Читать книгу Ailleianne - Tina Marie Maes - Страница 3

London had to call Ailleianne’s references. That was all there was to it. The litter of flyers London had placed in the stores and cafes and markets (and, frankly, every other place she could think of) hadn’t brought any other interested parties. Nobody. Her online ad went unanswered. Her phone stayed silent. No emails requesting information popped up. Nothing. Her week was almost up. London finally called the references five days after Ailleianne had stopped by.

“Hello, can I speak with John Smith?” London rolled her eyes at the name. Seriously, could you get any more bland?

“Yes.”

“Okay.” She waited for the other person to transfer the call. When nothing happened for a couple of minutes she asked, “Um, is this John Smith?”

“Yes.” The voice answered, sounding bored.

“Of course. Um, cool. I was hoping to get a little information about Ailleianne Smith? The person is looking to rent a room in my house. I am doing a background check before I offer zim... anything.”

“Yes. I can give you information.”

“Good,” London continued, “You were the first on the list of references. How long have you known Ailleianne?”

“I have known Ailleianne for 360 years.” The voice on the other end answered in the same tone as before. London stopped, wondering if she’d heard correctly.

“Wow, that’s a hell of a relationship. Is that some new age thing, like, including past lives too?”

“Excuse my mis-speaking. I have known Ailleianne for 3 and 6 years,” the voice answered.

“Nine years! Awesome.” London bowled right over the weird way the other person spoke. “So, Ailleianne lived with you, right? I mean, you are a former landlord, or Ailleianne was a former tenant of yours?”

London worried her nail, regretting not asking her prospective tenant if these were landlords or friends. Her prospective tenant could have given her anyone from zis past.

“Yes, I was a former landlord and/or property owner.”

“Can I ask which one?”

“It is a complicated relationship. Ailleianne provided financial capital in exchange for a place to stay. It was very similar to your situation.”

What was up with the way these guys talked? “Good. So,” London powered on. “Does ze, I mean, does Ailleianne currently live with you?” London remembered what Ailleianne had said about living at the motel but wanted to confirm it. Her research had said she would get better, more reliable answers from a former landlord. If a current one wanted a tenant out now, they could say anything to make the person seem like the best candidate.

“No, ze does not currently live at this domicile.”

“Okay. So, um,” London looked down at her list of questions. “Did Ailleianne pay rent on time?”

“Yes. Ailleianne paid when rent was due, every… month….” The voice paused as if unsure. London vaguely wondered if maybe they had had a different rent schedule. She’d heard some places required rent checks to be paid quarterly. Others were every six months. She didn’t really understand that system.

As the silence continued, London read her next question. “Okay, what about the property? Was Ailleianne respectful of the property? Was the tenant aware of and follow noise restrictions and that?”

“Yes,” the voice spoke softly and with almost no inflection. London almost thought to ask if Aillie was on the other end of the line, but the timbre of the voice was different. “Ailleianne was a good neighbor, respectful of both the property and the noise level as well as other restrictions.”

“Okay, last question. Why did Aillie move out?”

The voice didn’t answer at first. London couldn’t even hear anyone breathing on the other end. She’d almost thought she’d lost the connection when the person spoke up again. “Aillie moved out in order to explore.”

“I get the moving away, trying to find your place.” London chuckled, hoping to share a laugh with the other person. As soon as she realized she was the only one who found it charming, she stopped, stumbling to end the call.

All the other calls to Aillie’s references had been about the same. While the people who answered were just as monotone as Ailleianne had been, they all had glowing praise for zim.

Each person who’d answered had spoken highly of Ailleianne as if ze had been the most well-mannered and best tenant they could have. London wondered if ze wasn’t just independently wealthy. It would make sense if ze was. Ailleianne was socially awkward but people seemed to love zim. Money would probably smooth a lot of rough edges. London suddenly wished she’s asked for more in rent. It was completely unethical but would really go towards relieving some of her own financial woes so much better.

She’d also checked zim out on the internet. There were no records on zim.

With a rapidly approaching number of bills due and no other recourse, London made the call to offer Ailleianne the room for rent. Aillie answered on the first ring, which made London hope her prospective tenant hadn’t been just sitting by the phone this entire time.

“Ailleianne?” She asked as soon as she heard someone pick up. There was a bit of static and then zis voice came on.

“Yes?”

