‘Oh. Hello!’ Bella said, trying to hide her shock. ‘What do I— I didn’t expect—What— Why are you here?’
Claudine smiled. ‘I am jogging,’ she answered, as if that explained everything. ‘I am training for the marathon next year. I set myself a challenge each Sunday. Did you know it’s only sixteen kilometres from Paris to Versailles?’
‘Onlysixteen kilometres?’
Claudine shrugged. ‘I like to push myself.’
‘Did you plan to run… here? To see me?’
Claudine laughed. ‘Non! I am not stalking you, don’t worry. But it is a long run, I wanted a break, then remembered you lived here and thought it would be fun to say hello!’
‘Oh,’ said Bella. ‘Well, hello! Do you want to go grab a coffee? There’s a lovely café…’
‘No,’ Claudine shook her head and for a moment Bella thought she was simply going to – literally – jog on. But then: ‘I can just have one here. If that’s OK with you of course? We talked about your place that time at the bar and I’d love to see it.’
‘Oh, it’s a bit of a mess, really…’
Claudine’s face reddened. ‘If I’m honest,’ she said, in more of a whisper, ‘I really need to pee. All this running. And hydrating. I…’
‘Oh! Of course!’ Bella found herself stepping back, inviting Claudine in. As she did so, her stomach, which had already sunk as a result of opening the door to find her boss on the doorstep on a Sunday morning, dropped to a new low. Because of course, Claudine thought the house was hers; that she was inhabiting it solo. She didn’t know that ‘Isabella’ was a tenant in a down at heel student house.
Probably, Claudine wouldn’t judge her on her living circumstances. But she might judge her for lying. Bella gestured towards the kitchen, trying desperately to remember what kind of state it was in.
In her own place, Bella had tried to keep things tidy, and mostly she’d succeeded. But here, something about having no stake in a place and living with multiple occupants, had brought out her inner sloth. She often left washing up to the last moment, mugs on the side. There was always an unspoken battle amongst them all, about whose turn it was to empty the bin, and it was often left piled high until one of them cracked.
Sure enough, the kitchen was in a state; Bella, looking at it with new eyes, was suddenly ashamed. ‘Sorry about the mess,’ she said. ‘I have— There are housemates.’
‘Oh, you are renting rooms to others! Of course!’ Claudine exclaimed. ‘Always the businesswoman.’ She pulled out a chair at the small wooden table, lifted a magazine from its seat then slid into it. Bella quickly cleared the debris from the table’s surface and flicked it over with a cloth.
‘Please do not go to any trouble,’ Claudine said. ‘I am just sorry that your housemates are so slovenly.’
‘Um. Yes,’ Bella said, boiling the kettle and locating the good coffee pot – the one without the chip. ‘I’m meaning to speak to them about the mess they leave. This is my home after all.’
Claudine nodded sagely. ‘Very wise.’ Her nose crinkled slightly as she glanced around the room. ‘The kitchen is very quaint though. I can see without the mess it would be quite cute. You will have to give me a tour! I would love to see the rest of it.’
Bella made a sound that was a little like a laugh, but ever so slightly like a squeak of fear. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I’d love to show you around.’ She poured water onto the coffee grounds then set the pot on the table. ‘Let’s have a coffee first though, eh!’
Once the coffee was served, Claudine seemed to relax a little. She stretched out her legs and sighed as she sipped from her mug. ‘Ah, I try not to drink too much coffee, but sometimes it is exactly what I need.’
‘Definitely. Do you run often then?’
Claudine shrugged. ‘I find it helps with stress. I’ve been— It’s a challenging time. Running clears my mind, helps me sleep.’
Claudine hadn’t struck her as someone who’d ever experienced stress. Somehow her work persona was all hard edges and efficiency. But seeing her now, in her stretchy running gear, looking tired, she seemed different, more human.
In other circumstances, she and Claudine might have become proper friends. But Claudine was her boss, and one who believed Bella had a different background, a different life. It was odd how the lies she’d told to get herself accepted, both here and at work, were the things actually creating a barrier between her and the people around her now.
Her lies – or the places where she’d allowed assumptions to grow without countering misunderstandings – were stacked like a game of Jenga. If Claudine found out that she was renting, or that her housemates thought she was an intern, the rest of it would likely tumble down as well.
But it was still early – just nine o’clock – and she hoped that the others would simply sleep for the next hour as they often did and she’d be able to send Claudine on her way without anything terrible happening.
‘So,’ Claudine said after a few sips of coffee. ‘The tour?’
Reluctantly, Bella led her through to the living room which, while cleaner than the kitchen, had all the marks of a student let: second-hand sofas with worn covers, a line of wine corks displayed proudly on the mantlepiece. There was a rug that had seen better days, a pile of unopened post on a coffee table. The curtains were old-fashioned, with coral flowers twisting their length – probably left by a previous owner.
Bella had no idea what Claudine’s place was like, but she imagined it being all glass and granite and polished, shiny surfaces. She looked at Claudine’s face, trying to gauge how she might react.
‘Oh, it is lovely!’ Claudine suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands together like a delighted toddler.
