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“I’ll see you this weekend,” she said.
* * *
Lark signedthe lease and I got a copy and that was that. She was officially my new roommate. Layne and Honor were acting like I’d done some sort of selfless act, and I had to keep telling them that I was literally desperate for a roommate, and that Lark was the one who was doing me a favor.
She moved in on Saturday, which didn’t take that long since most of what she had were clothes and the books Joy had given her. She arranged them on the bookshelf and made the bed with new sheets.
Thankfully the mattress had arrived in time.
“What do you think?” I asked as she sat on it for the first time.
Lark sat up and bounced a little on the bed, reminding me of the bouncing she’d done on my bed.
I looked out the window.
“It’s great. Much nicer than the one at the chicken house.” When she’d first moved in with Honor, she’d been sleeping on a pullout couch, but she’d moved into Honor’s former room.
“Maybe now my back will stop hurting after my shifts,” she said.
The air in the room felt too thick, so I backed up until I was out of the room with her. Lark’s stuff already had a specific scent that I recognized as distinctively hers. It reminded me of lilies, or some other white flower mixed with a clean, slightly minty scent. In time I’d become used to it and wouldn’t even notice anymore.
I needed that time to come sooner rather than later.
Lark was tired from moving, and I could tell she needed some privacy, so she closed her door and I let her be. Layne had cooked both of us a bunch of food, so the fridge and freezer were full of baking dishes and metal trays. Since Joy had moved out, the quality of my meals had definitely gone down. We’d always promised to split cooking duties, but usually she’d been the one to take over since I could only competently make a few things.
I had no idea what Lark’s cooking skills were like and I wasn’t going to ask, but I did knock on her door to see if she was hungry.
She answered with puffy eyes and a tired expression.
“Hey, I’m just going to heat up some of that pasta bake Layne made, do you want me to throw some in for you?” I asked.
“I’m not hungry,” she said, shaking her head.
Since she was an adult and could decide if she wanted to eat or not, I let it go and she shut her door again.
I heated up the food and ate it in the living room with Clementine, who wouldn’t stop running to Lark’s door and meowing. Joy had kept her door open most of the time, so he was very confused why this new person was keeping it closed.
“Leave her alone, Clem,” I told him. He blinked at me and then meowed loudly and pitifully.
“You’re fine, calm down,” I said. “Go look at the birds.” This was the magic word for Clem. It might be nighttime, but he ran to his little perch in front of the window and jumped up to stare at the birdfeeder that was suction cupped to the other side.
Lark didn’t come out for the rest of the night and I went to bed, but I couldn’t stop listening for her. The bathroom was right next to my room, so I was aware when she got up and used it. I told myself I was just making sure she was still alive, like any good roommate would.
* * *
That nightI kept waking up and listening for noises in the apartment. Well, noises other than Clementine doing his nightly zooms through the living room and kitchen.
At last my body gave out and I did get a few hours, but morning came way before I was ready, and even though I hadn’t set an alarm, I was awake at my normal work time anyway. On Sundays I liked to sleep in, but that was not meant to be. Maybe I could catch a nap later on the couch.
When I poked my head out of my room, the only one to greet me was Clementine, who immediately screamed to be fed. I padded to the kitchen and opened a can of wet food for him, which he immediately attacked as if he’d never eaten food before.
“Don’t eat so fast or else you’ll get sick,” I told him. He ignored me.
Figuring I might as well be up, I started the coffee and looked in the fridge to see what I could throw together. Layne, angel that she was, had also given us a beautiful mixed veggie quiche, and I was just slicing a piece for myself to warm up when Lark emerged from her room, looking like she hadn’t slept much.
“Good morning,” I said, and it felt so formal I wished I could take it back.
Lark just grunted and fell into one of the chairs set in front of the counter.