“Well, your references and the background check went well. So, I guess I’d like to offer you the room to rent.”

“I will be glad for the space to rent. Thank you for offering. What happens next?”

“Well, you move in at some point. You can move in whenever.” London stopped, chuckling. “Not that I expect you here today. I’m sure it’ll take you some time to get your stuff -- suitcase, clothes, boxes, what-have-you -- together. So, what day do you think you’d be here?”

“I can be there by tomorrow in the morning?”

“I work tomorrow at noon. Um, I could be up by eight or nine. I’ve got your key too.”

Ailleianne agreed. They were about to hang up when London stopped, feeling her face heat up. “Um, sorry. I forgot. I’m going to need the security deposit and first month’s rent before you could move in.” London coughed, suddenly unsure, “I mean, I know this is quick but I need to make sure I have it in my account before you move in. If you want to move in tomorrow, I might need cash. Or we can wait another day, if you want to drop a check off to me?”

London waited for a response. When nothing happened, she took the phone away from her ear and realized ze’d hung up on her. She wondered what had happened to zim, but figured she’d find out the next morning.

At exactly 8:00 am the following day, London heard the knock on her door. She looked up from her cup of coffee and stared at the door. Ailleianne was standing there, with a suitcase in one hand.

London opened the door to Ailleianne, wondering aloud, “Were you living at a hotel or something? I mean, I didn’t think there was one so close to here. Although I guess there are a few on 151 near East Towne.” Ailleianne continued to stare at her. Finally taking the hint, London looked down to see that Ailleianne was holding an envelope out to her. She took it, and upon opening it, realized it contained the sum of the security deposit and rent… for the next sixth months. Crisp twenties and fifties stared up at her.

“Huh, Aillie, I don’t think I’ve seen so much cash.”

“You required the rent and security deposit in advance. Is that not the correct way to pay?” Aillie looked at her. London wasn’t sure but she may already be getting used to zis way of expressing confusion, zis head tilting to the side.

“Don’t you have a checkbook? Because normal people have checkbooks or checking accounts. And you don’t have to pay the full amount upfront.” She stared down at the cash in her hand and then back up to zim, almost wanting to ask where ze’d gotten it. She was beginning to think that the independent-wealthy-idea had increasing merit. Who else had crisp bills just lying around?

“I have acquired a significant amount of monetary capital from one of the many automatic teller machines of a financial institution. I do not have a checking account.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you talk weird?”

“Your sense of grammar or sentence structure is no less bizarre.”

“Right, but I at least sound like I am from this planet. You, I’m not so sure of.” London looked down at the stack of bills that Ailleianne had given her. She imagined ze must have cleared out zis banking account, or was one of those people who kept their savings underneath their mattress. Or...

London pulled herself back to the conversation. “You didn’t like, rob a bank or something, right?”

“Rob a bank?” Ze asked it as if it was the last thing on zis mind.

“Ah, it was a joke. This is a lot of cash and I don’t want to bankrupt you.”

“I will never be bankrupt. I would like to stay here for the next six months.”

London stared for a second, wondering how ze’d earned the money. “Just no illegal stuff, okay,” She said, not caring where the money had come from. She quickly counted out the correct amount from the pile of bills she’s been given. There was an extra hundred dollar bill in the envelope. For a second she wondered how terrible it would be to keep it. But no, her conscience wouldn’t allow it. This person was her tenant. Given that she’d just negated any illegal activity in her house, she probably shouldn’t steal from him. It was illegal and mostly against her morals.

Her morals were getting looser the less she had in her bank account.

She gave back the extra hundred, and the amount beyond the first month’s rent and security deposit. Ze seemed reluctant to take it. They finally agreed that Aillie would pre-pay the full six-month rent upfront. London forced zim to still take the extra hundred dollar bill, shoving it into zis hands. An electric shock sparked between them. London wondered where ze’d acquired the static electricity.

“Right, um.” London said, shaking her hand from the aftereffects of the shock. “I’ll deposit this later today. So, Ailleianne, when do you think you are going to move in?”

“If you prefer to call me Aillie, I give you permission. I would like to move in to my new room now.”

