had taken in a deadbeat as a roommate, that certainly would be a classic error. Instead of my name on the directory downstairs, I would have had to post my father’s name for financially ignorant people: Balloon.
“I’ve got enough money on me for what we need for some basic food,” she said. “I live on a special diet. I’m cheap, a vegetarian. I rarely drink anything alcoholic unless I’m at a party. But I’ll pay half of anything we need together.”
“Okay. That sounds fine.”
“Cleaning, huh?” she said, gazing at the kitchen. “I’m not so good at that, but tell me what you think we need done, and I’ll pitch in and do the best I can. My mother stopped asking me to help her years ago. Said I just made her job harder because she had to go over everything I did.”
“Oh, don’t worry. There’s not much more we can do right now. I was surprised to find we had what we would need to hoover. I already did your bedroom, too.”
“To hoover? What the hell is that?”
“Oh, that’s right, you call it vacuuming here. Just get yourself settled in. We’ll work on what’s left to do later. I’d like to whitewash the baseboards. I’ll speak to Mr. Abbot and see if they permit it.”
“Whitewash? You mean paint them?” she asked. She didn’t look astonished as much as frightened.
“Yes,” I said. “Don’t worry. I can do it all.”
“They won’t pay for the paint,” she warned. “I can tell you that. I mean, I didn’t expect I’d be sharing that kind of expense. Why fix it up for someone else, anyway? You’re not going to live here forever, right?”
“Let’s not worry about it now. You’re probably right. I’ve always been accused of being too ambitious about everything.”
“Good.” She stretched. “We should shop first before it gets too late for either of us,” Piper said. “I can put my things away and do my room after we shop. I’ll get my jacket, okay?”
“Okay. I wasn’t going to do much more tonight, anyway.” I paused and smiled at her.
“What?”
“I just thought of something. You’re a vegetarian, but you work in a burger place?”
“Oh, I can touch it; I just don’t eat it. Speaking of which, we can get something to eat for dinner at the market. They have ready-made stuff. There’s even a little area to sit and eat.”
“Dinner? That’s right. I’ve been so busy that I forgot I didn’t have dinner.”
“I never get that busy. I agree with my father when it comes to that. ‘You can call me anything you want, but just don’t call me late for dinner.’ He said that so many times that I hear it in my sleep.”
We both laughed. I was feeling a lot better because I had a roommate who was at least close to my age. I was confident we’d have a lot in common, even though there were obviously bridges to cross when it came to becoming close friends.
“So you did have boyfriends, though, right?” she asked as we left. “Someone you left behind, a heart you broke?”
“Not really. Not how you are thinking of a boyfriend. Only good friends, acquaintances.”
She raised her eyebrows. When we reached the bottom of the steps, she took my arm and leaned into me.
“Not that I care, but are you a dyke?”
“What? No,” I said. For a moment, I thought she looked disappointed. “I went out on dates, with guys, but none of them ever became anything serious.”
“Sure,” she said, her eyes still full of suspicion.
Leo Abbot opened his door and peered out at us. “Everything good?” he asked, mostly of me.
“Yes,” I said. “We’re settling in, getting food, and getting to know each other.”
“People who share apartments get to know each other real well, real fast,” he said. “Dirty habits and all,” he added, and then closed the door softly.
“He’s a bird,” Piper said, smiling.
“Bird? In England, that’s slang for a young, sexy girl.”
“It’s slang here, too, but not for a sexy girl,” she said, and walked out, holding the door for me. “Has to do with drugs,” she whispered.
I shook my head. Sometimes, I wondered if American was a different language, but I was sure Americans wondered the same about us.
At the market, I ate something close to a shepherd’s pie. She had a salad, and we each paid for our own. Afterward, Piper paid for food she said was special and shared what she called the basics. She paid that right to the penny.