Room-maid(26)

He got in on his side and put on his seat belt, then started up the car. “So, I was surprised that Pigeon slept in your room last night.”

“Me too. I think she’s coming around.”

“I noticed this morning that she seemed calmer. I think having you there while I was gone was good for her.”

“She’s become my little shadow. She doesn’t want me to pet her, but she watches everything I do.” And I was very fortunate that she couldn’t talk or else I’d be in trouble. While following his list and trying to get everything cleaned before he got back, I’d found out that I hadn’t fully yet learned my lesson when I used Dawn to clean the windows in the living room. It made sense—if it could clean glass bowls, shouldn’t it be able to clean regular glass, too? I’d also had a mishap of sucking up half a roll of floss in the vacuum. But the worst had been when I’d forgotten to return the lint screen to the dryer and a sock had gotten sucked in there, covering a vent and making the drum go off balance. I’d called a repair person to come out the same day to fix it and had emptied out the rest of the money I’d been setting aside for a deposit on my own apartment.

From that point I decided not to attempt any more cleaning until I had thoroughly researched it first. I had a college degree, and five days a week I was in charge of educating and keeping twenty-five tiny humans alive. I knew I could figure out my cleaning issues if I learned how to do my new chores correctly.

So far, so good.

Although, to be fair, I hadn’t cleaned my bathroom yet and could only imagine that was going to be unfun.

“I had a feeling the two of you would get along. I’m glad I’ve been proven right,” he said. “It will make traveling a little easier knowing you’re there.”

“Speaking of, how was your trip to New York?”

At some point he’d put on sunglasses, making it so I couldn’t see his eyes. Boo. “Tiring. A bunch of boring meetings. I’ve actually been working toward a promotion so I don’t have to travel so much.”

“You don’t like traveling?”

“I do. Or, I did. A few years ago I really enjoyed it but now . . . I guess I want to be around more. Be at home. Settle down a little. If I get that promotion, I’ll still be working long hours, but at least I’ll be here in Houston. I mean, I just got here and I have to turn around and leave tomorrow afternoon for Singapore.”

“What? Now I feel bad that you’re coming with me,” I said. “Especially given that you’re not going to be here for very long.”

“Don’t. I’m happy to be here with you. This should be fun. What about you? Do you travel?”

“Not anymore. But I used to.” I told him about some of my family’s vacations while we compared notes of places we’d both traveled to. I told him about a restaurant in Singapore that he should check out when he got there. “It has the most beautiful view. The city skyline looks amazing. You should see it at sunset. That view is one of my favorite things in the world. You have to stop by.”

“I will,” he said.

“It was always one of my favorite places. Mostly because around the corner they had this massive Hello Kitty shop. I was obsessed with Hello Kitty when I was younger. Like bedsheets, towels, stuffed animals, underwear, anything you could think of, I had it in Hello Kitty form.” I hadn’t ever told anyone about that particular obsession before. Mostly because my mother had dismissed it as silly. I wondered what it was about him that made him so easy to talk to.

“You’re talking to a guy who went through a serious Pokémon phase, so I get it. You should have seen me when Pokémon Go came out. I was a grown man in a business suit catching Pokémon in the streets.”

That made me laugh. I loved that he wasn’t too macho to admit to something potentially embarrassing with that much kid-like enthusiasm.

Time passed so quickly that I was surprised when we pulled into the dealership. “Here we are,” I said, hoping this would go the way I wanted it to.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked.

“In what way?”

“Since it is your first time, do you know your financial information? Like your credit score?”

“It’s not great,” I told him. “I may actually weigh more than my credit score.”

At that he laughed and my heart warmed. “But I’ve already got my financing arranged. I wasn’t raised with a lot of basic life skills, but I’ve researched this. I’m ready for whatever they throw at me.”

“Then let’s go,” he said.

As soon as we got out of his car, a salesman immediately descended on us. “How are you folks doing? I’m Larry. What can I help you find today?”

“Hi, Larry. I’m Madison. And I know exactly what I’m looking for.” I showed him the car on my phone. “I’d like to see this one.”

“A lady who knows what she wants! Follow me.” He headed over to the far end of the lot. There it was. My car.

“Would you like to take a test drive?” Larry asked.

I nodded.

“Well, then let me go in and grab the keys. Do you have your driver’s license so I can make a copy?”

“Yeah, of course.” I dug through my purse, found my wallet, and handed the license to him. When he left, I turned to ask Tyler, “Do you think I seem too eager?”