Aillie continued to stand on the doorstep. London blinked a couple of times, realized she was in her new tenant’s way and moved away from the doorway. When ze continued to stand there, she made sure to invite Aillie in. Ze walked in, carrying zis suitcase. As ze walked past her, London noticed there were also two boxes on the steps. She wondered how ze’d gotten them here, not seeing an unfamiliar car on the street. She grabbed the surprisingly light boxes and deposited them in the living room before locking the front door. Then she realized what she had done.

She turned to Ailleianne. “Sorry, I’ve lived alone too long. I always lock my door. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

“There have been 97 crimes reported in the last 30 days in the northeast side of Madison, which mostly entail theft, or theft from a vehicle, although there have been reports of assault and/or battery, as well as breaking or entering of a private residence. There are also 32 reported sex offenders living within a one-mile radius of your house.”

“Yeah. So I keep my doors locked.” She turned back to the door, making sure the latch and the deadbolt were secure. “Can’t believe you wanted to live here if you know that much.”

“I would like to rent this space.”

“Oh, um, sure. I wasn’t going to kick you out.” London wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. “So, when is the rest of your stuff coming then?”

Aillie mutely pointed to the lone suitcase near the door, and the boxes London had carried in.

“Uh. Right. Guess you are a light packer.” London, wondering why she didn’t have more doubts, forged ahead anyway. “Well, you can head to your room. Feel free to put your stuff away and make yourself at home. In your room, at least. Um, if you need anything, just let me know. I’m going to finish my coffee in the kitchen and then get ready for work soon.”

She busied herself in the kitchen, looking up whenever she heard noise. Not that there was much of it. There were couple of drawers opening and closing. After that, she didn’t hear anything.

This having a roommate thing was way harder than anyone had told her.

“What do I do now?” Aillie asked, ducking down to poke zis head in the doorway.

“I’ll be heading out to work later. I work at a store in East Towne Mall. Um, do you have a job? I mean, I don’t want to be nosy, but you seem to have enough in terms of finances to rent. So, are you, like independently wealthy?”

“I have secured enough finances to not require a career in the immediate future. I am studying here. Is that not okay?”

“No, that’s cool. I didn’t realize you were a student. Are you going to be heading to the university? And do you have hobbies? When do you think you are planning on being around the house?” When Aillie continued to stare at her, London continued abashed, “Sorry, that was too personal. You don’t have to answer. This whole thing is new to me. I’ve lived with friends but never strangers. I’m not used to sharing my home with someone I don’t know.”

London looked back down at her coffee, wondering what to say now.

“I am also unfamiliar with this arrangement. I have never lived in such a strange land. I would like to spend today getting used to your house.”

London’s head snapped up. Of course! That’s why Aillie was such an unconventional person. Ze wasn’t from around here. London wondered where ze lived, but guessed it was from a European country. Maybe a village somewhere? Ze’s English was good, if not a little too specific.

“Okay, I guess you can watch TV, um, if you want?” London hesitated. “Or not actually TV. I had to cut that… I mean, I don’t get many stations. My antenna went down, and I don’t subscribe to cable stations. I’ve got a lot of movies though. Why don’t you watch a movie? Do you want to pick out a good one? There’s a black nylon case near the TV in the living room. Open it up and find one. I’ll be in there in a few minutes.”

Watching a movie with the new tenant... That'll help us bond, right? London really wished she’d figured this out before she advertised for a lodger. But she finished tidying up and went back to the living room.

London found her new lodger standing over her case, pointing to the title ze selected. "So you found a DVD? Well, let's see what you picked out." She walked over and saw it was actually the first one in the case.

"Alright, I’ll put in in the DVD player. The system is a couple of years old but it’s not too difficult.” Feeling Aillie’s eyes on her, London slid the disc out of the case, and popped it in after turning on both the TV and DVD player. She went to sit down, but stopped to show her new tenant the the two remotes and telling zim quickly what each could do.

Aillie stared at her, "Ah. The big black box is used to project the movie."

"You got it." London shook her head. This person would never cease to amaze her. “You know, I know there are people who don’t really get new technology but you are something else. I can't imagine what backworld planet you are from."

“It is very far from here.”

London laughed at zim, then realized she was the only one. Ze had the most confused look on zis face.

“Right. Okay.” They preceded to watch the movie in silence. Thankfully ze was quiet throughout the movie, and London found herself enjoying the break from reality. When she got up to grab a pop from the fridge, she noticed a confused look on zis face. She didn’t ask.

