There were five people interested in renting the room but Mitch wanted to make sure that he had made the right decision before calling Kathy to let her know that she could move in. He looked at the names on the list again and went through his notes.
First there was Charlene, she was a tattoo artist and she didn’t think she would be staying long. She planned on going to Europe with her boyfriend as soon as she saved enough money, so she only wanted the room for a maximum of three months. That didn’t suit Mitch. He also had concerns about her references, both of them dated back to when Charlene was in High School, he was looking for something a little more up to date.
Then there was Leo. He was an accountant and like Charlene he only wanted the room for a short period, until his own house was ready for moving into. Again that didn’t suit Mitch; he was looking for a lodger who was going to stay for at least a year. Leo also had kids and Mitch really didn’t want to share his home with someone else’s children, even if it was just for weekends.
The next two people Mitch looked at on the list were interested in staying long term but Mitch found them a little too strange for his liking. There was Gary. First of all he looked scruffy, Mitch didn’t like that. Then there was his job. He worked in the zoo and told Mitch that sometimes he might have to take some of the snakes’ home with him. He assured Mitch that it would be okay, they’d be in their own little tanks but Mitch wasn’t sure that he wanted Gary in the house, never mind snakes in tanks.
Peter was strange too. He worked as a mechanic that was normal enough but Mitch suspected that he liked to drink. When he was interviewing him, Peter asked could he use the toilet. There was nothing wrong with that but when Peter came back from the toilet Mitch could smell alcohol off his breath. He really didn’t want to share his home with an alcoholic. He would never pay the rent. Another thing that had put Mitch off Peter was the fact that he was as scruffy looking as Gary.
He looked at Kathy’s details again. She was a doctor at Albany Children’s Hospital. She had told Mitch that she worked long hours and wouldn’t be home much. That suited Mitch; he didn’t want to live with someone who was in the house all the time. Her references were impressive too. They both stated that she was reliable. Again that was important to Mitch. It meant he would get the rent on time.
Picking up the phone he called Kathy’s number and waited for her to pick up.
‘Hello.’
‘Hi Kathy, it’s Mitch, the room is yours if you want it.’
‘That’s great Mitch, thanks.’
‘You can move your things in whenever you’re ready.’
‘Brilliant, I’ll call you on Saturday to pick up the keys.’
‘Okay, see you then.’
Mitch hung up the phone and put it back on the table. He felt sure that he was making the right decision. The others just weren’t suitable. At least with Kathy she would rent the room for the year, pay on time and he would hardly notice that she was there. The fact that she was a ringer for Jess was a bonus too. It had been three months since she left. She had first moved in as a roommate before becoming Mitch’s girlfriend but things didn’t work out. Tearing up the list Mitch smiled to himself. Who knows, he thought, maybe like Jess, Kathy would end up becoming his girlfriend too. Stranger things had happened.