I was telling a co-worker about a short story I read 25 or 30 years ago and he wants to read it. Can you help me find it?
A man and his wife are notified that an apartment has become available and they have a very short time to comply with government requirements and take possession of it or it will be given to someone else (the next day?) They rush from agency to agency to prove their eligibility. Finally, they are issued keys and a gun. They race across the city to find their new apartment. They open the door and find an elderly woman inside. The woman gives the man the gun and begins to call authorities to report that they have arrived at the apartment. The man hesitates. He doesn't want to hurt the woman and begins to try to reason with his wife. She shouts at him. She screams that time is running out and curses him. He turns the gun on his wife and kills her. It becomes evident that the man intends to share the apartment with the elderly lady. The End.
I don't know where I read it or who the author was. Can you help?
A man and his wife are notified that an apartment has become available and they have a very short time to comply with government requirements and take possession of it or it will be given to someone else (the next day?) They rush from agency to agency to prove their eligibility. Finally, they are issued keys and a gun. They race across the city to find their new apartment. They open the door and find an elderly woman inside. The woman gives the man the gun and begins to call authorities to report that they have arrived at the apartment. The man hesitates. He doesn't want to hurt the woman and begins to try to reason with his wife. She shouts at him. She screams that time is running out and curses him. He turns the gun on his wife and kills her. It becomes evident that the man intends to share the apartment with the elderly lady. The End.
I don't know where I read it or who the author was. Can you help?