As the credits rolled, she looked at her clock. She had about an hour to get ready and be at work. She stood up and headed upstairs but stopped on the bottom step. “All right, I’ve got to get ready for work now. Feel free to put in a new movie whenever. Let me know if you have problems.”

Aillie looked up and stared at her. She nodded at him, hoping ze understood. She watched as zis confusion seemed to clear and then zis head bobbled in tandem as ze spoke, “Yes, I remember how to work the machines. I will watch more movies. This has been a highly entertaining experience.”

“Alright, you enjoy yourself. Um, there are lunch places around here. I mean, I’m sure you know that.”

“I do not require food presently.”

“Of course not. You know your eating schedule better than I do.” She paused again, seeing as ze was still staring at her. When ze didn’t ask anything, she gave another wave and hurried upstairs.

It took her a little under 30 minutes to get ready for work. It would have taken her less but she kept stopping to listen if her new tenant needed anything. When she was ready, she returned to the living room, where Aillie was sitting in the same spot as before, peering intently at the screen, watching another movie. Ze had the weirdest habit of sitting ramrod straight. The person must have really had a strict childhood.

She waved to get Aillie’s attention. “All right, I’m off. I wrote a list of numbers on this pad here,” which she waved to show off, “including the store number, my cell, and emergency numbers. Call me first if you need anything. I mean not anything, since I’ve got work to do. But yeah…” She trailed off as Aillie continued to look at her. “All right I’m off. I’ll probably be back around 9:30 tonight. So, I’ll see you then.”

London headed out, first stopping at her bank to deposit the money Aillie had given her. With that done, she headed to the mall, and her store.

The I&O boutique had a prime retail spot in the middle of the East Towne Mall, perfectly situated between the anchor stores and the food court. London felt herself relax. No matter how zany the last few weeks had been, here she at least knew what to expect.

She told herself she loved her job managing the small boutique store. It was a corporate entity which both allowed her to work for salary and enjoy managing her own franchise. And it was great that someone smart and far away was always generating new signage and sales. Every once in awhile, she’d get annoyed given that she was just another store in a long list of them. But she mostly enjoyed the challenges. There were times she wished she could make all of the decisions, but without the capitol or the space, she didn’t have a chance to open up her own store. She was determined to enjoy what she did.

That day however, London was more preoccupied during work than normal. Around 3 o’clock, Sophie, her friend and assistant manager, finally found her in the back room at her desk.

“Okay, so what’s up? Is it Reid?” Sophie asked, her arms crossed over her chest, bunching up the cashmere sweater she was wearing. She leaned against the doorway that separated the sales floor from the back office.

“What? No. It’s not … I haven’t heard from Reid since, you know, the incident.” She never wanted to think about her ex-boyfriend again. London busied herself with the order form that she’d completed half an hour ago.

“Okay, so then why are you hiding in the office? You’ve barely stepped out on the floor. You hate paperwork; you love talking to customers. Obviously something is wrong.”

“Ugh. I just keep expecting a call.”

“Oh,” Sophie said, her brows rising in hope of gossip. “What about?”

“Well, I rented out the room.”

“You were just talking about that Monday. It’s been, what? A week? Today?” Sophie looked out to the sales floor but stayed in the doorway. “So, that was quick.”

“Um, yeah. It was. I have a new tenant!” London grimaced down at her desk.

“Well, you did your research, right?”

“Oh, the person’s not in any system. I mean, I looked on the sex offender site, and the circuit court. I even paid one of those background check places. Great credit, no criminal record or bad financial history. Looks great on paper.” She shoved a hand through her hair and wondered how crazy it was looking. She was going to stay far away from the bathroom mirror until she found her brush. “I just don’t really feel comfortable letting him-- or zim,” she corrected herself, “stay in my place. Mostly, because it’s so new.” She got up from besides the desk, shooting the phone a last, impatient look. “I’m trying to convince myself that ze’s fine.”

“Call home.” Sophie spoke up from the door. “If it’ll make you feel better. Call home, see what’s up. Then you can decide if you should continue to be nervous.”

London shot her a grateful smile before grabbing the handset and dialing her home number. When no one answered, she punched in the number Aillie’d given her with shaking fingers.

The phone rang a couple times. London drummed her fingers on the desk, as it continued to ring. London glanced at her keys at the corner of her desk. She really didn’t want to leave work early just because she was uncomfortable. “C’mon, pick up, damnit.” She muttered the imprecation, reaching for her keys.

