clothes crept up the rusty stairs. After he had reached the landing above, I opened my window and pushed a hand against the fire escape. In spite of the rust, the construction was solid enough to support my weight.
I slipped out of my room. The window shut with a slight squeak. I checked again, the man hadn't noticed. For once, I was grateful for Roger's wretched predilection for black. I followed the stranger. My slippers only made the slightest noise, while the burglar's (that's what I thought he was) shoes rang against the grilled treads. He stopped at an open window where a woman's undergarments and stockings hung on a wire ring.
"I don't think those would fit," I observed.
The man froze and then slowly turned around. His young face was surprisingly clean cut.
"T-this isn't what you think," he stammered.
"Then what the 'ELL is it?" a nasal voice hollered from inside the window. The 'what' came out as a 'wot', and the 'ELL was more fire siren than human voice.
A green-faced apparition with bulging eyes appeared at the window. The man screamed at the sight. He attempted to barge past me. I put a hand into the middle of his chest that sent him tumbling back up the stairs. A well-swung frying pan from the window arrested his motion. I didn't stop the panicked man as he scampered down the stairs. If he could move that quickly, he probably hadn't been hurt badly.
"And don't come back, Daniel!" the goblin screeched after him.
"Shaddap!" a neighbor called.
"Your mutha!"
I turned to check that he didn't get into my place. The woman spoke in a sweet voice.
"Hey, shugga. Whoi doantcha c'mon up and join me for uh kawp ov kawffie."
"Excuse me? I didn't catch that."
She repeated each anguished syllable again. This time I managed to understand that she was inviting me up for a cup of coffee.
"One moment, I need to lock my window."
I descended back to my apartment. A quick check indicated that Daniel had fled whimpering into the night. I locked the window. Before heading upstairs, I grabbed a tin of biscotti that I had bought from the bakery down the street. And that was how I met Loo-wEEEza or Louisa Rivers.
R. Dorothy Wayneright