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“Not for long.”
They came to her door.
“I picked up a little,” she said, “but you’ll see my forte isn’t housekeeping.”
Steeling himself for a shock wasn’t enough. He could smell the place before he stepped over the threshold.
“Oh, no way,” Ryan said, grimacing. “I’ll have to clean this up now. I can’t live like this.”
He looked around the cluttered space, large black trash bags stacked at the doorway, the kitchen teeming with dirty dishes. Tiffany seemed confused.
“Why don’t you take your trash out?” he asked, pointing.
“I’ll take it now. Will you help me? We can load it on the cart.”
“This is for people’s luggage, not your garbage.”
“I’ll cover it with paper,” she said. “Let me help you get your stuff off of it.”
“Where’s the bedroom?” He looked around the space doubtfully. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
“Back here. It’s got its own bathroom.”
Luckily, the room was empty, the mattress covered with a plastic protector. Ryan tried to remember if he’d brought sheets. If not, he’d make do.
“I have linens if you need them,” Tiffany said. “This is the bathroom.”
It was grimy, so he’d be spending a few hours cleaning before he could feel comfortable.
“I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow so I could clean this place,” Ryan mumbled.
“I’m so busy, I just never got around to doing it after my roommate left.”
“Did he leave because of the mess?” Ryan asked, looking around.
“Well, not exactly,” Tiffany muttered.
Ryan dug through a box and found a sheet that he threw over the mattress. “I’ll get my stuff off this cart, and then we can tackle your trash problem.”
“Do you want me to help you unpack?” Tiffany offered.
“No. Honestly, Tiffany, I’m not sure I can stay here in this”—he looked around—“chaos.”
“Oh. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Well, you should be maybe a little.”
He looked at her sidelong, wondering if she was okay mentally. At this stage in his freedom, he wasn’t willing to be anyone’s savior.
With his belongings on the clean sheet, Ryan wheeled the luggage cart back out into the main room. “Do you have any work gloves around?” he asked, eyeing the bags of trash.
“Um, I have exam gloves, if you can use those.”
Tiffany disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a box of gloves.
“Why do you have exam gloves?” he asked.
“I got them during Covid. To wear to the store.”