“Hello?” Aillie’s voice came on the line.

“Sorry, it’s me. London. Your new landlord. I just was wondering how you … and the house.. were doing.”

“I am doing well. I have not asked the house. Would you like me to?”

“Ha! No, sorry, just a joke. Uh, what have you been up to?”

“What have I been up to?” Aillie asked, a note of confusion in zis voice.

“You know, since I’ve been gone?” London asked, “What have you been doing?”

“I have watched two movies. They were very different. I was about to put in another one.”

“Wow, you’re a serious couch potato. Okay, cool. Just checking in.”

“I do not believe I am of the Solanum genus.”

“Funny. All right, I’ll leave you to your movie watching. And please don’t think I’m crazy or anything. It’s just unnerving having a stranger live in my place.”

“I do not think you are crazy.”

“Good.” London said after a lengthy pause. “I’m going to get back to work. I’ll see you later tonight.”

“You believe you will arrive back at your house at 9:30.” Aillie said.

“Yup, see you then.” London hung up without waiting for a response, then hurried out to the floor. The after work rush was soon to hit, and London wasn’t about to leave Sophie with all the work.

She met Sophie at the registers just as she was finishing with a customer. London waited until Sophie had handed over the shopping bag with the customer’s items, before offering a thank you under her breath. Sophie waved to the customer as she walked out of the store and then turned back to London.

“So, everything’s cool, then.”

“Yeah, I think I was freaking out over nothing. Aillie’s at home…” London stopped and corrected herself. “I mean Aillie’s at my home, watching movies. I can’t say I expected that but so far ze seems okay.”

“That’s the third time I’ve heard you use the third-gender pronoun.”

“Um, yeah. Aillie…” London trailed off, staring off into the distance of the mall space. “I don’t know how to explain Ailleianne. All I’ve got is that my new tenant doesn’t really fit into a gender. No, what did ze say. ‘Gender if of no concern’ to zim.” Her brow crinkled.

“But so far you’ve been okay with zim.”

“I haven’t known zim more than a week. But I don’t feel scared when I talked to zim. A little confused, but not scared.”

“I think you could do with some confusion in your life,” Sophie threw the comment back over her shoulder as she grabbed the returns she’d been dealing with. “But go with your gut.”

London nodded to herself, vowing to take Sophie’s words to heart. It was fine. She was sure of it; it’d be fine.

She hoped it would be fine.

*** *** *** ***

The rest of her workday went speedily as soon as she stopped worrying. Sophie worked the till and London busied herself by straightening up after customers and greeting incoming people to her store. This is what she was good at. She excelled at making small talk, and helping people find what they needed.

And then London went on lunch and her nerves returned. As soon as she’d finished her pre-packaged lunch, she found herself staring at the phone. London promised herself that she wouldn’t call home a second time. It was hard to resist checking in again. But two phone calls in one day was a bit much.

Sophie walked back to the office to grab her stuff at the end of her shift and found London snatching her hand back from the receiver. After London explained, Sophie ended up laughing at her for a full minute before relenting. “All right, I’ll drive by your place.”

“You can’t stop by.” London said at once, telling herself she really didn’t need it… even if she did want it. “Aillie’s probably already freaked.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just drive by, make sure the house is still standing. Ze probably won’t even notice. Okay?”

London couldn’t stop the relieved smile that blossomed on her face. “Yes! Please! What would I do without you?”

“Let’s not even think about it. You owe me!” Sophie replied airily, gathering her purse and keys. London walked out to the sales floor, feeling much better.

Sophie’s call fifteen minutes later was heaven sent. Her house appeared fine. A flashing blinking light from the television told her all she needed to now. Her new tenant really was a couch potato.

*** *** *** ***

London had one last rush of people before she could start the closing procedures. And then somehow she was done with everything: the clothes were back on the racks, items around the registers were straightened, the money was counted and ready for deposit tomorrow morning. Finally, London grabbed her purse from the back room and headed through the back hallway to the staff parking lot, grateful to be on her own way to her house.

