Then I opened my laptop.
At the top of my rental folder was Ruth Delgado’s application.
Ruth was fifty-six and relocating for a permanent hospital lab position. Her references were complete, her screening had cleared, and she had toured the unit the week before.
She had asked ordinary questions about trash collection, parking, winter sidewalks and noise.
When I explained that the guest house didn’t have laundry facilities, she simply wrote down the address of a nearby laundromat.
I emailed her.
Are you still interested in moving in September first?
Her reply came quickly.
Yes. Could we finalize the details tomorrow?
The following evening, Colin arrived with food from my favorite Thai restaurant.
“I shouldn’t have surprised you,” he said.
“You shouldn’t have promised her the house.”
“Fine. I handled it badly.”
Normally, that would have been the moment I softened.
Instead, I asked, “How much rent were you planning to pay for her?”
