Riva handed her a copy of the rental agreement she’d printedfrom online. “I’m having my tenants sign this rental contract,” she explained. “My husband was an attorney, and I think he’d want me to do it like this, but I’m using the simplest one I could find.”
“I don’t mind a bit.” Kitty slipped the papers into the Austen book and slid it into her Gucci bag. “Thank you for giving me a chance, Riva. I wasn’t sure what a landlord would say if I confessed my bad luck with men.”
Riva hoped she wasn’t making a mistake, but for some reason she wanted to help Kitty. “The last page on the rental agreement includes the house rules I put together. You need to sign it too. It does stipulate no overnight guests. I hope that gives you some boundaries for any overly pushy male friends.”
“Hopefully I’ll be pushing the overly pushy ones away.” She pulled out a checkbook. “Is it okay if I pay you with a check?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m kind of old-fashioned that way. Helps me to keep better track of my finances.” She wrote out a check and handed it to Riva.
“Thank you.” As Riva gave Kitty a house key, she heard the doorbell. “That’s probably my next tenant interview. Did you decide which room you prefer?” She stood, pocketing the check.
Kitty shrugged. “They looked so similar, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m very minimalist, so I won’t be moving too much in here. Well, except for clothes. I’m a bit of a clothes horse, but the closets are on the small side, so it’s good motivation to do some sifting and sorting on my wardrobe.”
“If you need to store anything, my basement has some room. But I’ll warn you it’s a little creepy down there, and there are steep stairs.” Riva led her to the front door. “I’ll introduce you to Fiona. Her family owns O’Malley’s downtown. She may be occupying the bedroom next to yours and sharing the bathroom.”
Riva opened the door and introduced the women. “Kitty owns Mirabella Salon,” she told Fiona, then turned to Kitty. “Fiona is a musician from Ireland.”
“We’re a Celtic folk band,” Fiona explained. “I play fiddle andmandolin, so I hope you won’t mind if I practice sometimes. It won’t be late at night.”
“I love folk music,” Kitty told her. “I won’t mind at all.”
“That is, if Riva decides to take me in.” Fiona looked hopefully at Riva. “I brought references with me.”
“Well, come on in and let’s talk.” Riva told Kitty goodbye and led Fiona inside for a quick tour of the house.
“It’s a perfectly glorious home,” Fiona said as they came back down the stairs.
“Let’s sit in the library,” Riva suggested. “Can I get you a coffee?”
“No thank you. I already consumed far too much caffeine this morning. I think I was nervous.”
“I hope you’re not nervous now that you’re here.”
Fiona frowned as she handed Riva her references. “I’m still a wee bit jumpy. Might be the caffeine ... or because I’m so eager for you to like me so I can get out of my brother’s flat.” Her smile looked stiff. “And it would be wonderful to stay in your lovely home.” She looked around the library. “Oh, my! You do have a lot of books.”
“Do you like to read?”
“I must admit I’m not too well-read.”
“Maybe we can change that.”
“I used to read mystery books when I was young.”
“I have plenty of those on the shelves.” A moment later, Riva looked up from Fiona’s references. “Well, this all seems in order. Can you tell me a little more about yourself? I’m curious as to why you left your homeland. I realize you wanted to be near your brother. But leaving Ireland, well, that seems like a big step.”
“Ah, there were a multitude of reasons.” Fiona pursed her lips. “For starters, when my sweet husband passed nearly ten years ago now, bless his soul, I was bitter lonely. To be honest, Jamie was a bit of a yoke, but he was truly good at heart—and a fine musician. He died suddenly. Made total hames of my life.”
“Hames?”
“Ah, yes, it means he left me in a bit of a mess. Lots of pieces to pick up.”
“I know how that goes.” Riva thought of the medical bills she was still paying. “And I’m sorry for the loss of your husband.”
Fiona nodded. “Earlier in the same year Jamie died, my big brother Ryan relocated to Boston. So I missed him too. And my daughter Claire was restless and bored with Northern Ireland and eager to see the world. She joined Ryan and Mae in Boston to help with their first restaurant there. Claire’s thirty-two now, married, and lives in Louisiana. She and her husband Vance own a coffee house in New Orleans now. I considered moving down there, but I don’t like the climate—or the snakes and alligators Claire tells me about. Oregon feels a wee bit like Ireland to me. And, of course, Ryan and Mae were already here. So when Ryan told me they needed a new fiddler, I decided to take the big leap and here I am now. I’ve been sleeping on their lumpy sofa bed these last three months.”
“That’s quite a story.” Riva tried to imagine what it would feel like to make a huge life change at this stage of life. Fiona’s references let her know the woman was almost the same age as Riva. For Fiona to reinvent herself in a different country was admirable and brave. Just taking in tenants was more than enough of a challenge for Riva. “Well, if you still want to live here, you’re most welcome, Fiona.”
