‘You will?’
He nodded. ‘I don’t think I’ll be needed, but I’ll jump in if there’s any issue.’ He stopped talking at the sound of footfall on the stairs.
‘It’s a lovely room.’ His mum beamed when she came into the room but he could tell she suspected they’d been talking and most likely it had to do with her.
‘There’s plenty of storage for you,’ Bess said brightly. ‘I’ve cleared all my things out of there. That took a while; it’s been a dumping ground.’
Marianne smiled but rather than following Bess into the kitchen to look around some more, she hovered in front of Gio.
Bess stopped in the doorway and turned back to them both. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘With the house? No,’ said Marianne. ‘But Gio has had a problem with everywhere we’ve viewed so far so I need his opinion. Gio, am I all right to keep looking round?’
Gio recapped to Bess some of the places or rather the supposed landlords they’d met so far.
‘I can see why it’s made you wary,’ said Bess. ‘And while I’m not doing this via an agent, I promise you I’m not a lech, I’m not a pervert, and I don’t stare at women’s chests unless in a medical capacity.’
‘Good to know.’ Marianne laughed but then stopped. ‘Wait a minute. Did you two come up with this plan together?’
‘No,’ they said at the same time.
Gio took it from there. ‘I promise we didn’t. I was as surprised as you were when we came to this address. And I had no idea that Bess was an Elizabeth.’ It felt like another intimate layer of her being revealed to him, a way of getting to know her more than he already did, even after so many years. He must’ve been so self-absorbed back when they shared a house not to know such a simple fact about the woman who’d become a friend, the woman he wanted to be more.
‘I wasn’t sure whether to put Bess on the room advertisement to sound more friendly,’ Bess explained, her eyes drifting away from Gio back to Marianne, ‘or Elizabeth to sound like I knew what I was doing.’
‘Bess sounds softer,’ said Marianne, ‘Elizabeth very sensible.So you really didn’t come up with this to get me a place to stay?’ Marianne looked between them both.
‘We didn’t,’ said Bess.
One whiff of a pity party would’ve sent his mother marching out of here. She had her pride; she’d swallowed enough of it in the past, especially by asking Gio for help and a place to stay while she worked and got back on her feet, but even she had her limits.
‘This is the first time I’ve rented out my spare room,’ said Bess. ‘The truth is… I really need the money.’ Her gaze flitted his way but not for long before she looked at his mum again. ‘Bills are sky high and I could use some help.’
The openness of her admission seemed to resonate with Marianne. ‘You need help?’
‘Yes, please. If you’re willing to rent.’ She put her hands together in prayer. She really did need this as much as his mum wanted it.
He wondered what sort of trouble Bess was in. Nothing she’d shared with him, even as a friend.
They briefly discussed the price and clarified that all bills except for the landline were included.
‘I won’t run up a phone bill,’ Marianne told her. ‘I have a mobile; the boys always had me carry one.’ She smiled over the cup of tea Bess had made her before making her and Gio a coffee each. Sitting in the lounge, they did seem to be onto a winner; Marianne looked comfortable. ‘And I won’t take the mickey with utilities. I had a coin meter in my last place so it made me careful – lights off when I leave a room, layering up on clothes rather than bumping up a thermostat. I’ll be a good tenant.’
‘I want you to feel at home. I’m not going to be watching your every move,’ said Bess.
Marianne chewed her bottom lip. ‘Does this mean I candefinitely have the room? Don’t you want references first? I can get one from work.’
But Bess shook her head. ‘I think given you’re Gio’s mother then I can go with his reference. I do have a lodger agreement; I’ll need you to fill it out and I can show it to my mortgage provider, but it shouldn’t be an issue. If they need further references, I’ll let you know.’
Marianne nodded. ‘It’s better we have an agreement. It means it’s official, no blurred lines, and it’ll be better for me when I find a place of my own eventually.’
Marco wouldn’t believe it if he could see their mum now – together, in control, decisive. Those were qualities that had done a bunk when her husband left her and their boys.
Bess patiently went through the lodger agreement with Marianne while Gio finished his coffee. Gio was happy to add his details as guarantor and by the time they were ready to leave, he could’ve kissed Bess for the way she’d handled his mum, for her admission that she needed help, which probably made his mum feel as though she wasn’t the only one who struggled.
‘I’ll see you in a few days.’ Marianne smiled. She pulled Bess into a hug but immediately released her. ‘I’m sorry, that wasn’t very professional.’
Bess laughed. ‘Doesn’t have to be – I want you to feel comfortable around me. In truth, I put up the advert and dreaded interviewing people because sharing my space is something I’m not used to. But I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine.’