When London arrived home, it was to a scene very similar to what she’d left. Aillie was still sitting in the same spot, in almost the same position. How zis back could handle the strict position, she didn’t know. She offered a quick wave and made her way up the stairs to her room. Walking into her room, she noted that none of her stuff had been touched. The same mess on her nightstand greeted her, her lotions and perfumes and bottles stood in their same spots. She was happy to note that her tenant was pretty decent at keeping out of her stuff.

She busied herself, getting ready for bed. Her tenant wasn’t turning out so bad. She’d originally thought she’d just need help getting out of debt and hoped she’d only need someone (and their extra money) for a couple of months, and then she’d be ready to live by herself again. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t stipulated how long her tenant would stay. But perhaps if ze continued to be a decent tenant she’d suggest ze stay longer than the six months. She fell asleep, vowing to herself to have the conversation after work tomorrow.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get a full night’s sleep. She was awoken abruptly by explosions downstairs. It took her a few seconds to get her bearings, and listen to anything over her too-loud heart.

There couldn’t be explosions in her house. She’d feel them. She listened to the low voices that pricked the spaces between the sounds of explosions. Finally she recognized it; it was another movie.

Was Aillie a night owl? That could explain zis weird mannerisms. Ze obviously didn’t understand how to get along with people.

Well, ze wasn’t going to get along with London if ze thought it was appropriate to blast the loudest movie at whatever-the-hell o’clock at night it was.

She looked over to her alarm clock on her night table. One am? It was only one in the morning? She’d been asleep for a measly two hours.

London got out of bed and stomped her way downstairs to the living room. As she reached the bottom, she confronted Aillie, sitting in the exact same space ze’d been before, gaze fixated on the television screen.

“Dude, it’s nighttime! Does it have to be so loud?”

“I did not touch the volume.”

London ignored zim and stomped over to the remote. She viciously stabbed at the remote, lowering it to a more acceptable volume.

“I did not touch the volume,” ze reiterated.

“Fine!” She snarled, “but it still doesn’t need to be that loud. Do you hear anything that loud now?”

She stood, hands on her hips, waiting for zim to respond.

Ze cocked his head to the side, seemingly listening. “No. It is very quiet now. A man two houses down is snoring. There are three children in that house who are whispering. But there is a significant lack of noise at this time of the 24-hour cycle.”

“That’s right. It’s night. Go to bed. You can get up tomorrow and watch more.”

“Okay.”

Ze agreed, immediately standing and making for zis room. London stared at him, wondering if this was some sort of power struggle between them or if ze was really just that bad at interacting with people.

“Make sure you don’t wake me up again!” She called after her new tenant.

Aillie turned around and nodded assent before continuing to zis room. Before ze shut the door, ze looked back. “Are you mad?”

“Yes.” She said shortly. When zis tenant’s shoulders visibly slumped, she took a deep breath before saying through gritted teeth, “It’s fine. Go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow. Just… let me get some sleep so I can get through work tomorrow. Or, I guess today.”

“Sleep?”

“Do you even understand what sleep is?”

“Sleep.” Confidence returned to Aillie’s tone. “A rest in order to rejuvenate the body and rest the mind.”

“Right. And mine’s been interrupted. Tomorrow’s going to suck. But maybe if I can get some more sleep, then it’ll be better.”

“Sleep occurs now?”

“For my schedule, yeah. I mean, I try to get to bed by 10 or 11 on a weeknight, when I have to work. And then I’m usually up by 7 or 8, again depending when I have to work.” London shoved a hand through her sleep-mussed hair. “Look, we can talk about sleep schedules tomorrow. Just please promise that you’ll go to bed now. Let me sleep. I’ll be out of here by 7:30 in the morning. You can watch more movies then. Cool?”

“I believe that is acceptable. You’re going to go to sleep. Sleeping is between ten p.m. and eleven p.m. until 7:30 or 8 a.m..”

“Yup.” London replied shortly, then watched as Aillie turned on zis heel and returned to zis room.

London sighed. This probably wasn’t the best way to handle things. Whatever, she was done for the night. She turned off the TV and DVD player before wearily climbing back into her bed.

Blessedly she slept well and was next woken by her alarm clock. It was just past 7 o'clock in the morning. It seemed her confusing tenant had taken her advice and went to bed, or at least was quiet. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her lunch and was out the door before she even heard noise from zis room.

She really hoped the living arrangement would get easier. She had sinking feeling she was in for more surprises ahead.

Unbeknownst to her, she was right.