from out of town leave and they said they were happy to have had them but also happy to have the time alone again. Do you really want to make them be hosts again right now? Look, stay one night and if you are that uncomfortable, we’ll find something else. I promise. There’s even a lock on the door you can use if you feel you need it. And your cell phone is charged so you can call for help. It’s getting late and I know you are tired. It’s been a long day.”
One night wasn’t so bad, she reasoned. She would be an imposition on Maggie and Walter and she did not know them any better than she did Sean. At least he understood her limitations. And she could lock the door and call the police if she had to. Besides, it would save her on money, right? And she could hide in the room if someone came over. She was really tired and the thought of going around to find somewhere was not appealing at all.
Her heart was pounding so hard, she wondered if he could see it pumping against her chest. Her palms were sweaty.
Sean waited for her decision, wondering what he would do if she refused. He was trying hard not to make her feel pressured.
She took his hand and gave him her fiercest look, “There is no reward for this, Sean, so don’t think you’re going to get some, some,” she couldn’t say the word sex, “extracurricular activity during this. No funny stuff.”
“No, ma’am, no funny stuff.” He suppressed a happy grin and kept a straight look on his face. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he was sure he wanted to get her to stick around a bit more. He wanted a chance to get to know her. If asked, he would not have been able to explain why, even he wasn’t sure.
He watched her carefully as she pulled herself up the porch steps. He punched in the door code and opened the door to let her in.
“I’ll be right back. I’ll get your stuff and then show you around.”
She looked around the home with interest. Not much in the way of decoration. Or maybe she was used to her small apartment that looked cluttered no matter how she tried to arrange or change it.
There was a picture of a building she recognized on the wall of the living room. It was in Sydney, Australia, she thought. Maybe he missed the land of his birth.
Sean showed her briefly around. The kitchen had a center station, nice appliances, and lots of counter space. The counter looked like it was stone or marble. It was much larger than the pitiful nook in her apartment that tried to pass as a kitchen. She could not suppress a soft gasp and whispered, “This is awesome.”
There was a downstairs bathroom, back deck, dining room, closets, large living room with big TV, and another room that could have been a den. It had a desk and a computer, a couple of chairs. Nice spacious rooms. The furniture looked fairly new. If she had to guess, he had not lived here a very long time.
“Your house is very nice.”
“Thanks. I bought it about a year ago from a man who was moving. I think he had it built just a couple of years before he sold it. I’m not sure but I think he built it for him and his wife and after the house was done and they moved in, they divorced. It’s a lot better than the apartment I had been in.”
He showed her upstairs and she was pleased that she made it although slowly. She picked the first room at the top of the stairs on the left with a king size bed. The bathroom was across the hall at a slight diagonal. She was relieved when he said it was hers, he had one attached to his room. She couldn’t imagine sharing one with him.
Sean put her suitcases in the room. “If you need anything I’m just down the hall.” He pointed to the right. “I’ll come back around 5:30?”
She nodded her head yes and he left her to settle in.
It was a nice room. The bedroom in her apartment was small and they had set up the hospital bed in the